Dil toh bachcha hai ji....

In case you haven't seen a come-and-go movie  called "Ishqiya" that was released earlier this year, I’d recommend you get a DVD and give it a watch.

Vishal Bhardwaj directs this thoroughly enjoyable fare with Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan in the web of double-crosses and cons that is Ishqiya. 

The movie also contains an infectious song written by Gulzar-sahab, composed by Vishal Bhardwaj and sung by the one and only Rahat Fateh Ali Khan – who in my opinion has the cleanest playback voice among all contemporaries.

The song “Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji” is about a loafer con artist (Naseeruddin Shah) who knows he has fallen for a young and beautiful woman (Vidya Balan), who is way out of his league. He knows that it may not work out...will be completely “one way traffic”, but still he can't resist the spurt in his heart. A human heart has the spirit of an uncontrollable immature kid...."dil to bachcha hai ji". This song is about guilt, futility, apprehension.

“Saari jawaani kataraa ke kaati, peeri mein takaraa gaye hai” ..... Gulzar-sahab arranges words as exquisitely as delicate mithai in a Diwali gift box. Only he can come up with 'kataraa' and 'takaraa' in the same sentence and make them fit so perfectly.

Click HERE to listen to my (obviously inferior and amateur) version of this one.

Cheers!

And then it so happened....aur phir yoon huva

Another song of note  in the movie Striker was “Aur phir Yoon Huva” composed and sung by the extremely talented Vishal Bhardwaj - one the best movie makers in Mumbai currently.

Gulzar sahab’s subtle but rich lyrics make this a unique number.“Raat ek khwab ne jagaa diya” – a dream woke me up - Typically unique of Gulzar’s creativity with a pen. 

The whole song is set up beautifully around not being able to sleep (or not being able to come out a dream, whichever way you interpret Gulzar-sahab's wily play of words). Listen in a loop, and at each hearing the words seem to evolve one step further until the song slowly consumes you fully.

This too turned out to be shot completely unlike what I had imagined…..

Click HERE to listen to my version of this one.

Cheers!

Struck by Striker

Some songs leave you perplexed. You hear the tune, love it, and then watch the movie with a preset idea of its portrayal. It turns out to be nothing like you pictured.

The movie Striker, released earlier in 2010, was a neat one. A storyline based on something as flimsy as the board game of carrom that eventually delved into something much deeper, was compiled and presented with an unexpected punch. Despite no real stars, the movie was thoroughly watchable. Ankur Vikal as "Zyed", the hero’s best friend, and Aditya Pancholi as "Jaleel" the local don, absolutely stood out in their roles .

Striker, incidentally, was also the first Indian movie to premier on Youtube.

I took an instant liking to a couple of songs from this movie right at the first listen.

In “Cham cham”, Sonu Nigam weaves the tune into lyrics as only he can. In this qawwali style courtship song, Sonu Nigam raises not just his notes but also the spirits of the listeners. It is a thoroughly haunting rendition…one that makes you listen repeatedly in a loop.  I had imagined this to be a more ‘formal’ love song wherein the lover wooed the lady indirectly a praying session at a masjid, or in a staged "mohalle ki mehfil" under the crescent moon of eid. After I watched the movie, it turned out to be shot so differently than what I had imagined :)

Click HERE to listen to my obviously amateur version of this one.

Cheers!

Gaata Rahe Mera Dil

For as long as I can remember, I have had an inclination to Hindi film music. I'm fine with the hundreds of other forms and genres of music, their exponents and their followers, but the best food for my ears has always been Hindi filmy music.

The variety, quality and talent in Hindi movie music is astounding. While musicals have long vanished from Hollywood and all other prominent movie industries, the Hindi movie industry still thrives on heroes and heroines who sing and dance on mountaintops and riversides at the drop of the hat....songs are a vital ingredient in our movies even now and there are no signs that this recipe might change.

I inadvertently mumble songs to myself all the time, and sometimes they haunt me so much that I have to get them out of my head...which is where my micro-projects come in. 

I have a hobby of creating tracks, mixing songs and gelling them with vocals. For the most part I do not get any volunteers to do the vocals for my projects, so I end up embarrassing myself in front of my not very expensive microphone. 

Music has been a life long hobby and reproducing it seems to be a natural next step, which may be why this blog is here. 

I am always looking for singers and volunteers to work with me on micro-projects like these. Shoot a sur or a taan at me if you guys are interested :)