While Amitabh privately regretted the fact that he couldn’t record in the presence of Ilaiyaaraja, the actor’s wish was fulfilled last evening. Director Balki and Amitabh realised that they’d have to re-record the entire song because the recording in Mumbai went kaput.

Last night Balki, who was in Chennai, laughed and said, “I guess someone up there was listening. Our recording in Mumbai of Amitji’s number suffered a leakage in the headphone. The song had to be redone all over again. So here we are in Chennai. We’ve just recorded the title number again, this time with Amitji and Ilaiyaraaja face to face.”

Amitabh Bachchan rendered the number perfectly prompting the Chennai-based music maverick to wonder how a 67-year-old man could sing the number in a 12-year old’s voice so perfectly.

Balki and Bachchan wanted to keep the very special recording a secret and reveal the coming together of the two stalwarts at a later time.

Times

The album in question is the Rahman-composed children’s album of nursery rhymes and inspirational songs that the composer will release early next year. Initially, Katrina was only supposed to be part of the music video but now after watching her progress at the box-office, Katrina has been asked to sing a few songs in the album. It was initially suggested that Katrina sing Rahman’s compositions in English but now she will be seen singing in Hindi. This despite the fact that she has a heavy British accent and is just beginning to learn Hindi.

Katrina says, “Why not? I’m always game for new challenges. Singing in itself was a challenge because I’ve never sung professionally. Singing in English would’ve been a convenient challenge. But I’d rather take the uncomfortable route. So why not me singing in Hindi?”

For someone who couldn’t speak a line of Hindi when she came entered Bollywood Katrina sure has come a long way.

She adds, “Somewhere down the line, I got tired of people commenting on my Hindi. I guess I’ve been working hard on it.”

As Katrina gears up to sing for AR Rahman she has already started practicing. Hard.

Times

Kangna Ranaut — though several films old — surprisingly hasn’t performed a single dance number on screen, no mean feat in an industry where several actresses only get to do that in our hero-dominated films. But the actress, who’s known for her intense roles, is now all set to join the dancing league of actresses, as she readies to put on her dancing shoes for Anand Rai’s Tanu Weds Manu. This romantic comedy will also see Kangna give a break to her dark roles as she plays a light-hearted character opposite R Madhavan. According to a source, the song is a proper dance number to be choreographed by Saroj Khan and will be shot in Punjab. “It’s on the lines of the proper latka jhatka dances a la Madhuri Dixit style. And Kangna’s very excited. In fact, she’s being working really hard to get her steps right. They will be leaving for Punjab very soon,” said the source.

Director Anand Rai confirms this. “Kangna’s been really looking forward to this dance sequence with Saroj Khan, as it’s for the first time that she’ll be dancing in a very traditional way for a film,” said Rai. Well, Kangna hopefully this one too will see you dance your way to more cinehearts.

Times

Interestingly, Ranbir was chosen to participate in the freshly conceived, designed and executed version of the music video as the new youth icon. Ranbir shot for the video at Film City and Yash Raj Studios on Sunday. And, Amitabh Bachchan is the only artiste from the earlier music video to feature in the new version.

When we asked Bachchan about the honour of being the only artiste to feature in both the versions of the song, he replied, “I have not only participated in the new Mile sur mera tumhara, but have also sung a part of the original composition (composed by Louis Banks and P Vaidyanathan). We shot my portion of the song at the Taj hotel.”

Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have also shot for the song.

Shilpa Shetty and Deepika Padukone are the other celebrities from the entertainment sector to be featured. Commenting about the song, Deepika said, “My dad was part of the first one. Now I am in the second.”

Talking about the project, Aarti said, “At the moment we want to keep it really quiet until we finish the project.”

Times

The much-awaited film, which stars Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi, has five original numbers and two remixes.

The soundtrack opens with “All Izz Well”, a fun campus song that is filled with whistles in the background. Crooned by Sonu Nigam, Swanand Kirkire and Shaan, the catchy song is already doing the rounds of music channels and is sure to be a chartbuster.

The song also has a remix version that has more beats.

Next is “Zoobi doobi”, the only song with a female voice. Sung by Shreya Ghoshal with ample support from Sonu Nigam, the track has a retro feel. It is a melodious number that grows on you.

“Zoobi doobi” too has a remix version with more contemporary sounds.

Then comes “Behti hawa sa tha woh” that has Shaan and Shantanu Moitra behind the mike. It has a long prelude and seems to be a situational track. The poignant, slow number has soft musical backing and is very appealing.

Up next is “Give me some sunshine” that includes dialogues by Sharman Joshi and vocals by Suraj Jagan. The song is an unplugged version and will appeal to the younger generation mainly because of the composition and the song’s rebel attitude.

The album offers a very nice song in “Jaane nahin denge” sung by Sonu Nigam. It gets an edge with a sudden increase in tempo during the course of the song. There is minimal orchestration and focus on vocals. The lyrics are raw and intense.

On the whole, the album is a good mix of slow and fast-paced songs. Shantanu Moitra has scored quality music that has melody and generates lots of interest.

Mid-Day

Rahman himself will reportedly give the inaugural lecture on Jackson. Rahman loved Jackson’s music and has said about Jackson in the past: “One of the greatest musicians of our time… pushed the milestone of Pop music to unbelievable levels… I am yet to find an artist with that energy, perfection and vision…”

During their meeting in Los Angeles (USA) earlier this year, when Jackson showed Rahman a five second example of his dance move, Rahman stated: “It was like a lightning strike”.

Jackson even reportedly asked Rahman during this meeting to compose a unity anthem. Jackson collaborated with Rahman on Ekam Satyam track in 1999. Rahman is reportedly developing an album in memory of Jackson, which will include musicians from all over the world.

Founded by Rahman (who is also its Principal), KM Music Conservatory in Kodambakkam area of Chennai in Tamil Nadu state of India envisions expanding the horizon of musicians in India by offering education in both Indian and Western music besides music technology and its mission is to provide students with a strong artistic, intellectual, and technical foundation.

T Selvakumar is the Managing Director of this international school of music and music technology whose tagline is “Become the Future of Music”.

Conservatory offers Preparatory Program (2-5 years), Foundation Program (1-2 years), and Degree Program (three years) under affiliation of Middlesex University in United Kingdom (UK), and has proposed to offer Diploma Program (one year) for international students) and Masters Program (two years) with concentrations in music performance-composition-technology-education. Many faculty members have degrees from USA and UK. Sound editor Joe E Rand (Titanic) has lectured here besides demonstration by Vienna Chamber Orchestra.

Zee

Times

Rahman’s two-and-a-half hour free and exclusive music-dance performance will also see over 40 Bollywood dancers, singers, and musicians at outdoor Parramatta Park near Sydney, starting 7-30 pm.

Festival website says about Rahman: “Sydney Festival is proud to celebrate this inspiring and multidimensional artist”. New South Wales Premier and Festival President Nathan Rees reportedly described Rahman as “without doubt one of the world’s great talents”.

Acclaimed Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed has applauded Rahman for creating a bridge between the music of east and west and for strengthening the worldwide market and stature of Indian music.

Forty-three Rajasthani musicians from India will also stage during this Festival “The Manganiyar Seduction” concert in a whimsical custom-built ‘magic box’.

Directed by Roysten Abel, the repertoire ranges from ballads about kings to mystics written Sufi songs and songs marking marriage-birth-feasts-rains; and the ensemble spans three generations.

Showing multi-cultural Australia, Festival First Night will include music-dance performances by “Bobby Singh & Friends”, including Australia’s leading table player Bobby Singh, Sarangan Sriranganathan, The Bollywood Sensations, Rasa Duende, etc.

Zee

Also the length of Radio is exactly three hours. And last but not the least the producer of Radio has already earned Rs 30 lakhs profit over and above the cost of six crores by selling the music, satellite and video rights. They believe that their profit will be around Rs 3 crores on the day of release of the film.

Producer Ravi Agarwal says “It’s true that number three has some strange divine connection with Radio, and yes I have covered the entire cost already and have already made a profit of Rs 30 lakhs and now whatever come from the theatrical release would be an additional profit. I think even the numbers of that profit will have something to do with number three.”

Times

The film produced by the inimitable Karan Johar has Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor in the lead. The music video was shot by Bosco-Caesar; and leading man Saif says, “The music video is really cool. I was wondering how it would work. Till the last minute, we are doing things. And still we managed to find magic.” The actor adds, “Rensil and Bosco-Ceasar had been prepping for a while and they came up with this great Gothic concept. The film is stark and real, so the music video had to be contrasting. It had to have it’s own story to tell. So, we have this Black Gothic bride with tears flowing down her cheeks, her veil on fire, the guy wearing a hood at the altar, roses bursting into flames, etc. It is really amazing. The theme had to convey what Kurbaan symbolises. The music video is rocking. The film is realistic and devoid of glamour. The characters of Kareena and I are like real people. But the music video is stylised. And I had an amazing time shooting it.”

Celebrity designer Aki Narula has done Saif ’s look for the video and the actor is very happy with the final look.

Times

For his Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Taurani chose to work with the current music sensation Pritam who is associating with Tips for the fifth time in his musical journey and Pritam is the man responsible for the popular scores of Tips’ Race and Kismat Konnection as well. The songs of APKGK are already a chartbuster.

Music is the hallmark of all films produced by Taurani. So far the company has successfully released about 24 films and according to the producer the music of all these films have been a great hit. “I personally have an ear for music,’’ admits the producer who says that in Bollywood history —music gives a film its repeat audience. Taurani has worked with musical whiz AR Rahman and other super hit musical combinations like Nadeem Shravan, Anand-Milind and also biggies like Anu Mallik, Adesh Srivastava, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and of course Pritam.

APKGK is one of the most eagerly awaited films this season. Directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi with young sensations Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, the film is expected to rock the marquee on November 6.

Times

It’s not just Ankur raving about the first time producer. Singer Kunal Ganjawala who’s sung four tracks in the film says, “Aao Wish Karein has been a very satisfying experience, thanks to my friend Aftab and the very-talented Ankur. The songs have come out so beautifully that this album goes down in my list of favourites.”

As for director Glen Baretto, the film is a break from all the action dhamaka and the mature love stories the year has seen so far. “Aao Wish Karein is a cute fairytale in which dreams turn into wishes, and wishes come true. We are sure that kids, teenagers and families will enjoy this cute, fun fairytale,” says Glen. The audience has liked the promos of the film. Glen adds, “The film will make an emotional connection with audiences everywhere, especially due to their visual splendour and the soulful and melodious tracks that accompanies every mood.”

Music director Aadesh Shrivastava says, “I thought I would initially record the song in Amitji’s normal voice and later use technological enhancement and modify it to make it sound like a child’s. However, Amitji was firm that I wouldn’t have to do anything of that sort and that he will sing in a child’s voice without any help. He went on to do just that.”

Aadesh, who handled the daunting task of recording music maestro Ilaiyaraaja’s tune in Amitabh’s voice, adds, “It is originally a tune created by Raja sir (Ilaiyaraaja). Normally, I’d never even dream of touching his tunes but I have worked as a drummer for him on Sadma (1983) and he sent this song from Chennai for Amitji to sing it in Mumbai.”

Aadesh predicts that the song will be an instant hit with children. “Amitabh does not sound like a grown-up man imitating a child. Don’t ask me how he has managed to do it. I just sat there stunned.”

The musical has won four Tony awards in 2008 including the best musical, and is sizzling with Latin music and streetside dancing. Shahid says he loved the musical so much that he wants to be part of a musical himself. Whether it will be on stage or on screen is something he is seriously discussing with Ahmed.

Considering he is a fabulous dancer, Shahid would be the ideal choice for a musical actually.

A R Rahman is to compose tunes incorporating famous nursery rhymes, such as Jack and Jill and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Katrina Kaif will appear in the videos for each of them. Rahman has decided to break his promise (of not doing any Indian music after Slumdog Millionaire apart from Blue which he had agreed well before the Oscar accolade) and will return to his roots to devise an album just for children. The songs are expected to be fresh and original and vocals will be provided by unknown singers.

Katrina Kaif, who has a unique liking towards children, will feature in three seperate music videos where she will be seen with kids. “I love working with kids. So it’d be a special treat hopefully for the kids as well,” said the actress.

Your thoughts on this…

Himesh says, “It’s great that Man Ka Radio is my 500th song, but my journey has just begun. In spite of scoring music for around 100 films as a music director for 11years, I still feel there is a lot to be done. I will keep experimenting with new stuff. My new set of shows will be called ‘Himesh Reloaded’ or ‘Man Ka Radio Live in Concert’.” Though Himesh is keen to being his shows there seems to be a little problem with his dates, as he about to start three new films. The composer-turned-singer has previously preformed at many successful shows abroad, but time management seems to be an issue this time around.

With his new look and new voice, Himesh’s fans are keen to hear him live. Himesh says, “I wanted to start three new films, but I will start only two now, as live shows do take a lot of time. However, since three of my films after Radio are complete, I still have five releases next year. So instead of three films, I will do only two movies in next six months.”

Hassan Jehangir says, “Negotiations are on. They wanted to buy all the rights of the song. However, I have told them that I don’t want to part with it entirely. I am willing to allow them to use the song provided they let me compose the modern version or they redo it themselves and let me sing it. We are constantly in touch over email and everything will be finalised soon.”

But hasn’t Hassan already sold the rights of the song to producer Revathy Sharma for Aap Ke Liye Hum? “Revathyji met with an accident and they are yet to get back to me after that,” says Hassan.

The spokesperson of YashRaj Films refused to comment. Rocket Singh stars Ranbir Kapoor and Shazahn Padamsee.

Legendary music director Nadeem Saifi is on a high. Do Knot Disturb has had mixed reviews and Nadeem’s score is being appreciated. The film has done decently well and more importantly, the Nadeem Shravan banner is now flying high and many film producers are approaching him again for some melodious music.

“I am glad that the Indian audiences have swinging to the foottapping music of Nadeem Shravan again,” smiles the music director who has given some of the biggest hits in Hindi film music in the past two decades.

For those who tuned in late, Nadeem Shravan are known for their scores in films like Saajan, Aashiqui, Dhadkan, Deewana, Pardes, Raja Hindustani, Raaz and Kasoor among others and have been virtual legends.

The Khanabadosh track in London Dreams composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and written by Prasoon Joshi has sparked off major curiosity about the word – Khanabadosh! Ever since the number (picturised on Ajay Devgn, Asin, Rannvijay Singh and Aditya Roy Kapoor) first airplayed, people have been trying to figure the meaning, language and etymology of the word!

Vipul Shah reveals, “It’s a Persian word, which means gypsy or nomad. It goes perfectly with the mood and context of the situation. Ajay and Salman’s characters have come to the UK from Punjab to carve their destinies on the music scene. Rannvijay and Aditya’s characters have come from Pakistan to pursue their dreams. So it is an ideal representation of their state of mind and living.”

He adds, “When Prasoon (Joshi) suggested the word Khanabadosh I found it extremely interesting and unusual. I asked him to give me time to sleep over it and to get used to it. After a while I loved it.”

London Dreams is in cinemas in the UK & UAE on Thursday 29th October and in the US on Friday 30th October. It is an Indian Films – Studio 18 release.

Lata Mangeshkar

On the occasion of Lata Mangeshkar’s 80^th Birthday, the one of the largest music company Saregama launched an album which compiled a new collection of 8 CDs of her most resonant songs in order to pay tribute to this living legend. Each CD has select chartbuster songs through her career (40’s – 2000’s). We had a special chat with the living legend and discussed about her journey through all these years. It also contains Lataji’s rare photographs through the decades. The collection Apart from the photographs also contains a write-up personally written by Yash Chopra for Didi along with their photograph together. On this prestigious occasion she interacted with media and shared her views, her experience and what she feels about her contribution to music arena, the country. Foremost to anything, lets wish her many many happy returns of the day and this coming year, brings more wishes and happiness for beloved Latadi.

• How does it feel turning 80?

-Anybody will feel good but now that I’m turning 80, I feel extremely great. It’s always a charm to age gracefully.

• How did you celebrate your birthday?

-I don’t celebrate my birthday. I don’t like cutting cakes. During my childhood, my mother use to prepare sweets at home and use to apply tilak. I still love this simple way of celebration.

• Has Saregama compilled this album to bring together best of your melodies together. So on what basis have you selected the songs?

-We selected those songs, which always topped the list of Ameen Sayani’s famous radio programme ‘Geetmala ki chhaon mein’.

• This album also consists of few words of praise and regards from veteran Yash Chopra. What you have to say about it?

-We share integral relationship of brother and sister. I have worked with him several times and he has been my one of the favorite directors. Coincidently, his birthday is on 27^th and mine is on the very next day on 28^th.

• Do you think any milestone is left to be achieved or have you missed out on anything that you regret?

Whatever I achieved is by God’s grace. I’m completely satisfied and content with my life and career. I want to continue singing for the rest of my life.

• When you started your singing career, people use to say that you have very sleek and thin voice.

-Yes, I do have thin voice. But my first song was for an actress whose voice was very upright and strong.

• Nur Jahan had lots of influence on your singing style in your starting days. Elaborate.

-Yes, because I use to love her and admire her immensely. I use to try and sing few words like she did. But, latter I discovered my own style of singing and the credit goes to music composers of that time.

• You’ve become very selective about the type of songs you choose in the industry now? What kind of songs do you prefer?

I’m open to all kinds of songs but the only thing I look for is the lyrics. The lyrics have to be meaningful. I would like the producers and the directors to approach with soulful and meaningful tracks.

• There has been only one “Lata” from past so many decades. Do you think reality shows can accomplish another singing talent like you?

Reality shows these days are all about singing, dancing, performing and latest fashion. New singing stars have potential but they concentrate more on overall performance rather than singing itself which is a total contradiction. Singing is a divine form of art and blending it with other art forms takes away the very soul of music. So it’s better if reality shows concentrate purely on the talent of singing and music.

• To believe you have even acted?

-Yes, I did. But, trust me I don’t like to be in front of camera and do make-up.

• You had a stint in Rajya Sabha – how was the experience in juggling between politics and music?

You all are aware about my experience in Rajya Sabha. But I feel that anyone can get into politics whether he is an artist or an ordinary man. He should have the feeling of patriotism and a devotion to work for the common man.

• Finally, tell us what kind of songs do you like to sing as well as listen to?

Well whenever a film used to come up with haunted, spooky songs, the composer always used to approach me. But I like soft romantic songs.

• Tell us something about A.R.Rehman.

-He is very talented music composer. He always grants opportunity to young talents to excel which is very appreciable. Even I have worked with him and he is indeed one of the god-gifted talent.

So, while most artists would do anything for a chance to work with Rahman, Farhan chose to decline the offer as the actor wants to sing only for films that feature him.

According to the latest Bollywood news, Rahman was much too eager for Farhan to sing for a track named ‘Fiqrana’ in ‘Blue’. So much so was the musician looking forward to Farhan singing that he had even composed the track keeping in mind Farhan’s range and style..

But the actor gave Rahman a rude shock when he decided to state a firm ‘no’. Disappointed by the actor’s attitude Rahman then asked Vijay Prakash of ‘Yuvvraj’ and ‘Swades’ fame to sing the track.

Confirming the news, ‘Blue’ director Tony D`Souza said, “We were very keen to have Farhan sing for us. But he couldn`t. So we got Vijay Prakash for ‘Fiqrana’”.

Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!

While Salim-Suleiman’s soundtrack of the Soham Shah-directed Luck has scored fabulous reviews for hit tracks like Jee Le and Khuda Ya Veh, people were surprised that the background score of Luck has been credited to the well-known Amar Mohile. After all, Salim-Suleiman have always scored the background music of all the films for which they have composed the main soundtrack.

Luck happens to be the first film for which they have not scored the background and there were unconfirmed reports that the composer duo were not pleased with the situation.

However, Salim Merchant clarified, “We were tied up with a number of assignments and couldn’t find the time to do the background. It was unfortunate that we had to let go especially given that we had done Soham’s Kaal earlier.”

Says Soham, “Amar Mohile’s background music is the highlight of the film. Amar is one of the behind-the-scenes heroes of Luck. I’m happy with my decision to use Amar.”

Luck releases worldwide on Friday 24th July by Studio 18.

The show will be held at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. Shruti’s actor father Kamal Haasan along with music maestros AR Rahman and Shankar Mahadevan amongst others, will attend the extravaganza.

As a tribute to the late pop star, a group of young singers will be performing live in Chennai. A source said, “Shruti will be performing on three Michael Jackson numbers. However, they are still to zero in on the songs. Young talents like Benny Dayal and Krish will also be performing.”

Shruti Haasan said, “It’s a really big event in Chennai. It’s a meeting of all musicians, who are coming together to pay tribute to the career of a great man. We are all very excited and enthusiastic about the show. We are the first city to do something like this in India.”