Sunday, March 29th, 2009
Much before A R Rahman won his Oscars for his music in the multiple Oscar winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, Ron Fair, chairman of Universal Music Group’s Interscope Geffen Records, decided to release an English-language pop version of Jai Ho!
“I watched the movie a year ago for the first time and watched it two more times since then and immediately I realized the potential of Rahman’s music and its universal appeal,” Fair told Financial Chronicle. The remix version, titled Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny), with a rough English translation of the Hindi lyrics, is sung by Nicole Scherzinger.
According to Fair, the producer of the remix, he was ready to have the release immediately after the Oscars whether or not the original won at the ceremony. True to his promise, the day after the Oscars, the remix version was released by the Santa Monica-based record label and Fair is hoping Rahman can conquer the US pop-music charts.
Pussycat Dolls in Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)
“In fact, the remix number is already among the Top 20 pop songs in iTunes,” said Fair. The remix was created with artists working in three different continents. “When recording began, Rahman was in Los Angeles twice with my team of song writers and he gave significant direction to the project.
After that he helped us directly from his studio in Chennai,” said Fair. Meanwhile, Scherzinger, who was then touring England, recorded her vocal parts in various studios in England.
With the song’s original electronic dance beats and uplifting percussion in place, the remix English version’s chorus goes like this :
You are the reason that I breathe/ You are the reason that I still believe/ You are my destiny/ Jai ho!
According to Fair, the challenge in creating a remix version was to make something that would appeal to contemporary music fans but at the same time be true to the story of the film.
“He is incredibly talented. He has great imagination, new vocabulary and an absolutely wonderful sense of sound. In fact, he has everything as a musician,” said Fair about Rahman and his music. “I hope my version of Jai Ho touches and connects people all around the world,” said Scherzinger in a statement.
With multiple wins by Slumdog Millionaire at the Oscars and with an English remix version already doing well on US pop charts, there is a buzz about how the little movie that did wonders at all international awards might build a bridge between Hollywood and Bollywood. “Indian music has the potential to be a major force in the world. And there is a whole new world opening up there. “What Slumdog has done is exposing the Indian music talent to the world. And the world has seen what India has in terms of dance and music,” said Fair, who considers Rahman as one of the world’s greatest living composers in any medium.
Fair will travel to India soon to meet Rahman and discuss with him the possibility of working together in some international music albums. “I will be visiting India for the first time and I am sure, I will have to visit the country several times to understand and learn. But I am eager to go through that learning process,” said Fair. During his India visit, he is also scheduled to meet several other producers and representatives of music labels. He has already initiated discussions with Rajeeta Hemwani, vice president, A&R (artists and repertoire), Universal Music India for possible future projects.
Hope you enjoy it, enjoy the day with us,” Nicole Scherzinger says as behind-the-scenes footage from the set of The Pussycat Dolls’ “Jai Ho” music video starts off. The singer then says that the video, shot at a Vienna trainyard, will capture scenes “from every point of people around the world and represent from every place.”
Giving a sneak peek into the music video, the footage reveals Thomas Kloss as the man behind the lens and A.R. Rahman making a cameo. Highlighting a crowded market scene, it shows all the members of The Pussycat Dolls sporting Bollywood-themed costumes and performing a dance sequence, which is similar to the one seen in movie “Slumdog Millionaire”.
“It’s an honor to be able to collaborate with A.R. Rahman and be a part of the ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ project in any way,” Nicole says in a statement. “The movie, the story and the music [were] a gift and very spiritually uplifting for me. I can only hope and pray ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ and my version of ‘Jai Ho’ (’You Are My Destiny’) touches and connects people all around the world.”
CLICK HERE TO VIEW EXCLUSIVE VIDEO OF YOU ARE MY DESTINY (JAI HO)
Thanks to Farzad Khaleel, die hard Rahmaniacz.
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Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
I invited an American friend to see Slumdog Millionaire with me during its limited release in New York in November with some trepidation. Not knowing anything about the movie other than that it was set in India and received positive early reviews, I was expecting the usual Bollywood fare - beautiful but long dance numbers, over-dubbed action sequences, and unrealistically happy endings.
Previous attempts to acclimatise my Western friends to Bollywood cinema had been less than successful - we couldn’t stop cracking jokes during Aishwarya Rai’s Bride and Prejudice . Even my more dedicated friends couldn’t make it through the hour-and-a-half cricket match in Lagaan .
To my surprise, however, the audience of that sold-out show consisted not only of Indians, but people of every background and every age. By the film’s end, I understood why - Slumdog Millionaire is one of those rare movies that - in its handling of profound issues and questions - naturally brings people together. It may have been set in India, but Jamal’s story of determination, devotion, and trust in the good in life, despite evidence to the contrary, are themes that resonate with all of us, regardless of where we were brought up and where we are today.
Child stars of Slumdog Millionaire: (from left) Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Rubiana Ali and Azharuddin Ismail
Since November, Slumdog Millionaire has been released across the country, with more success than I - and perhaps even any of those involved - could have anticipated. My excitement is tempered, however, by the recent backlash from Indian icons like director Priyadarshan and actress Preity Zinta . Priyadarshan called the film a ‘cheap, trashy, mediocre version’ of earlier, more worthwhile films by Salim-Javed, and expressed anger that Indians would celebrate a film created by ‘a white man’ that depicts Mumbai as ‘a wasteland’.
Preity Zinta, on the other hand, believes Slumdog Millionaire viewers will assume India is a dirty, poverty-stricken place Incidentally this comes from the lead actress of Kya Kehna, a successful movie about a pregnant single teenager, and Kal Ho Naa Ho - but, er, no intelligent viewer would assume all women in India are pregnant by 18 and love to disco.
Of course it’s not easy to accept that one of the first widely critically-acclaimed films focused on India is precisely about some of its faults. Poverty, child abuse, gangs, and corruption exist in India; just as they exist in any country. It simply appears that most successful films in India shy away from these themes. If an Indian is willing to pay hard-earned money to see a movie, he wants escape and entry to a world that exists only in the movie theater - hence the beautiful actors and actresses in beautiful clothes, in well-choreographed dance numbers and difficulties that only extend to unpleasant mothers-in-law.
Perhaps it takes a movie as powerful as Slumdog Millionaire for Indians both residing in India and abroad to recognize the evils that plague it still, and take action to stop it. Like 2004’s Supersize Me opened America’s eyes to the harmful health effects of fast food and Crash helped redress issues of race and intolerance, Slumdog Millionaire may bring about positive social changes in India. While it is difficult to watch what the children in Slumdog Millionaire had to endure, we may take solace in the fact that there are real children across the world that we have the power to help.
Still, to dwell on the horrors Jamal, Salim, and Latika underwent is to miss the movie’s message. Every moment in Jamal’s life, even the most heartbreaking ones, had a purpose and reason - in a literal sense, because they served as answers to the game show’s answers, but metaphorically, because they shaped who he became, and tested his love so that it endured, all the stronger.
When faced with a difficulty in our own lives - whether it be loss or injustice or betrayal - it’s inspiring to believe that even our pain can lead to our happiness. More than a story of squalor or sorrow, it’s a story of perseverance and faith - and indeed, what better city to serve as a backdrop than Mumbai, a city that has seen so much in recent months only to emerge resiliently.
It is for that reason that when people ask me, after watching the movie, whether Mumbai is “really like that”, I give a qualified “yes.” The particulars of a movie are never as important as the message that stays with you long after you leave the theater.
Can I remember the name of the character who ran the children’s orphanage, or the leader of the gang that cut Latika across the face? No. But what I do remember, and will remember, is what the Indian spirit is all about.
Thanks to Aarti, 18, studies at Columbia University and Rediff.com
Posted in India, Movies, Report | 1 Comment »
