Music in the World of Noise

Takraye Unse Naina

2011-11-17T11:42:00.000+05:30

The song which seems from the 1950s was actually recorded in 2011 for a play by Manaswini Lata Ravindra - LAKH LAKH CHANDERI. The song has been written and composed by Kaushal S. Inamdar. It has been arranged by Kamlesh Bhadkamkar. Hamsika and Shruti Bhave have sung this song and Shruti herself has played the violin. Tabla - Mandar Gogate. The song was mixed in Ajivasan Studios by Mandar Wadkar. The entire song - lyrics, tune and arrangement and even the singing was so designed that it seems straight from the Hindi films of the 1950s. Shot brilliantly by Dnyanesh Zoting and Tanmayee Deo... the actors are Mukta Barve and Sharvani Pillai

Some of my favourite musicians - Part 1

2011-06-19T12:23:00.000+05:30

The best part of being a music composer in Mumbai is that you get to work with a lot of talented musicians. While doing Marathi Abhimaangeet and then later BALGANDHARVA, I worked with a lot of musicians who gave immense pleasure to the composer in me. I thought of writing a mini-series about the musicians that I have enjoyed working with and this post can be considered to be Part One of this exercise.

Today, I wish to write about two musicians who most of the Marathi Mumbaikars are familiar with - the extremely talented keyboardist and accordion player - Satyajit Prabhu and the flamboyant rhythmist Nilesh Parab.

Satyajit Prabhu

I remember to have first met Satyajit (Sattu as we call him fondly) at a rehearsal at Ashok Hande's office in Mahim. He was a bespectacled, unassuming boy who quietly sat at his keyboard. It was only when his fingers touched the keyboard that I actually noticed him. As his fingers ran up and down on the keyboard with amazing ease and accuracy, I realised that I was watching a genius at work.

After that initial meeting I met Satyajit a lot at various concerts and programmes. Our association as a musician and a music composer began with Sonali Karnik's album - CHAPHYACHE SHIMPAN in which he played the accordion. Since then, Satyajit has been an indispensable musician in my arsenal. Now, it is extremely difficult to imagine what a recording would be like if Satyajit is not there.

Satyajit is also the backbone of SAREGAMAPA Marathi, the reality show on Zee Marathi. I don't think the programme will be able to function without the current set of musicians aspecially Satyajit. His understanding of Marathi music is acute and he gives a different dimension to the music of SAREGAMAPA.

Satyajit also played a few lines in the MARATHI ABHIMAANGEET's instrumental version. His playing on the accordion is akin to singing. What makes him unique is presenting pure Indian music on a western instrument. I always wonder how he manages to keep a poker face, while playing so beautifully! If I was him, I would have kept applauding myself!

Nilesh Parab

Another familiar name in the Marathi households these days is Nilesh Parab, who has been playing percussions in SAREGAMAPA's all seven or eight schedules. Nilesh is a flamboyant player and like Satyajit, I know him since a long long time. Nilesh's mastery on the dholki is simply terrific, and while Nilesh has been a part of most of my concerts, I don't remember a single programme where he did not command a rousing applause.

My team of rhythmists - all exceptionally talented! Nilesh in red T-shirt

Nilesh's expertise lies in the understanding the nuances of folk music and he becomes the mandatory part of the recording if there is any folk-based song. Both Satyajit and Nilesh have been the part of my music making from my early days as a music composer to my latest project BALGANDHARVA. I thank them for always being there for me and express my belief that they will always be a part of whatever I do.

© Kaushal S. Inamdar, 2007

Marathi Abhimaangeet Caller Tune Codes

2010-05-19T14:42:00.002+05:30

Click on the link to get the codes for Marathi Abhimaangeet Caller Tunes for mobile.

MARATHI ABHIMAANGEET CALLER TUNES

A Pat on the Back!

2010-04-01T10:09:00.004+05:30

Marathi Abhiman Geet - The Video

2010-03-06T02:13:00.007+05:30

When Life Kills…

2009-05-21T01:36:00.011+05:30

Water… what picture does that word create in front of your eyes? It's such a harmless word… water… and ninety-nine times in a hundred we get a cool, refreshing feeling… even quiet and contented. Water is called 'Jeevan' in Sanskrit or Marathi. Jeevan also means Life… such a beautiful interpretation.

And today when it rained… the first rains of the year, I glided into the arms of the beautiful but unreal lady called Nostalgia. I raked up a few pages of my old diary and found a page that I thought I must reproduce here. Written four and a half years ago.

January 04, 2005 12:48 PM

There is a terrible cloud of gloom – one on the outside, and one within me. My emotional state has improved since the 31st December and yet I am feeling disturbed.
We had already decided to meet at Ram and Udaya's place on the 31st. On the 26th the Tsunami wave hit the shores of multiple countries. I read the news on the internet and knew at once that this was perhaps the biggest tragedy of the millennium.
On the 31st as I was driving towards Ram and Udaya's place, I felt a pang of guilt. What was I doing? Why was I even thinking of a celebration with such a big tragedy hitting mankind? I have never felt so helpless. What was this compulsion of meeting friends on the eve of the New Year? As we arrived at Ram and Udaya's place, the mood there too was sombre. The conversation for the first part of the evening hovered on the cruelties of Nature and the Tsunami. I was lost in my own thoughts for most of the time. Is it because we are cruel to Nature that it sometimes lashes back at us? Is it Nature's way of telling mankind that it has had enough of our atrocities? But then does not it distinguish between the guilty and the innocent.
Then a session of music followed. But I was somehow uncomfortable singing cheerful songs. So when everybody got up for dinner, I went to the other room. I desperately wanted to pen my feelings, perhaps in form of an essay or a diary entry. But when I sat alone for some time, it slowly came to me in music and lyrics. And this is what I wrote.

ऐसा तेरा करम हुआ कि साहिल सारे बहने लगे
सदियों से जो चुप थे नज़ारे अपनी बात कहने लगे

सूनी आँखें, सूखी पलकें, लेकिन पानी चारों ओर
जीवन से जो बाँधे रख्खे ऐसी बची न कोई डोर
ऐसा मचला बरसा पानी
ख़ून का प्यासा तरसा पानी
पानी, पानी, इतना पानी, जिसमें इन्साँ जलने लगे
मिट्टी के पुतले भी क्या हैं, पत्थर भी पिघलने लगे

The next day I told Suchi that we must do whatever was in our power for the Tsunami victims. I sought out the government website that was accepting the online donations for the Tsunami victims. The strange thing was that the payment gateway was so flooded (a tragicomic word under the circumstances) that our payment wouldn't be processed until yesterday.
It was a wake-up call for me, I think. One should not kill optimism. So far my song was incomplete because I had only spelled the magnitude of the tragedy. There were millions of hands of help that rose simultaneously. It reminded me of the line in SOUND OF MUSIC. "If God closes all the doors, he opens a window somewhere!"
After Suchi and Anurag went to sleep, I sat on the computer hoping to write this diary entry. What followed however was the remainder of my song –

एक ही गीला पल था कोई जिसमें सदियाँ गुज़र गईं
एक ही ऐसी लहर उठी और सारी दुनिया बिखर गई
किसकी सज़ा है? किसका सिला है
जो तेरे बन्दों को मिला है
तिनका तिनका जोड़ के फिर ये बिखरे घर सिमटने लगे
हाथ हज़ारों आगे बढे तो ज़ख़्मों के निशाँ भी मिटने लगे

एक ही जज़्बा दुख से बड़ा है और वो अपनी आशा है
सूखे नैनों के कोनों में उम्मीदों की भाषा है
धरती फटे या अंबर टूटे हम फिर से उभर कर आएँगे
सागर चाहे बंधन तोड़े हम सब से तर जाएँगे
हम फिर उभरकर आएँगे
हम फिर उभरकर आएँगे

The lyrics came with the music. After a long time, I felt that this was a song that came from my own heart. I have to record this. It means spending all that I earned in the Mumbai Festival song. But I think this song is the necessity of my soul. I must talk to Sameer about it tomorrow itself. If anybody can do justice to this song, it is he. I am feeling sleepy now... and rather excited at the same time. It's a strange feeling.

Song Credits:
Lyrics & Music - Kaushal S. Inamdar
Arrangements - Sameer Mhatre
Backing Vocals - Suzanne D'Mello and Rishikesh Kamerkar
Recorded & Mixed by - Chinmay Harshe, Swarlata Studio

Marathi Asmita - Marathi Abhimaan Geet

2009-03-15T14:06:00.006+05:30

In 2005, I composed and performed a prayer at the inauguration of the Mumbai Festival, "Tuzha Soorya Ugave Aamhi Prakaashaat Nhaato", written by Mangesh Padgaonkar and sung by 63 school children. That, in itself, is good news. The bad news was that after the 7 minutes of that song, apart from a spontaneous speech by Nana Patekar, for the next three hours, not a word of Marathi was spoken on the Mumbai Festival stage.
This is the situation everywhere in the Capital of Maharashtra. Mumbai is in Maharashtra, but Maharashtra is nowhere to be seen in Mumbai! Not a single commercial radio station in Mumbai plays a single Marathi song!! (You may hear a Tamil song here and there and quite a few Punjabi songs, but NEVER a Marathi song. When I asked a few of my friends working in these radio stations, they admitted off the record that 'it makes the station look downmarket'.) Would you like to hear that your mother-tongue is downmarket? In Mumbai, you can't buy vegetables in Marathi or even go from one place to another in Marathi.

This is a conversation that I had with a customer care executive from Vodafone on their Customer Care number.

I - "Namaskaar, Mala maajhya talk-plan baddal kahi mahiti havi hoti."
Vodafone Customer Care Executive - "Sorry sir, we are not allowed to talk in Marathi."
I - "Barobar. Pan mala Marathi bolaychi paravanagi ahe na?"
VCCE - "No sir. We can help you only if you talk in Hindi or English. We are not allowed to talk in Marathi."
I - "Aho pan, Mumbai ahe na hi? Maharashtrat rahato aapan. Rajyachi bhasha rajyaatach bolaychi paravanagi nahi?"
VCCE - "Dekhiye sir, aap Hindi mein baat kijiye ya agar aapko English aati hai to English mein baat kijiye. We are not allowed to talk in Marathi."
I - "Hich policy tumhi Chennaila hi follow karata ka?"
VCCE - "Ji?"
I - "Mi vicharal, hich policy tumhi Chennai kinva itar baaherchya rajyanchya shaharanamadhe hi follow karata ka?"
VCCE - "Sir Main aapko baahar ki koi jaankar nahi de sakta. Aap please Hindi ya English mein baat karenge to hi hum aapki madad kar paayenge."
I - "Aho pan Vodafone Marathit bolanaryanna madatach karnar nahi ka? Maazha talk plan kay aahe evadhach jaanun ghyaychay."
VCCE - "Dekhiye, kripa karke aap Hindi ya English mein hi baat karein."
I - "Pan tumchya Maharashtra Goa circle madhale lok boltat ki Marathit. Mumbai madhech ka nahi?"
The Vodafone Customer Care Executive hangs up the phone.

I would really like to know whether Vodafone has the same policy of not speaking Tamil or entertaining customers who insist that they can express best only in Tamil.
In my own State I am told that if I continue to speak in my mother-tongue, which happens to be the official language of that State, I regard this to be an insult to my State, my people, and even to the Constitution of India which gives me a right to talk in my mother-tongue, at least in my own State. There seems to be no unreasonable demand here! It is no as if I am insisting that I should be spoken to in Marathi when I am in Ahmedabad, for example.
After this conversation I also asked a few of my friends to see if they faced a similar problem and they did. We have recorded some of these conversations. If what Raj Thackeray does is considered to be violence then even this sort of a policy is nothing short of violence against a language - the language of the State and the language of the single largest majority in the city.

That Marathi should face such a problem in its own capital is a matter of shame.
The question is not exclusive to Mumbai. The real problem seems to me to be the indifference of the Marathi people towards their own mother-tongue. The movements that go on in the name of Marathi only result in stray violence, arson, and a terribly unstable atmosphere. This prevents the common Marathi person from participating in such so-called movements. And that does not prevent Marathi getting a raw deal, especially in its own capital city of Mumbai.
I honestly feel that if there has to be a sane movement for Marathi as a language, it has to spring from the common-folk. Never was there such urgency for all the Marathi speaking people to come together and stand together. Before we tell the non-Marathi speaking people to respect Marathi, there is a necessity of sowing seeds of self-respect among the Marathi speaking people themselves. MARATHI NEEDS A SONG OF SELF RESPECT!

Labhale amhas bhagya bolato Marathi
Jaahalo kharech dhannya aikato Marathi
Dharma, pantha, jaat ek jaanato Marathi
Evadhya jagaat Maay maanato Marathi!

I have composed music for this poem by Suresh Bhat. I plan to record this song with around 300 singers and around a 100 musicians. The expense for this song can easily be sponsored by one or two sponsors, but doing that will turn this into a 'commercial' product, which is not the motive. If this has to remain a movement, it has to involve our participation. If at least 2000 people contribute - and I say contribute, NOT donate - at least Rs. 500 each, this expense of recording the song can be covered. If you participate in this movement, I shall be very happy. Please remember, that this is NOT an appeal for help. This is an INVITATION - an invitation to participate in this movement for Marathi.
This movement already has gathered around 400 activists from India and abroad and this number is growing every day. We plan to release this CD on the 1st of May 2009, on the Maharashtra Day. A booklet will also be released along with CD which will contain the names of ALL the contributors so that a signal will be sent to one and all that this MARATHI ABHIMAAN GEET was the result of 2000+ people COMING TOGETHER and WITHOUT any corporate backing, sponsorships, or political initiative. It is a common feeling of the common Marathi speaking person. The booklet will also contain authentic information about the SANYUKTA MAHARASHTRA MOVEMENT, which is not easily available to people of my generation and the coming generations. The language-wise reorganisation of States was done in 1956 and yet it took 4 years for the Marathi speaking people to get a State of their own. Thousands circle the Hutatma Chowk everyday without knowing its significance, and then question the necessity of knowing Marathi in Mumbai! Some blogs refer to Mumbai being "TAKEN AWAY BY MAHARASHTRIANS BY USING STRONG ARM TACTICS!" So it is a requirement that the authentic information about the SANYUKTA MAHARASHTRA MOVEMENT reaches every Marathi speaking person. Prof. Sanjay Ranade, HOD of the Dept. of Journalism & Mass Communication will be authoring this part of the booklet which will be published by MOUJ PRAKASHAN, one of the most credible and distinguished publishing houses in Maharashtra.
Every participant will get a copy of this CD and booklet delivered to their doorstep at no cost.

You may send your cheques or DDs favouring "Marathi Asmita", 102, Triveni, Shuchidham, Film City Marg, Near Dindoshi Bus Depot, Goregaon (E), Mumbai - 400063. For any queries contact Mandar Gogate on 9820877279. You can also go to www.marathiasmita.org.

I urge every person who loves his/her mother-tongue to participate in this movement... and that includes AR Rahman who did his mother-tongue proud by speaking it on the Oscars Stage!

© Kaushal S. Inamdar, 2007

In Defence of Marathi

2008-10-24T04:35:00.004+05:30

The topic is tricky, but something needs to be said about it. Raj Thackeray is being made out to be a villain, a saviour, a hero, and a traitor. The country is in a jingoistic mood and I am sorry to say that we are in it too. As a Maharashtrian, and an Indian, and most importantly as a citizen of the world, I have some experiences to share.

It was 1998, December. I was in an upbeat mood as I was going to be married. I wanted to shop for a blazer and so I went to a Raymond's store in South Mumbai. The salesman was an old man and I figured that he had been living in Maharashtra for a long time. So I said in Marathi:

"ब्लेझर विकत घ्यायचा आहे." (I wish to buy a blazer.) The man on the counter gave me an irritated look. He seemed exasperated when he said, "हिंदी में बोलो|" (Talk in Hindi). Without giving it much thought, I repeated my question in Hindi. Without looking up at me he pointed out to the section where blazers were kept. I turned. As soon as my back was towards him, I heard him telling his subordinate who had been standing right beside me.

"उसपर नज़र रक्खो।" (Keep an eye on him.) I turned back in a flash and looked him straight in the eye thinking that it would embarrass him. On the contrary, he was defiant. I felt humiliated and insulted and walked out of the store. When I reflected back, I knew that I had been treated with contempt only because my opening lines were in Marathi…. In my mother-tongue.

The second incident occurred a few months later when an old Muslim employee of a relative of mine from Delhi had come to Mumbai. My father asked me to drop him to the Bombay Central station. I waited while he enquired on the ticket counter. The old, Muslim man hailed from Delhi and the man on the counter was a native of UP. The place was Bombay Central Station, Mumbai, Maharashtra. Their conversation was in Hindi. The old man asked the man on the counter something and I heard an extremely rude reply in an uncalled for, loud voice. I rushed to the counter and began in Marathi:

"साहेब, जरा नीट बोला, तुमच्या वडिलांच्या वयाचे आहेत हे." (The man is your senior. Treat him with respect.) To which the man on the counter retorted:

"अब तू मुझे सिखायेगा क्या? घाटी?" I was incensed and replied that he was on my soil and was insulting the people of my State by calling meGhati in such a derogatory manner.

But that incident did it. I vowed that I would never speak in Hindi with any native of UP and Bihar who was settled in Mumbai. They would have to speak with me in MY mother-tongue, in MY state. Enough was enough; I was not going to be treated in this manner in my state. Since then, I have been speaking only in Marathi with people who are earning their livelihood in this wonderful state called Maharashtra.

Not many people who have migrated to Maharashtra know that unlike UP and Bihar and even Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra was created as late as 1960. It was not created along with the other Sates when India was organised along linguistic lines. And it did not come easy for the Marathi speaking people. There had to be a struggle – the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement for the Marathis to get a fair and just share of what was theirs. And people had to die for it. Thousands of migrant taxi drivers circle the Hutatma Chowk without knowing what it means for the Marathi people. And to be quite honest a lot of Maharastrians also pass the Hutatma Chowk without once giving it a thought that Maharashtra came into existence for a heavy price.

And once I started speaking in Marathi, I knew that we were slowly becoming foreign in our own land. People who say that India is One and anybody can migrate anywhere should say the same thing in Chennai, for instance. Nobody disputes that India is One, but if the States were organised on the basis of language, the fathers of the constitution meant that they were homes primarily for people of that language and the states should be governed in the language of the State. But what does one see here? People like Alyque Padamsee demand an autonomous Bombay state! There is a motion in the BMC that its affairs are run in Hindi?! That is ridiculous! Will Municipalities in Tamil Nadu conduct their affairs in Bhojpuri? I wonder!

I am not against any language. But the trouble here is that in spite of being the most and I repeat MOST welcoming state, Maharashtra and Maharashtrians have been getting a second-class treatment from the Centre and people who have migrated here and made their lives. People come here with dreams in their eyes and know that their hard work will be rewarded because Maharashtra and Maharashtrians do have a heart for it.

During the last few months I have been personally having a bad time with taxi drivers from North India, particularly Bihar and UP. If I talk in Marathi my query would not be answered at all. They refused to understand if I talked in Marathi. And I was not even expecting that they talk in Marathi, but don't I have the comfort of speaking in my mother-tongue in my own state without being treated with contempt?

Let me tell you another incident. The first Mumbai festival happened in 2005. Mumbai – Capital of Maharashtra. And do you know that apart from the one song that I did there was NO MARATHI SPOKEN on the stage at the opening ceremony EXCEPT in the speech made by NANA PATEKAR? In the next Mumbai Festival the marathi programmes were held in small grounds or theatres in and around Dadar while the more glamorous venues like the Gateway of India were held captive by Hindi and English.

Have you heard of any commercial radio station in Mumbai which plays a Marathi song? Even the government run ALL INDIA RADIO's FM station devotes equal amount of time for Marathi and Gujarati. I wonder if Marathi gets the same airtime in the radio stations in Ahmedabad. The radio jockeys too are all non-maharashtrians. They hardly speak a word of Marathi. Come to think of it they don't speak in any language!

Having said this let me also say that I come from one of the most cosmopolitan families you could imagine. My uncle was married to a Tamilian, and my first cousin married a Malyalee. My Aunt married a Kannadiga. So that covers most of South India. Among my father's cousins and my second cousins – I have Punjabis, Sindhis, Kannadigas, Tamilians, Muslims, Christians, and even Britishers in my close and immediate family!

I work with a lot of non-maharashtrian friends who have worked most lovingly with me on my Marathi songs. And I respect them because they show a lot of reverence for the language.

I love Marathi and I feel the same pain that perhaps Raj Thackeray feels (I am not, as yet, doubting his motives), when as a Maharashtrian I feel being treated with contempt and in my own land. (I most definitely know of people who seem to think that Marathi is the language for servants). But I denounce Raj Thackeray's methods. And I think that his GUTS are only proverbial…. A figment of his own imagination and that of his supporters.

I say that there is no purushartha in getting your supporters to slap around hapless rickshaw drivers and burning the property that belongs to your own state. IF RAJ THACKERAY HAS THE GUTS TO PERSONALLY SLAP ABU ASEEM AZMI OR ALYQUE PADAMSEE, WHO UNABASHEDLY ADVOCATES AN AUTONOMOUS MUMBAI, I WILL PLEDGE MY STAUNCH SUPPORT TO HIM. Of course, there is a chance that to this Raj Thackeray and his supporters will ask me the question: "Who are you?"

So let me tell them that I am just another proud Maharashtrian who loves Marathi.

I think that the trouble is that nobody seems to have reverence for anything that is decent and cultured. A lot of Maharashtrians are guilty in displaying an arrogant disregard towards their own mother-tongue. We don't buy Marathi music, we don't watch Marathi cinema and and we don't care about Marathi theatre. When boards and banners in support of Raj Thackeray went up in the area where I live, most of them were written in ridiculous marathi with absolute disregard for grammar and purity of the language. We have to learn reverence.

I hate violence as strongly as I love my mother-tongue. And I denounce any kind of violence. It is reverence that we need, reverence for Language; reverence for our Home; reverence for Culture and reverence for Life.

Ek Packet Ummeed: It’s all about Hope

2008-06-04T10:55:00.008+05:30

Ek Packet Ummeed is a TV series running on NDTV IMAGINE and drawing a good response from the viewers. I had the good fortune to compose the title track of this series. I had not done television work for a long time and EPU was a perfect launch pad for a re-entry. JD Majethia and Aatish Kapadia the producer duo of HATS OFF PRODUCTIONS placed their faith in me absolutely without hearing a shred of what I had composed and I am really thankful to them. It was wonderful working with the two of them. JD is a warm and effusive person and Aatish is calm and extremely sensitive as a writer. He had written the lyrics for the title song I liked at once. The song has been sung by two of my favourite singers – Hamsika and Mahalaxmi Iyer. I hope you like this song.

An Orkut Conversation with a SAREGAMAPA Fan

2008-05-30T11:32:00.003+05:30

We use the word 'fan' so often that we forget that it's short for 'fanatic'. Reproducing here, a short conversation between me and a SAREGAMAPA 'fan' on the networking site – 'Orkut'. It is so fresh that I haven't had the time to analyse whether this conversation is hilarious or tragic or part of a black comedy.

Sourabh Kulkarni:

i think something has gone wrong. coz, we all have seen megafinal of saregamapa. and u were interviewed by mr.atul, but all we didnt understand, how mr.limbekar stood as mahagayak?even he didnt have a voice quality, and he was singing only gramin songs,on the other hand, mahesh sir was at his best, why did u not disqualify mr.limbekar at time of auditions?waiting 4 ur reply.

Kaushal:

it's your opinion, sourabh and you're entitled to it. If Mr Limbekar got through to the finals, I would have looked like a fool disqualifying him right at the auditions, wouldn't I? Secondly, good music is something beyond individual tastes. So I assure you my friend that nothing has gone wrong except for the fact some other people may think different from what you think. So take it easy!

Sourabh Kulkarni:

in one of ur interviews, u told, u were also expecting a pair of Mahesh & sangita chitale, but all the dice went wrong marginally.Let me question u, if Mr. mutalik would have stood up as mahagayak along with Mrs. chitale, would zee marathi have had any problem?also, at the time of declaration, even they didnt announce the scores, that might tellu the story of partiality.i am not blaiming u, also Mr.limbekar was weakest with his pronunciations and still he is mahagayayak, that will really affect TRP, that is why, zee has assassinated the tallent, waiting 4 ur reply

Sourabh Kulkarni:

no doubt, good music is somewhere beyond the cards, but intellectual people like Mr.mutalik, Anandsagar pathak, got biggest setback. I have no objection abt zee marathi' policy, yr temperament, but one thing is quite conspiquous,instead of brahmin people getting uplifted, they r badly pulled off, dont know , who is accountable for that

Sourabh Kulkarni:

one thing, Mr.Salil and Mrs. Ashatai, the were phenomenal with their duty. I was shocked, when Mr.salil desired mr.limbekar to be a mahagayak. They both r brahmins, they should have uplifted mr. mutalik & Pathak. We all wasted our more than 4 hrs in watching that preplanned show. same thing was also happened with MANGESH BORGAONKAR, Mr. kosambi also moved as mahagayak even he did not deserve it. Situation was different, when u were mentor for one of the schedules. That schedule had all the brahmin candidates,that is why, mahagayak was always going to be a brahmin. again zee went partial, when they selected Mrs.bhaisanmade neglecting sayali panase.hence, they r doing it incessantly

Sourabh Kulkarni:

waiting for yr reply

Kaushal:

I think you are wrong and I don't want to answer such a venomous comment. We look at music and not whether it is sung by a brahmin or not. And let me remind you that zee does not select the mahagayak. It is people like you who send in their smses. Why are you insistent on making this a casteist issue? Salil Kulkarni and Asha Khadilkar are honest musicians who see music as their religion. There is no place for caste there. Why should they uphold only brahmins? If you're shocked, it's entirely your problem. Please bear in mind that this is my last communication to you on this issue. If you think you have wasted your time, simply don't watch the show. It's an easy solution, isn't it?

Life with You is a Cup of Coffee

2008-02-18T02:19:00.003+05:30

A very famous chain of coffee shops in India has this tagline written on its banners – 'A lot can happen over coffee'. True, but not at the coffee shops which sport the tagline. The loud music, the constantly blinking television sets deprive you of the leisure of having coffee, and the 'lot' that can actually happen over it. These coffee shops, in a way, symbolise the schizophrenic personality of our metropolises. There are multiple TV monitors showing different channels, and loud music playing some entirely different music totally unrelated to any of the channels. The volume of this music denies any kind of possibility of a conversation that should otherwise remain private and intimate.

There is a romance about coffee that alas, these multinational coffee joints do not comprehend. The South Indian hotels in Mumbai have this romance by default. The tiny steel glass and bowl coffee not only is better coffee, but carries with it an atmosphere that huge china clay cups don't recognise.

I, personally, have a special place for coffee in my heart (although I am a regular tea drinker), and also for those members of the opposite sex with whom I have had coffee. Romance comes in degrees, and having an intimate cup of strongly brewed coffee, is more romantic than, say holding hands! To all those girls and women, with whom I have shared this cup of coffee, I dedicate this song.

Haqeeqat Ne Aisa Pakda Girebaan: A Child of Night

2007-10-22T18:22:00.001+05:30

While doing the background score of It's Breaking News, the scene that had us (Sameer Mhatre & myself) thinking most was the sting operation scene. We took a lot of pains to do that scene, and I must give due credit to Sameer Mhatre who was at his dynamic best while doing the scene. But what stumped me was what happens after the sting operation. There was a silence of almost 2 minutes after the sting operation scene, where Vidya (Koel Purie) seems to be at a loss of words and can't express anything to Sangeeta (Swati Sen) who looks at her accusingly. There is an uncomfortable silence for around two minutes.

After doing the music for the sting operation scene, we decided to stop as it was too heavy on us. It was 2 am, and we had our customary chai at dadar station before I started driving back home. The one visual that came coming back to me from the film was Sangeeta's accusing look at Vidya. Swati Sen had brought Sangeeta alive on screen. The success of her performance, I think, was that it made the viewer wonder what kind of a life Sangeeta must have led beyond what was shown in the movie. And that was what started me on to the song. Sangeeta's life… she's just about 20 in the film, an age when dreams rule you, when everything in life seems achievable, when you feel you can get away flirting with Reality. On my journey back home from Dadar, the entire song on Sangeeta came to me. Time: 2:15 – 2:50 AM.

हक़ीक़त ने ऐसा पकडा गिरेबाँ

और पड गईं सिलवटें ख़्वाब पर

ज़ुबाँ सिल गई है, बदन छिल गया है

और रूह रोती रही रातभर

दिन की रातें, रातों के दिन

जुग जुग लागे पल पल छिन छिन

मरते यहाँ हैं अरमाँ कमसिन

अंधेरों से गहरा नाता जुड़ा है

लेकिन उजालों से लगता है डर

एक ही छब और लाखों दरपण

ना कोई पर्दा, ना कोई चिलमन

दिल सेहरा और आँखें सावन

आँखों की बातें कोई न समझे

और हाथों की दुआ बेअसर

The tune and the words came together. The next day I called up Hamsika and sang out what I had composed. She, too, was most ecstatic. I took the song to a very talented musician, Sameeruddin, to be arranged. Hamsika and I went to Sameeruddin's studio late at night. He was still at work. He finished work at almost 1AM. We decided that we couldn't really work after that as all of us were tired. Sameeruddin suggested that we record the cue track of the song. Seby, Sameer's friend and another talented musician, took charge of the acoustic guitar and Sameeruddin himself sat on the keyboards. Hamsika went inside the dubbing room to sing the cue track. We switched off the lights and Hamsika began singing. She sang at one go and with great feeling. Seby contributed with his sparse but extremely effective strumming. Thereafter we tried recording that song twice but the same magic didn't happen. Hamsika & I decided that we'll let the song stay as it is. The song, right from conception to delivery, was a child of the night.

It’s Breaking News: The Second Song

2007-10-08T10:58:00.002+05:30

My confidence soared after writing the first song. Actually writing lyrics was not something new for me. Few people know that I started my career as a lyricist. It's an interesting story but Woh kahaani phir sahi! But it has been a long time and after writing the first song, I was a little more confident about writing the next one. Alas, Vishal informed me that there was to be no other song! I was disappointed. Just the title song for my first ever Hindi movie seemed so less to do!

I got my opportunity during one of the script reading sessions. Vidya, a TV journalist, conducts a sting operation and it is during the sting operation that she feels that things are going horribly wrong. It's a prick of the conscience which ends up confusing her and making her ask herself some fundamental questions about her own ideology. She finds the answer in the words of her uncle, who runs a small newspaper in a small town but is at ease with his conscience. Her uncle gives her an insight into this question. She returns from the Uncle's house with a clearer vision of what to do next. I suggested to Vishal that this was an opportunity for a song. I wrote a song which was her journey to & from her point of insight. The first half mirrored the confusion in her ideology. The second half reflected the clearing of cobwebs in her mind. Here is the song.

M - कैसा रस्ता, कैसी मंज़िल?

कौन है तेरे आगे?

तू किसके पीछे भागे?

F - इक तो ये मन ख़ाली ख़ाली

उसपे तेरी नज़र सवाली

अब तू ही बता ऐ ज़िन्दगी मैं क्या करूँ?

गुज़रे लम्हें, बिखरे मोती

फिसले जैसे हाथ से रेती

अब तू ही बता ऐ ज़िन्दगी मैं क्या करूँ?

M - कैसा रस्ता….

M - आईनों के नगर में हर कोई अजनबी है

किस भूल भुलैय्या में खोई ये ज़िन्दगी है?

F - पैरों में छाले छाले, दिल की कहानी बोले

ग़मख़ार कोई नहीं है

मंज़र उलझी राहों का, दरिया जैसे आहों का

और पार कोई नहीं है

M - सूरज का रस छलके छट जाए सब धुंदलके

भटके राही को भी मंज़िल मिल जाए

मन के ही मंजीरे जो बाजे धीरे धीरे

तो दिल की गलियों में फिर कलियाँ सी खिल जाए

F - आँखें खुली तो पाया, मैं थी और तेरा साया

और ज़िन्दगी भी नयी थी

दर्पण जो मैनें देखा, तेरी क़िस्मत की रेखा

माथे पे मेरे सजी थी

M - अपना रस्ता, अपनी मंज़िल

अपनी नज़र के आगे

जो सोया आलम जागे!

Music : Kaushal S. Inamdar

Singers : Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal

It's Breaking News - Trailers

2007-10-06T02:45:00.001+05:30

Here are a few promos of It's Breaking News

It’s Breaking News: The First Song

2007-10-03T14:46:00.001+05:30

When Vishal first narrated the script of It's Breaking News, I was as excited as he was. When he offered me the music of the film, I was more than just excited. I was charged! This was something that I always wanted to do - compose music for a Hindi film. He told me that he required a title song for the film and I too thought that it was a good idea to have one. The primary requirement was to get the song written. A typical Hindi film lyric writer with a vocabulary starting with anatomy (dil, jigar, etc.) and ending on metaphysics (Jaaneman, Jaanam, etc.) just wouldn't do! The songs would require a mature sensibility and would have to be an integral part of the story. I was also insistent on the songs having a literary value.

With the kind of budgets that we were working on, somebody like Gulzar or Javed Akhtar was simply out of the question. The only name that struck me was Swanand Kirkire whose lyrics in Hazaaron Khwaahishein Aisi and Parineeta were soul stirring and displayed a kind of wit that I identify with. I managed to get in touch with Swanand Kirkire. He showed keen interest in what I had to say about the film but politely declined saying that he would have liked to write the lyrics but he was at that moment extremely busy with the script and lyrics of Eklavya and Lage Raho Munnabhai, two blockbuster films. There was another thing about Swanand Kirkire that made me feel like working with him. He was not just a lyricist. He is a trained theatre professional. He understands film and drama as a discipline. Much like Javed Akhtar & Gulzar; this sets them apart. Moral of the story was that I was back to square one.

There was a lot of discussion between me and Vishal as to what would be the content of the title song. By definition, Vishal insisted, that the word BREAKING NEWS should be part of the song. Now there was a big problem. I screened a lot of lyricists but none would satisfy me.

It is really strange how ideas come to you…. That is the funny part… It's always ideas coming to you…. You don't go to them! And they come to you simply from anywhere. It was a chance remark by a journalist friend who was goading me into telling him something.

'There are no secrets from friends.' – He remarked.

'… Or from TV journalists!' I quipped. And suddenly the coin dropped. The hidden camera… it does not believe in secrets… I thought to myself. There are enough anti-system songs or even new order songs. To give an example – Woh Subah Kabhi To Aayegi, or Yeh Mahlon, Yeh Takhton, Ye Taajon Ki Duniya(Pyaasa)… or Ushakkal Hota Hota (Marathi). But what would happen if the system had to sing the song of its own power. And the first line came to me. The point of view of the all powerful system.

Raaz ki ik baat kahoon?

Ab koi raaz bacha nahin

Koi Aisa lafz nahin

Jo deewaron ne suna nahin…

Then on the words came like a waterfall.

राज़ की इक बात कहूँ?
अब कोई राज़ बचा नहीं
कोई ऐसा लफ़्ज़ नहीं
जो दीवारों ने सुना नहीं
शीशे के घरों में रहनेवाले
होते नहीं महफ़ूज़…
Breaking News!

हर पल इक पहरा है तेरी तनहाई पे
ऐतबार न करना अपनी परछाई पे
तनहाई हमें मंज़ूर नहीं
रुसवाई तेरी अब दूर नहीं

नज़रें है हमारी चारों तरफ़
और नज़र में तू महबूस…
Breaking News!

चलती हैं गोलियाँ - चलने दो!
जलती हैं बस्तियाँ - जलने दो
शहरों में जुर्म को - पलने दो!
गाँवों से चैन को - ढलने दो!
तोड़ के साहिल सागर को धरती - निगलने दो!
आँखें सब देखती हैं लेकिन
दिल कुछ न करे महसूस…

Breaking News!

The song has two perspectives in it. The first is that the media does not believe in your privacy. And you don't even have to be a celebrity to be a prisoner in the eye of the media. The hidden camera can be trained on every one. Be it a Member of Parliament or a film actor or even a teacher in a school. Technology can be used for fabrication of stories and the reputation you have spent years in building can be razed to the ground in a matter of seconds. The second perspective was that news is making us more and more insensitive. That's the thought in the second verse. And here is the dangerous element of news turning into entertainment. The Times of India carried a picture of an abandoned foetus in a trash can on its first page…. in full colour. It was disgusting. Then a TV channel caught a man burning down in flames as he touched a overhead wire of a railway track. And all this in the guise of a Good Samaritan. That's where the line came from –

Aankhen sab dekhati hain lekin

Dil kuchch na kare mehsoos!

The tune came along with the words. And the song was ready. I got Sameer Mhatre to programme the music for the song, and the next question was the singers. Here, too, my decision was made in a matter of seconds. For the two faces of the system, I needed two voices, a male & a female voice. I also needed a chorus to represent masses among the system. The system is not different from us. We are a part of this system. Hamsika Iyer (she has sung Chanda Re from Eklavya) was a singer that I had worked with extensively and I knew that her voice had a personality. I finalised Bhushan Marathe, a rock singer from Pune to sing the male part of the song. Through my friend Hrishikesh Kamerkar, I got Clinton Cerejo to do the backing vocal arrangements. I present you the result of this endeavour.

Uma Khurana & It’s Breaking News

2007-09-27T10:50:00.001+05:30

When the IG Natarajan sting operation was telecast on the news channels, Vishal Inamdar, the director of It's Breaking News, said that he thought it was a pornographic film being telecast. He remarked that this crooked morality was going to show more of its colours as time went by. After the fake sting operation in the Uma Khurana case, Vishal's words seem almost prophetic. It was then that he got on to the task of writing the story of a feature film. To help him in his endeavour was Jayant Pawar, himself a journalist, somebody who knew about the finer nuances of the profession.

The movie was completed and took its censor certificate just a few days before the Uma Khurana sting operation. It is a strange coincidence that Uma Khurana case should surface at the point of time that this film is about to be exhibited. There are some similar points that both, the film, It's Breaking News and the Uma Khurana case, make. The first is the irresponsible nature of sting operations that are carried out by some news channels in India. Secondly, the morality of sting operations is always an issue of contention. Good intentions are not enough… they can pave the road to hell. In Uma Khurana's case, the sting operation was not only morally suspect, but downright criminal.

Another case in point was that of Prof. Batuknath of Bihar. In both these cases the point to note is that Uma Khurana and Prof. Batuknath are both representatives of the common man. They are no celebrities, who are constantly in the fear of being hounded by paparazzi.

It's Breaking News is not a film against journalists or even the sting operations. It simply points out that sting operations in hands of irresponsible channel heads or journalists can be as volatile as a nuclear bomb in the hands of a terrorist. Have a look at the official website of the movie.

http://www.itsbreakingnews.com/

It’s Breaking News: The Excitement Begins

2007-08-27T01:46:00.001+05:30

My first film It's Breaking News is now ready and slated for release. The promos are out on internet and ETC channel. The movie should be out by the last week of September if everything goes well. The phrase 'if everything goes well' has suddenly assumed the importance of what the phrase 'other things being equal' would have in the life of an economist!

It has been a long wait for me and very hard toil for my brother, Vishal, who has directed the movie. He has been under immense pressure, making this film – at the age of 29 and no Godfather and a first timer producer to back him up. There have been moments of triumph and joy and also of pain and agony which were endured by all of us in the unit of the film.

News is something that we cannot run away from. It is everywhere and it touches every aspect of our life. The word NEWS, I have learnt as a child, is the acronym of North, East, West, South. Media, it is said, is the fourth pillar of democracy. So in India, Media is the fourth pillar of the world's largest democracy. 'The Fourth Estate' – political scientists have called it. It is the watchdog of liberty. It has the power to topple governments. Early nineties saw the advent of satellite television in India. The inevitable followed and India was taken over by a swarm of News channels in the last decade. It is in the last 3-4 years that we have been constantly hearing the term – 'sting operation'. One of the first (in)famous sting operations was carried out on the members of film industry, namely, Shakti Kapoor and Aman Verma by a reporter who went by the pseudonym, Ruchi. In 2005, Barkha Dutt, a director of NDTV, wrote an article in the Hindustan Times, questioning the ethics behind the sting operations which were appearing like congress grass. She has put up a very reasonable case noting that the place of sting operations in journalism is the same as the place of the Death Penalty in the Indian Penal Code – that it should be used in the 'rarest of the rare' cases. I tried very hard to find the copy of the article in the Hindustan Times archives but couldn't. Fortunately, it was still there on one of the news-servers. This is the link.

http://osdir.com/ml/culture.region.india.zestmedia/2005-12/msg00123.html

Vishal was most concerned with the irreverence and the twisted morality of the sting operations especially in the Jharkhand IG Natarajan Case. In the Shakti Kapoor case also you'll note that it was a hypothetical girl in a hypothetical situation, where she made the invitation. There was a widespread aversion to the manner in which the sting operation took place. In the India TV exposé of politicians having sex with call girls, I always felt that in the enthusiasm of catching the politicians, the channel was rather unfair in exposing the call girls too.

What we see on television is the face of the channel, philosophising and moralising. But underneath the moral policing lurks a most despicable greed for sensationalism.

It's Breaking News is a movie which unearths the story behind the sting operations. You have seen sting operations expose a thing or two… now here's a movie that exposes sting operations!

The Making of Chaphyache Shimpan

2007-08-10T03:33:00.000+05:30

For three years Mandar Karnik waited patiently for me to do this album and just for one song - 'Manaat Maajhya'. The song, written by Kusumagraj appeared in 'Madhavi', a book of Kusumagraj's lyrical poetry. The book has been edited by Smt. Shantabai Shelke. I remember having composed this song soon after Kusumagraj's demise. I was invited to give a musical tribute to him by Vijay Desai of the Yeshwantrao Chavan Pratishthan. I read Kusumagraj again and I would like to talk about my experiences of Kusumagraj and his poetry in greater detail in some different post. Coming back to Manaat Maajhya, the moment I read the lyric, the tune had flowed. The poetry had a definite atmosphere and that had been the source of the tune. My father, who is the staunchest of my critics, gave me a grudging acknowledgement when he heard the song. 'Nice - ' was all he said, but the appreciation in his eyes and his smile (it is a special kind of smile which comes to his lips when he likes something in spite of himself) said a lot.
When Mandar came up with his proposal to produce an album for Sonali, this was the first song that came to my mind. Sonali would be a perfect casting for this song, I realised. Sonali's voice was like a clear stream of water... not too deep and very, very transparent. That was her personality. So the first song was chosen.
Three years passed after the first song was chosen and there were lot of things responsible for this. We heard just the first half of one song in Sameer’s dingy little sitting room in Dadar East. It was the song – Chaphyache Shimpan. It was decided that Chaphyache Shimpan was what the album would be called. It was after this meeting that things started getting out of hand. There was a huge delay after that. Sameer Mhatre just wouldn’t get the opportunity to complete that one song. We also got busy with many other projects, primarily among which was IT’S BREAKING NEWS, which will be my first Hindi movie as a music composer. The background score and the mixing of the film took almost six months. Sameer Mhatre, the keyboardist who was first approached for programming for Chaphyache Shimpan, also could not find a regular time slot for the project. Then one day I met Mandar and Sonali outside the Gypsy Chinese restaurant at Shivaji Park. It was at that time that Mandar said that the only reason he had waited for me was the song Manaat Maajhya. I ended Mandar’s doubts about my commitment there and then and we began work on the album at a brisk pace. Sameer Mhatre would not be available as he was still tied up in a lot of outside projects, so I roped in Sameer Chiplunkar, another talented keyboardist for the programming of the album.
Since then, the album reached its final stage in just a matter of three months. The first part was spent in a studio in Thane where Sameer Chiplunkar programmed all the songs. The studio, called Mixbox, belonged to a young, enthusiastic and a very sincere sound engineer, Rohit Pradhan. Rohit and Sameer were very enthusiastic about their work from the beginning and it really boosted my morale. Most of our recording in Rohit’s studio was done in the nights. It was a very mad time for me. I was doing a play called Baayakocha Khoon Kasa Karava at that time and the shooting of SAREGAMAPA was also on at the time. There were times when I attended the rehearsal of the play at 6 am, then went for the shoot of SAREGAMAPA at 9:30 am, and when the shoot got over at 11 pm, proceeded to Thane to record for Chaphyache Shimpan for the whole night till the next morning! The most enjoyable chore would be to have dinner in the restaurant called Kolhapur.
Once we were through with the programmed tracks we proceeded to record the acoustic instruments. We did that in Studio Buss-in, in Vile Parle (E). This was only a two day schedule which got extended to three days because we decided at the last moment that using saxophone in the song Themb Themb, would greatly enhance the track. In these two days, I could work with some of the most talented musicians in the music industry.

Manish Kulkarni – He played the spanish guitar and the bass guitar in almost all the songs with the exception of Alavate Mi. When on the final day of our acoustic instruments dubbing, we packed up for the day, Manish announced that the bass guitar that he had played was given to him by none other than Tony Vaz, and this was the same instrument that we had heard in most of R. D. Burman’s famous songs. Manish himself is a disciple of Tony Vaz and is one of the few bassists who have retained the Tony Vaz style of bass guitar.

Vinayak Netke – I had been most impressed with Vinayak’s tabla the very first time I had heard it. Vinayak’s shy demeanour simply does not reveal his calibre as a tabla player. He has played tabla in many of Ghulam Ali’s concerts, which is enough to demonstrate his talent and temperament. Those who have heard Chaphyache Shimpan will agree that the tabla in Mile Sagarala has set the tone of that song. Brian Lara’s timing of a stroke is the only sweetest thing that comes anywhere close to the sweetness of Vinayak’s playing.

Nilesh Parab – I have known Nilesh for a really long time now. Nilesh has played all the acoustic percussions in the album. Nilesh is an absolute delight not only to hear but also to watch. His involvement in playing his instruments is total. Rarely does it happen in a concert that his dholki does not meet up with the audience’s ‘Once More’. In this album, his synchronisation with Vinayak was just a delight to watch and listen.

Satyajeet Prabhu – The nostalgic tone of the Accordion in the song Rumjhum Painjan is Satyajeet Prabhu playing. I had seen Satyajeet play the keyboards in all of Ashok Hande’s programmes. He knows a million songs by heart. But I could see him closely at work in SAREGAMAPA. Satyajeet has an impassive expression when he is playing that doesn’t change even when he knows that he has played well. If you catch him at that moment, his lips break into a very slight smile. In social arena Satyajeet is a very talkative fellow and knows a lot of anecdotes of musicians.

Prasad Gondkar – I met this talented sitarist from Pune for the first time in my life. His playing was soft and the tone of his sitar was sweeter than any other young sitarist that I have heard.

Vijay Tambe – I have not seen a humbler musician than Vijay Tambe. The number of talented musicians that Worli Koliwada has given is simply amazing. For years Viju has been playing the flute for me and he excites you every time he plays. There is a lot of flamboyance in his playing in spite of his soft disposition. When he played his solo in Manaat Maajhya, Mandar Karnik’s face showed an expression of satisfaction that was worth all the toil that went to the making of this album. There are some moments in life when you feel that this moment justifies your birth. Vijay Tambe’s playing is capable of giving you that feeling and many such moments.

Jeetendra Thakur – When I heard Narendra Bhide’s title song of Avantika, the first thing I had noticed was the solo violin. I came to know later that it was Jeetu Thakur who had played it. Later, I got a chance to work with him when I did the opening song of the Mumbai Festival – Ram Bhi Tu Rahim Bhi Tu. Jeetu Thakur arranged all the violins in the song. That had been a fantastic experience. Jeetu has a very mild manner when he deals with people and yet he is oozing with a lot of energy. I remember that on the day of the recording, he had a flight to catch. He was on his way to Muscat. But that wasn’t going to hurry him. When he had finished playing in all the songs that were allotted to him, he asked me if there was anything else. I said that there was nothing else, but I would like him to hear one song. He readily acquiesced. I played the song Mile Sagarala for him. On listening to the song, he said I would like to play in this song. “Keep it if you like it.” He told me. But what he played was phenomenal. Now, as the song stands, violin is the central character. While moving out, Jeetu kept telling Sonali, that the compositions were so beautiful that it put great responsibility on her as a singer to do them justice.

Manohari Singh – The legend himself! I have spoken about him in my previous post. I would like to share my experience of working with him. We had planned to use the saxophone only in one song, and that song was Mile Sagarala. Mandar got him in his car on the second day of our recording in Buss-in. The first thing that came to my mind upon seeing him was how this doddering old man was going to manage holding the saxophone – leave alone play on it! But the moment he had the saxophone in his hand, he turned into a regal figure, and when again he breathed life into the saxophone and the key flute, it was magic! Once he went, we took a break and paused to catch our breaths. He was very humble and very professional in his attitude at the same time. After he left, Sameer sent the track of Themb Themb. The moment I heard the track, I told Mandar that whatever happens, we had to get Manoharida back for this song. Sameer had done a very jazz kind of a track, which I know to be Sameer’s first love. Mandar persuaded Manoharida to come back the next day and play again. He came back the next day and played as brilliantly. After the take, he said that he would like to hear both the songs from the beginning to the end like in the old times. He recounted some reminiscences of his days with R. D. Burman. We really had a great time chatting with this musician of yesteryears. He complimented me heartily and gave his blessings to Sonali.

After the music was recorded, we proceeded to record the vocals in Swarlata Studio in Andheri. Bhavesh Liya recorded the vocals. Sonali’s 100% commitment really worked here. Her rendition was always very ‘surel’ (I cannot seem to find any parallel for this word in English. ‘Melodious’ – the closest contender is nowhere close!) But like majority of Marathi female singers, Sonali too suffers from what I call the Marathi Female Singer Emotional Brickwall Syndrome (MFSEB). (Note to Psychologists: Don’t get flustered, I just invented it!) It simply means a lot of Marathi female singers take the song too personally. They get the feeling that the song represents their personal emotional statement. They feel that they are revealing something of themselves when they emote a song. The result is that they end up putting something like a brickwall limiter to their expression and the song feels dry in emotion. Let me tell you that I have seen a lot of Marathi singers with this syndrome and Sonali was not an exception. We worked very hard on this and Sonali showed a 100% commitment to the album. I remember that we recorded Sajana Tujavina at least thrice and Mile Sagarala twice before getting it right. But I must give all credit to Sonali’s perseverance. I was a hard taskmaster and Sonali’s face was never without a smile even if he had to give a particular take thrice, five times or ten times.

Mandar gave me a pleasant surprise when he revealed to me that Avinash Oak, one of the finest sound engineers in India had volunteered to mix the album. However, Mr Oak got an assignment in Baroda or Ahmedabad, and he recommended the name of my dear friend, Nitin Joshi. I had worked with Nitin a couple of times before and knew him to be a knowledgeable and a very creative sound engineer with varied experience. Mandar and I used to travel down to Pune to get the mixing done and Nitin was most cooperative and accommodating through the mixing of this album. Nitin came up with some very interesting creative suggestions to enhance the sound of the album. The only disagreement we had was about a small synth music piece at the end of Sajana Tujavina, which I wanted to keep and Nitin Joshi insisted that we remove. We decided to take a vote, the only other member in the room being Mandar; and I was outvoted two to one! I must concede that I am not missing that piece anymore!

So finally the album was ready and Mandar got it mastered in Yashraj Studios. Three years from the conception to the final execution had been a long journey, sometimes tiring and sometimes full of obstacles, but always enjoyable. This has already been a long post. If I can write something about the individual songs, I will do so at a later date. I would appreciate if readers listen to this album and post their comments and reviews.

Links and Et Cetra:

o You can join the CHAPHYACHE SHIMPAN ALBUM COMMUNITY on Orkut by clicking on the name. You could vote for the songs and post your reviews here too.
o Also check out my website – http://kaushalsinamdar.com/. I have featured an entire section on CHAPHYACHE SHIMPAN. I also have opened up an online music store on which I shall be putting my albums, including this one in another fortnight. If you don’t find the album in your city you could email me or post your requirement on this blog, and I shall make an arrangement to send you the CD.
o Read the review of CHAPHYACHE SHIMPAN by Shri Satish Patwardhan that appeared in Loksatta here.

Listen to a quick trailer of CHAPHYACHE SHIMPAN:

© Kaushal S. Inamdar, 2007

Ase Janmate Gaane in The Times of India

2007-08-09T02:03:00.000+05:30

THANE PLUS

Here is the report of the ASE JANMATE GAANE in The Times of India. which was organised by Indradhanu. Indradhanu were one of the best and loving organisers that I have ever seen. Mahesh Varde would not really like to be named, but his contribution as member of Indradhanu and as a friend was outstanding. My version of the report of this programme should shortly appear.

What I have been doing....

2007-07-03T05:31:00.000+05:30

Here I am... back after a long time. I have been doing a lot of things during this interval, apart from gleefully watching the responses that have been pouring in on the post about Rahman. I have finished composing music for my first Hindi film - IT'S BREAKING NEWS. The film has been directed by my brother, Vishal. If everything goes well it should be out by the last week of August or the first week of September. There are two songs in the film - one sung by Hamsika (of Chanda Re fame from EKLAVYA) and Bhushan Marathe; the second song has been sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Shreya Ghoshal.

Then I was invited to be one of the four mentors-cum-judges on the Marathi SAREGAMAPA. I mentored Pankaj Vishnu and Madhurani. I must say that it was a terrific experience being part of such a popular TV show.

Last week, another of my Marathi albums called CHAPHYACHE SHIMPAN was published in the presence of an august gathering by Suresh Wadkar and Shreedhar Phadke at the Dinanath Natyagruha in Vile Parle (E). Both the guests had a lot of good things to say about the album, especially the compositions. The album is out in the stores and I am hoping that it has a good run. The songs have all been sung by Sonali Karnik, who has been the megafinal winner of the talent hunt show MERI AWAAZ SUNO, which had been endorsed by Lata Mangeshkar and Yash Chopra.

I had some beautiful moments recording songs for this album and had the wonderful opportunity to work with a legendary musician like Manohari Singh, the saxophonist par excellence. Any saxophone interlude that you remember from Hindi films from the late fifties to the late eighties - chances are that it was played by Manohari Singh! May it be the duet of Saxophone & Mohammed Rafi in Hai Duniya Usiki, Zamana Usika from Kashmir Ki Kali to Bedardi Baalma Tujhko Mera Mann Yaad Karta Hai from Aarzoo to Roop Tera Mastana from Aradhana to any of R. D. Burman's hit songs thereafter.... saxophone and Manoharida are inseparable ingredients! It was a treat working with the 84 year old musician who at this age blows a saxophone with an enviable passion when his age-mates will think twice before blowing the candles out on their birthday cake!

These are a few of the things that I have been doing during this period of absence. What I haven't been doing is posting on the blog! I promise that my absences won't be this long from now on. There are a lot of things to share with you - some music in the world of noise, some noise in the world of music!

© Kaushal S. Inamdar, 2007

Rahman, I, and the Sound of Music

2006-09-22T00:52:00.000+05:30

A few years back I was recording some instrumental pieces for a tele-serial. I was working out a few pieces with an exceptionally talented flautist. I was looking out for a particular tone of the flute which I was somehow not getting. The excessive sound of the breath was making me uncomfortable. I told the flautist twice or thrice that I did not want the sound of breath, but the sound persisted. I could see that if I told him one more time, he was bound to get irritated with my suggestion. But the musician in me could not bear the little deviation from my idea of the musical piece. Finally, softly, I told him that I was not getting the sound that I wanted and the sound of the breath refused to go away. As I had expected, he flared up.
“What’s your problem?” he asked me. “Even Rahman likes the sound of the breath. He insists on it.”
“Then play for Rahman.” I quipped, even my temper rising a little. “What are you doing here?”
It was a reaction that I had to give but I was aware all the time about the degree of influence Rahman commanded when it came to the ‘sound’ of music. It was as if people, and more particularly musicians, were under a hypnotic spell of the music of this man from the land of filter coffee. Everybody was talking only about Rahman. Musicians swore by his sense of sound production. It was not just ‘Rahman – the musician’; it was ‘Rahman – the magician’ It was not as if there was no other side... there was... and they were equally ferocious in their criticism of Rahman.
“He’s getting predictable-” was a reaction that started with his third film. The people who dismissed Rahman were mostly seen to be from the earlier generation. But again these people could not tolerate the music of Anu Malik either. The magic of yesteryear songs was still prevalent among this generation. I had also seen and heard film musicians of the earlier era not being so impressed with Rahman. So where was I in this milieu and how do I see myself as contemporary of A. R. Rahman?
The story starts in 1992, with the release of the film Roja in Tamil. I was such an avid fan of Mani Rathnam after Nayakan that I had made the brave attempt of seeing Dalapathy in Tamil, a language that was way beyond my comprehension. My attempt did not go unrewarded and I was completely taken in by the manner of story-telling of Mani Rathnam. I had also become an avid fan of Illayaraja, whose many Tamil cassettes I bought and heard again and again. So when I heard that a Mani Rathnam film called Roja was being screened, I went immediately to Aurora, a theatre at King’s Circle. I was a little disappointed that Mani Rathnam’s usual music composer, Illayraja, had been replaced by a newcomer called Rahman. My doubts about A. R. Rahman were razed to the ground the moment I heard the first note of the background score play. This sound was BIG… and it was definitely different. Not just different, it was drastically different. Then the first song came - ‘Chinna Chinna Asai’. The effect of the song, together with Mani Rathnam’s visualisation, Santosh Sivan’s brilliant cinematography, and Rahman’s music was pure alchemy. And how could one forget the background score of the movie? I was so hypnotised by the movie’s background score that I went back to Aurora again the following week, just to hear the background score. I think it must have been the first (and perhaps the only) instance where a Marathi youth went twice for a Tamil film without subtitles to a theatre!
At that time Rahman was not known much in North India, but the music was a rage in South India. Roja was followed by Shankar’s Gentleman and then Mani Rathnam’s Thiruda Thiruda. K. Balachander’s Duet was another film that was released during this period. The way Rahman had explored Kadhari Gopalnath’s saxophone in the film was phenomenal. I used to go to Matunga and buy these cassettes, because Rahman’s sound excited me no end. The score of Thiruda Thiruda, I remember, was a culture shock for me and I grudgingly nodded to the beat of the music. It was shockingly western, but there was an Indian soul lurking behind those harmonies. I later came to know through some Tamilian friends that although Thiruda Thiruda didn’t do too well, the music was given stupendous reviews.
In 1994, Roja was released in Hindi and A. R. Rahman became a household name in India. The magic had spread to the entire nation. This was followed by the film Kadhalan directed by the whiz kid Shankar. Songs like ‘Muqabla’ and ‘Urvashi’ made everybody tap their feet while the song 'Ennavale Adi Ennavale' won the National Award for the Carnatic vocalist, P. Unnikrishnan who made a debut in film singing with this song, and also hearts of those who loved melodious tunes more than foot-tapping ones. (The song is known to Hindi listeners as ‘Sun Ri Sakhi Meri Pyari Sakhi’.)
Now, doyens of Hindi film industry were running to Chennai to meet and work with Rahman. He signed Shikhar with Subhash Ghai and Droh-kaal with Govind Nihalani. But as fate would have it, Shikhar was shelved and Rahman lost all the tracks of Droh-kaal due to a computer crash. And so, Rahman’s first original Hindi film was Ram Gopal Varma’s Rangeela and that marked Rahman’s definite foray into Hindi music. Mani Rathnam’s Bombay saw Rahman singing playback for the first time in ‘Humma Humma’. The Hindi version had Remo singing the song. While ‘Kehna hi Kya’ became a big hit with Chitra and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan singing, even the title track of Bombay caught the imagination of his fans. Not since R. D. Burman had any composer been successful in popularising the instrumental title track of a movie. From then on, we all know the journey of A. R. Rahman to the dizzying heights of fame and popularity. From then to the music of Swades and finally Rang De Basanti Rahman has entertained, enthralled, excited, captivated, mystified, bamboozled, and very rarely but surely disappointed his fans. What excites me about Rahman as a musician is that his music is multi-layered, both in the physical and abstract senses. He appeals to emotion or intellect and sometimes – both. As a musician and as a public figure, he is mysterious and is more fun to unravel than simply sit back and enjoy.

Rahman & His Tunes

I started humming the tunes of Roja, the moment I stepped out of the theatre. The tunes had a great recall value and despite that, I discovered in some time that humming these tunes was not so enjoyable. I did not give it much thought then, but later when Bombay released, and the same phenomenon was repeated, I was curious. In both cases, I had loved the music. It had excited me. And yet humming it was not enjoyable. It was when I was going through an economics book and came across Alfred Marshall’s Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility when I broke the ‘Rahman’ code, and like Perry Mason, I kicked my leg for not getting the solution earlier. Strange? But the truth, no less! Alfred Marshall’s law of economics stating that as a person increases consumption of a product - while keeping consumption of other products constant - there is a decline in the marginal utility that person derives from consuming each additional unit of that product. So how does it fit into Rahman’s composition? It is a technique invented by Illayaraja. I often wondered how I could memorise Illayaraja’s tunes so quickly in spite of not understanding the language. And I must confess to having an extremely bad memory when it came to remembering tunes. Using Illayaraja’s technique of composition, Rahman’s standard composition was broken into short musical phrases which were repeated in different words. Take for example:
Dil hai Chhota sa,
(Repeat with a minor change) Chhoti si Aasha
(Repeat the same phrase) Masti bhari Man ki
Bholi si Aasha

Now what has happened here is that you have already heard the complete phrase twice. The same formula is repeated throughout the song. Now, what happens in effect is that we are hearing the song twice or thrice in one go! You can compare it to a Salil Chowdhari’s song for instance – ‘Tasveer teri dil mein’. You’ll notice that all the musical phrases in the sign line (dhruvapad) are different. Illayaraja, and later, Rahman used this new technique of composition. It gave a recall value to the tune but also ensured that its shelf life was shorter. Slowly but surely all music directors in the Hindi film industry also started using the same technique. It was a very foolproof technique and you could see that in songs of Anu Malik and Anand-Milind, whenever they were not lifting a composition in toto! But nobody could do it like Rahman and that is what differentiated him from the pack. It is not enough to just have short, repetitive phrases – they also needed to be consistently melodious and this is what Rahman did the best.
I also noticed that Rahman in Tamil was a different person as compared to Rahman in Hindi. The language of music was the same, but I have always thought Rahman was more at home with Tamil than in Hindi which was obvious. I remember an incident narrated by Mahalaxmi Iyer. She was recording for a song in ‘Dil Se’. The words were ‘Paakhi Paakhi Pardesi’. Rahman kept pronouncing it as ‘Paaki’. Of course, merely wrong pronunciation does not reflect a sense of discomfort with the language. Now, Tamil has many syllables which end on very staccato notes. Hindi doesn’t. In Hindi, there is an unwritten halant on each ending consonant. Rahman’s composition is very staccato even in Hindi. The merit in this is that the composition sounds different and fresh because nobody composes it like that in the Hindi idiom. The down side is that lyric takes the back seat. Although the feeling and the mood in the song are conveyed, the subtler nuances of the language evaporate.

What makes Rahman, Rahman
I have always maintained, and I have no doubt that I am in the minority, that Rahman is more a technocrat than a composer. This opinion was formed mainly because I could trace the origins of his composing techniques to Illayaraja, with whom Rahman worked as a keyboardist. But my opinion cannot be permanent because, Rahman being an intelligent musician, keeps evolving and growing with each film. For example, in The Legend of Bhagat Singh, he had composed the song Mera Rang De Basanti Chola. The composition was so Southern that one could not identify it with the Sikh freedom fighter at all. But in Lagaan and then in Rang De Basanti, one hardly sees the southern touch. There is a conscious effort to keep the North Indian flavour.
But where Rahman can be considered a path-breaker is the manner in which he revolutionised the sound of music. And he changed the way his contemporaries looked at the concept of sound. He makes even ordinary compositions ‘sound’ extraordinary by using instruments and synthesised music to great effect. A criticism has been that Rahman uses synthesised music in excess. But Rahman has recognised correctly the places in which the aesthetics of synthesised music lie. Right from Kalyanji Anandji to Bhappi Lahiri music directors have used the synthesiser and other electronic music but Rahman has been successful in refining the synthesised sound. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Rahman demonstrated how the synthesised sound should be used. Prior to Rahman’s entry on the film scene, music directors harmonised the song with only the string section. Rahman introduced the synthetic pads and created a different effect for different songs with a different sound as harmony. Notice the sound of the pads in Roja, for instance; it created a warmth and also gave a big-screen feel to the sound. Among other things, Rahman’s music is really BIG. It justifies the Cinemascope screen. The use of available technology was always there. When microphones and sound recording on tape was latest technology it was also used widely. In fact, commercial music has to be credited with making the optimum use of technology in music. So, the accusation that Rahman uses excess of technology does not really hold water. He rides technology; he makes sure that technology doesn’t ride him.
The other accusation against Rahman was that he did not use enough acoustic instruments. Rahman himself once admitted that his music was getting too repetitive and dance oriented, probably because of the type of films he was doing. But Rahman redeemed himself by doing a lot of films which had a folk or an Indian flavour to it. In 1999, the Tamil film Sangamam was released. It was a low budget movie and Rahman used a lot of traditional instruments. The entire was score was based on folk and classical music. In Zubeidaa also, the soundtrack has more acoustic instruments.
Rahman has awarded the instrumentalists in his films a status that no music composer before him had done. Siva Mani, the noted drummer and percussionist said, “The recognition that I enjoy today is because of Rahman. There are so many talented people behind a film music score. I played for Illayaraja for very long, but my name never figured on the screen or the cassette cover. Rahman changed it all. He gives credit to every single member of his team for whatever part they play, big or small. That makes him really special. People came to know about me only because of him. I thank him for that.” Lot of musicians like – Naveen (flute), Clinton Cerejo (backup vocals), Sivamani (percussions) – became household names with their credits appearing on the sleeves of inlay cards. Not only on the screen (in terms of credits), but even on the sound track (in terms of sound) Rahman made his instrumentalists stand out. How can one forget the sound of the Shehnai in the title song of Swades? Or the sound of the raw flute in ‘Chinamma’ from the film Meenaxi – A Tale of Three Cities? So, however grudgingly, I had to forgive my flautist friend for his outburst. Rahman’s understanding of the timbre of an instrument and how to give old sounds new nuances is without parallel. Also, in case of the flute in Chinamma, he reintroduced an old sound which technology had made us forget. It was like meeting a long lost old acquaintance. A keyboardist friend of mine pointed out how Illayaraja and Rahman had used the higher octave flute for sad pieces, when in Hindi films sad pieces on flute necessarily meant the lower octave.
The rhythm that Rahman used was also unconventional to say the least. He could be modern without being western in his approach of treating rhythm which I feel is one of his extraordinary qualities. The song in Bombay – ‘Kucchi Kucchi Rakkamma’ is a good illustration of this quality. The rhythm is essentially ethnic and yet it is modern. There will always be surprises but rarely will they let you down. Sometimes for a song of a slow pace, he will use a rhythm that runs in double the speed. It has a strange but a dramatic effect on the outcome of the song. Two cases in point here are ‘Saawariya’ from Swades and ‘Tu Bin Bataaye’ from Rang De Basanti. In Chhainyya Chhainyya, he used the rhythm instruments to create the movement of running train without using the sound of the train. Rahman is gifted with the quality of saying things between the lines with the use of orchestration.

Rahman and his singers

I don’t think any other music composer can boast of introducing or working with so many singers as Rahman has. Just to list off hand – P. Unnikrishnan, Anuradha Sriram, Minmini, Chitra, S. P. Balasubramanium, Hariharan, Srinivas, Naresh Iyer, Kunal Gaanjawala, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Shankar Mahadevan, Shoma Bannerjee, Richa Sharma, Sonu Nigam, Sukhvindara, Alka Yagnik, Sadhana Sargam, Baba Sehgal, Adnan Sami, Daler Mehdi, Apache Indian, Michael Jackson, Remo, Shwetha Shetty, Sanjeevani Bhelande, Vaishali Samant, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Kailash Kher… It just goes on… And this is just a peek into the vast spectrum of usual and unusual names that Rahman has worked with.
Even in a single film, we were used to see only three to four names in the singers’ credits. A standard Rahman film boasts of at least half a dozen singers. Rahman’s own justification for this is, “I do it for variety. Otherwise things would get monotonous. There was a time when the album of a film would have only two voices. Today different singers sing for the same character. The times have changed. The attention span of the average listener has decreased and his geographical purview has broadened. The listeners no longer think in terms of perfect or imperfect. They want different voices, standards be damned.”
As a music composer, I don’t necessarily subscribe to this view. You don’t always give people what they ask for. (Like you don’t give a chocolate to a child just because the child wants it!) And although it may be the right commercial move it could have a damaging effect on the song more often than not.
Rahman was actually criticised for using singers without judging their ability to articulate language specific nuances. He was pulled up for using Udit Narayan for Tamil songs and Rahman conceded by saying that he would not use Hindi singers for Tamil songs. But he justifies using new and sometimes untrained voices for playback by saying that it is not necessary that all actors must have perfect voices like S. P. Balasubramanium or Chitra, or Hariharan.
I once asked a singer friend of mine, why all singers had this incredible urge of singing for Rahman. She said that it is what he does to your voice. You wouldn’t believe that it was your own voice when it comes out as a finished product. He brings out the best tonal quality in you. It was somewhat like what Gautam Rajadhyaksha does with his camera!
He has used voices in very unconventional manner to great effect and there are lot of times when voices play roles of instruments rather than conveying poetry of the song. Some examples of having used voices in a very different manner are Shankar Mahadevan in Urvashi (Kadhalan) or Kay Sera Sera (Pukar), Vasundhara Das in O Ri Chhori (Lagaan), Baba Sehgal and Shwetha Shetty in Rukmini Rukmini (Roja).
I am, sometimes, confused with choice of singers that Rahman casts for playback. I have, somehow, never been convinced with Asha Bhosale for Urmila Matondkar in Rangeela; or for that matter Lata Mangeshkar for Priety Zinta in Dil Se. In the Tamil version of the film also, he used S. Janaki who sounds as old as Lata Mangeshkar for the twenty something Priety! When a character synchronises his/ her lips on screen with the song, ‘people want it’ sounds like a feeble justification for a loose casting. After all, just because people want, Mani Rathnam couldn’t have cast Jaya Prada in the young bride’s role!

Rahman & his Background Scores

Personally, I feel that Rahman’s real forte is his background scores. Right from Roja to Rang De Basanti, some of the marvellous background scores have come from under his mantle. His precise understanding of the mood of the scene and his irreverent and yet highly appropriate use of instruments is a delight to watch and hear. In Rang De Basanti, during the chase of Chandrashekhar Azad, one expects the sound of strings or brass section but what we get to hear is the wild strumming of the guitars! Totally unexpected and yet it fits the scene like a glove. This irreverence of his reminds me of the chase sequence in Sholay, where R. D. Burman got Pt. Samata Prasad to play a rela on the tabla. The concept here was the same, only times have changed.

And in the end… Rahman & I

It is impossible to stay in music industry and ignore Rahman. One just cannot. Producers keep saying – ‘Rahman jaisa sound chahiye!’ Journalists keep comparing your music with his. I remember being upset because a journalist had written a review about a Marathi song of mine saying that it sounded like a Rahman composition. If in those days you used a reverberated aalaap you were accused of copying Rahman! On another occasion a journalist friend of mine had said: “If Rahman can create such a refined sound, why can’t you?” I had replied, “I will, if you pay me a crore for a movie.” My reaction was not at all against Rahman. It was a serious observation. At that time were doing entire Marathi albums at 1/20th the cost of one Rahman song. But Rahman changed things even for people like us. He made us aware of the concept of having a new sound. And he made producers aware that money spent on the product delivered good results!
Sometimes, I wonder what Rahman is without all the paraphernalia. I don’t believe that as a composer of tunes Rahman is extraordinary. Where I find him extraordinary is in his understanding and expression of the idiom of sound. Technology being available to you also matters a lot. And Rahman also hasn’t had it coming for free. There has been toil and hard work for him. Rahman started working as a musician at the age of 12 when his father expired. He signed Roja when he was 26. So he smiles when people call him an overnight success.
Also, it is a great experience to evaluate Rahman as a music director. He gives a lot of food for thought in one song.
I think where Rahman lacks is in his understanding of language. But one must give him the benefit of doubt for Hindi as in Tamil his lyricist, Vairamuthu won National Awards repeatedly for songs set to tune by Rahman, namely for 'Roja', 'Pavithra', 'Kadhalan' and 'Minsara Kanavu'. Rahman himself insists on good poetry for his songs, "Lyrics lend immortality to a melody. The eternal, evergreen hit songs are always the ones with profound lyrics; lyrics that remain true and meaningful even after years."
After Rahman’s third film, his critics said he won’t be around for long. Fourteen years later, he is still here and is growing as a cult figure. The success of Rang De Basanti only strengthens his case. He is the face of Indian commercial music abroad. He is not without his flaws, but then nobody is. Rahman is said to be a very spiritual person. A quote that is attributed to him has found a permanent place in my head: “I am a strong believer in destiny. I also believe that destiny can be changed by prayers.” Rahman will be around till he keeps reinventing himself and at least for now, he’s doing just that.

© Kaushal S. Inamdar, 2006.

The Story Behind नको देवराया

2006-09-02T00:10:00.000+05:30

By the time I had turned music composer, a variety of songs had become part of my system. Some of them were songs in my mother tongue. One of the songs was नको देवराया, an abhanga by Kānhopātrā.
Although the Anandaghan version is quite exquisite in its own way, I always felt that there was something amiss in the song. For a long time, I could not place what it was. Then as I began to understand a few things of poetry I discovered that there was a problem with the metre of the song. And that was the issue that had foxed me. Take any abhanga. It will have a rhyme (यमक) in the second and third phrases.

देह शुद्ध करोनि भजनी भजावे
आणिकांचे नाठवावे, दोषगुण
or
नको नको मना, गुंतु मायाजाळी
काळ आला जवळी, ग्रासावया

But in case of this song –

नको देवराया अंत अता पाहु
प्राण हा सर्वथा जाऊ पाहे

पाहु and सर्वथा just did not make sense to me. Where was the rhyme? How could Kānhopātrā make such a simple mistake? Or if she had done it on purpose what was the purpose? You may choose not to believe me, but these questions tormented me for days. I was certain that Kānhopātrā had written something else and this was not the original representation of the abhanga. All the bhaktigeet books corresponded to the abhang in the same manner as had been represented by Anandaghan. I then asked Shri Shankar Vaidya – the man to turn to in such difficulties – but he too could not recollect the correct words. He advised me to look up the abhanga in the Sakal Santa Gātha. I did just that and was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. My hunch proved right. The words had been tweaked to turn it into the song. Here is the abhanga as Kānhopātrā wrote it.

नको देवराया अंत पाहु आता।
प्राण हा सर्वथा फुटो पाहे॥

हरिणीचे पाडस व्याघ्रे धरियेले।
मज लागी जाहले तैसे देवा॥

तुजविण ठाव न दिसे त्रिभुवनी।
धावे हो जननी विठाबाई॥

मोकलोनी आस, जाहले उदास।
घेई कान्होपात्रेस हृदयात॥

The right words suddenly shed light on a number of mysteries. The song by Lata Mangeshkar is of a slow pace. I surmised that the tune of the song must have come before the words were put and hence the words must have been changed. Note that फुटो पाहे has been replaced with जाऊ पाहे. This has a direct effect on the intensity of the statement. प्राण हा सर्वथा फुटो पाहे is much more intense an expression than प्राण हा सर्वथा जाऊ पाहे. After the right words fall into place one also realises the significance of हरिणीचे पाडस व्याघ्रे धरियेले। मज लागी जाहले तैसे देवा॥ and its intensity.
Now I had to set the abhanga to a new tune – a tune that would justify the words as they were. The tune came to me in Raag Kirwani and I had composed the song before I knew it!
A few months later when Gajendra Ahire narrated me the screenplay of the film Not Only Mrs. Raut for which I was composing the music, I found a place in the story where this abhanga would really lift the situation. Gajendra also approved of using the abhang for the film. I recorded the song with Sanjeev Chimmalgi. I have put up my version of this terrific piece of poetry at ourmedia.com. Here is the link.
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/256487
Please listen to it and do post your comments.
© Kaushal S. Inamdar, 2005

Bodyline & Composing Vinda

2006-01-17T01:13:00.000+05:30

Vinda Karandikar has won the Dnyanpeeth Award this year. It’s big news for Marathi. Vinda was a professor of English and he won the Dnyanpeeth for his contribution to Marathi. Some of his students will swear that Vinda was one of the best teachers of the English language. It just goes on to confirm that the actual Art is being friendly with language and not just a language. If one has an aptitude for Marathi, he/she has an aptitude for English as well. It’s just a matter of showing the interest to learn the languages. That is why I do not, and will never, subscribe to terrorism in language and literature. Three years ago, there was a ridiculous proposition to ban all those litterateurs from the Sahitya Sammellans and other public platforms, whose children went to English medium schools. It reminded me of the story Andher Nagari, Chaupat Raja where the King sentences a thin man, who’s innocent, to the gallows instead of the fat convict, whose guilt has been proven, just because the noose won’t fit him!
However, that is not the topic of my blog today. For me, Vinda’s winning the Dnyanpeeth gives me an opportunity to relive my moments with his poetry… especially those poems which I have had the pleasure of composing.
The first Vinda Karandikar poem that I set to tune was ten years ago when we first staged the programme अमृताचा वसा in Chhabildas auditorium. The poem was:
पर्वतांनो दूर व्हा रे, सागरांनो दूर व्हा रे
उघडिले मी दार माझे, मानवांनो आत या रे
I remember the first time I had taken the book स्वेदगंगा in my hand. This was the poem that had me hooked. I just had to set it to tune. So I sat with the harmonium and the book. An hour passed, but I could not think of any tune. I read the poem again and again. I tried playing various permutations of notes that I could think that went well with the poem and its meaning. The whole exercise was irritating. Finally, I decided to the easiest thing in life. Go the living room and watch television. My brother was watching a cricket match. For sometime I got engrossed in the match and forgot the pains of composing the song.
On the TV screen, the fast bowler marched up to the run-up mark and came back at the batsman. He bowled a terrific bouncer that struck on the batsman’s helmet. My brother remarked casually that the bowlers were resorting to Bodyline tactics. Suddenly, a memory struck me like a flash of lightening. I remembered a scene from the TV series Bodyline, where the young Douglas Jardine is told by a mentor, “You don’t bowl at a batsman’s stumps; you bowl at his mind.”
This line from Bodyline told me what I was doing wrong with the song. Sometimes it is not enough to set the words to a tune. You have to compose the man… the philosophy. I went to the room and read the poem all over again. This time I could see it differently. I was seeing the mind behind the words. I rediscovered the meaning of the phrase between the lines.

© Kaushal S. Inamdar 2005: Photo Credit - Sanjay Pethe

Dilemma of the Better Son

2006-01-05T11:18:00.000+05:30

Now, as I see the past, I must have been a pathetic son to my father. Now, that I have a son, I feel I, myself, could have done a better job as a son. Every time I look at my son and my chest is filled with warmth, love, pride and fondness, I realise that this is how my father must have felt every time he looked at me. Now when I see my son grow, I realise that my father, too, must have been faced with the dilemma of the better son.

The Dilemma of the Better Son

I want my son to have the best things in life. I don’t mean material things. I mean I want him to have the best physical, mental and spiritual equipment to face life and deal with it. For achieving this, I am willing to stretch myself to any extent. I see to it that he goes to the best of schools, has an environment conducive to his growth and has the love of his parents behind him at all times.
But that is not enough; I want my son to be better than me. Better in all respects! It’s strange; I never wanted that about anybody else. I am not a bad soul. I have never wished ill of anybody. But never have I so explicitly felt that somebody should be better than me. I feel this, and very strongly, for my son. ? I never learnt swimming and I want him to learn it; I never took care of my physique and I want him to be physically fit at all times. I want him to start learning music at an earlier age and be more sincere than I ever was.
So, I dream about my son being better than me… and lo! The picture scares me! If he’s a better student than I was – would he lose respect for me? So if he has to be the better son, I have to be the better Father! And so, somewhat of a late start, but I am trying to be a better person than I have been.
Now, I look at my son and realise how much his mere presence has taught me. For one, he taught me the proverb that I had never understood as a child. The Child is Father of the Man.

© Kaushal S. Inamdar, 2005

Of Remix & Ethics

2006-01-03T02:10:00.000+05:30

As a music composer I have been asked innumerable times what I think about the recent spate of remixes. Now, the word ‘spate’ here poses some interesting possibilities. The dictionary meaning of the word ‘spate’ means a sudden flood, rush, or outpouring: “It issues a spate of words from the loudspeakers and the politicians”. If you look up the thesaurus you will also see some options for the word ‘spate’ such as ‘flurry’, ‘muddle’, ‘confusion’, etc. The phrase ‘spate of remixes’ embeds all these possibilities of meanings. Great! Ambiguity helps everybody and music composers who are made to talk on record hold Ambiguity more sacred than the ‘Shadja’ itself!
This spate of remixes has changed our lives – and this can, at the most be an understatement, but not otherwise. You can see that on every little corner of life. Have you realised, for example, that there are more musicians now than there were at any point of time in the past? Technology has made music available more freely in many more ways than one. In the Shivaji Park area of Dadar, a small neighbourhood of Mumbai, itself there are at least a hundred musicians. You will find a music composer in every alternate lane (believe it or not, they have all done a feature film each and are regular names on the television), perhaps two (or at least one-and-a-half) singers in every lane. For the first time in history the density of struggling actors is facing a competition from density of struggling musicians. Often we see that struggling actors end up being semi-struggling musicians before settling down as dust on television. I shall reserve another article for technology and music, but the point is that there are more musicians now than ever before and they are all doing okay – at least financially. So we have a spate of musicians. I am one of them and like all these folks I don’t think so!
Now we have a spate of musicians but do we have that much music? To add to the woes of the mushrooming audio companies, the FM channels dished out the most contemporary music with a dash of unpredictability (as to which would be the next track played). At such times what does one do but fall back on a trusted tune? The musicians have got to earn, for God’s sake, and so have the music companies!

What is this remix business?

Don’t get me wrong; I am talking colloquially. I have no facts and figures about the economics of Remix sales. Moreover, it’s a boring topic. But what does one mean by a remix?
Remix the verb means - To recombine (audio tracks or channels from a recording) to produce a new or modified audio recording: remixed a popular ballad and turned it into a dance hit.
Remix, the noun, means - A recording produced by remixing.

The way in which we interpret a remix is sometimes slightly different from what the dictionary meaning says. That is, sometimes, the old tracks are not used at all. They simply are recreated. Ideally, is remix such a villainous thing to do? What is (or should be) the philosophy behind remix? I think that every classic needs to be reinterpreted by the new generation. So if I think that a song has not lost its relevance over the years I remix it to reinterpret it differently trying to get it in perspective of how I see things today.
But does that happen? Rarely… comes pat the answer. All we get to hear is a moronic hamming of the synthesizers and electronic instruments and a disoriented, feeble, virtually soulless and equally moronic voice that trample our golden memories with inhuman pleasure. It is like receiving a gift of a framed and unsolved jigsaw puzzle.
The point is not why we are doing remixes; the point is why are we doing them so badly and inanely?

Why I won’t do remixes

Imagine your neighbour walking in and saying “Can I borrow your child for a few days? I wanna him to dress as I do and speak the kinda language that I speak.” Horrified? So are the music composers who have to listen to these inane remixes of their own songs. And they aren’t even informed, let alone compensated, most of the times when their song is remixed. The other side of the story is that once you put your work of art for public scrutiny you shouldn’t be upset if the critics tear it to pieces. But it is one thing to be criticised and analysed and even valued, but quite another to be punished in the name of tribute.
I decided not to be part of the remix bandwagon almost as soon as it started. Not because I oppose remixes per se, but because I think I have better alternatives. For example, there is a poem by Kavi Anil – Bai Yaa Paavasaana – which has been composed by P. L. Deshpande. I loved the tune but I thought that I could see it differently. So I composed it afresh. If I like a musical composition, I try to find the LCM of that composition – some basic things like what is the thing that appeals in that composition – and then use that LCM in my composition. For me, it is a better, healthier and more creative alternative to remix.
On a concluding note, I want to say that remix is not taboo, but the intent of the remix will define its quality. After all it is intent that separates a murder from a manslaughter!

© Kaushal S. Inamdar, 2005

An Introduction

2006-01-01T22:26:00.000+05:30

Hello Reader,
Music in the World of Noise appears to be a very Utopian title for a blog. As you read the posts subsequently, however, you will discover that it is more self talk than anything else. The noise, like the music is very much in my head.

At every point of my existence as a music composer and a human being I stumble across question marks. These question marks are very tricky and they do not dissect my life into questions posed to music composer and questions posed to a human being. Somewhat like the famous line in the film Deewar - "Lagta hai bhai ke bhes mein mujrim baat kar raha hai!".

I am aware of the fact that the internet is medium of information. But I don't intend to contribute to the information explosion in any manner (one reason being that there are great chances that I might impart the wrong information!) Jokes apart, The bottom line is - In this New Year, I seek your company on this ride to self-discovery.

Happy New Year!

© Kaushal S. Inamdar