Pages

Mile Sur Mera Tumhara and Jana Gana Mana

26th Jan 1930 was the day nehru declared "Complete Independance Day" on the rooftops of a Lahore building. The images are still vivid in my memory... Nehru apparently climbed out of the balcony and walked close to the parapet to talk to the hundreds of supporters standing below...

This aint a showoff of my History knowledge, only a brief reference to wikipedia and Freedom at Midnight.

Happy Republic day to all...

This republic day, if nothing else, has fostered the spirit of oneness and secularism...No, I am not talking about our dear President's live address on DD-1. That show received a TRP of only 0.001. Its the remake or rather remix of Mile Sur Mera Tumhara that has been the talk of the day.

There was a buzz all over Zoom/BombayTimes and a lot of other places of the release of Phir Mile...and clearly I was eager to see the new atttude song of 2010. But clearly...midway I lost interest and waited for the climax of the song. And while I was watching the new one, the old Mile Sur mera was lingering in the background.

From Bhimsen Joshi (background Himalayas) to Narendra Hirwani (Rajasthan) to the Tamas TV Series team, to Shabana Azmi (Agra) to the metro of Calcutta, the rustic South India, the sport icons of those days, to the graceful Waheedas, Hemas, Sharmilas of the past and finally zeroing on the heartthrobs Amitabh, Jeetu and Mithun...that song was a 5 min. toast for the entire DD watching population which was denied of 30 mins of decent entertainment on TV.
Mile Sur Video




I still remember how me and my bro, wud wait for the piano cresendo before the Bollywood trio would emerge and sing alongside them. Unfortunately, this new-age Mile Sur had no such moments of national pride, oneness. Its a crowded collage of almost everyone who probably know Kailash and Aarti Surendranath (better known in Pg3 circles for their parties).
Neways, more on that later...But it reminds me about one thing which I have not written although its always been there on my mind...

How many of you have seen the Jana Gana Mana of ARRehman which is played in Fame Adlabs before the movie starts. I am a big fan of that video. Rehman has not only changed the tempo of the song ( its much slower) but he has altered the range. Check out how Hariharan moves to a high pitch (punjab sindh gujaraat...) and the rajashtani guy sings (tav subh ashish maange). Frankly, I never knew it was maange before this.

And the best part of the song for me is when Lata and Asha both naturally look at each other while singing their part...Its sheer magic on the screen... 
Jana Gana Mana-All Vocals Video

Will try to attach the videos of these soon...


6 comments:

neha2go said...

The images are still vivid in my memory!?!?... :)...this made me laugh...But a good post overall..
I do remember this version of the national anthem....will wait till I get home to catch it on youtube again. Can't stand for it in my cube at work.

Happy Republic Day!

anupam dubey said...

I dint find the " Fir mile sur mera tumhara" tht effective given the modern variations in the Aamir/Shahrukh/Ranbir parts..their job is lipsing as they r nt singers and variations are left best to singers...but atleast it has been rejuvenated...on the 'Jana Gana Mana in theatres' front...i love the expression on the face of the mangeshkar sisters...tht uv mantioned as "Lata and Asha both naturally look at each other "...

ViruS said...

Well I didnt like the phir MILE sur too ! I thot its more about the CELEBRITIES of INDIA , than the PEOPLE of India !

Anyways.. for me the A.R.Rehman's version of Jana Gana Mana is also terribly self indulgent. WHen the National Anthem is on, nothing shud be more important than the Anthem itself, but the video and the version begs attention to the song itself, than that feeling of pride and respect for the country.

I like the BHARAT BALA version of Jana Gana Mana in which SOLDIERS on the mountain, withstanding the cold, the wind ... That signifies something, that instills pride!

Unknown said...

Bingo Atlee...its a complete PAge 3 circuit of Arti & Kailash Surendranath...M sure 50 % of the celeb's in the video would have called them and begged them to put them in this one...and they had to oblige...

I too like the Bharat bala version of Jana Gana Mana...everytime I see it, it gives me goose bumps...and makes me think about these guys who have been protecting us in these extreme weather conditions...Hats off to them...

A R Rehman is a genius..there's no contest on it...infact his start with the finger board in Phir Mile Sur is amazing...

atlee said...

@Niki: Im serious about the memory part ;)
@Dubey:Woh teeno to bhi theek hai....Shahid was like in Kismet Konnection set singing Baa khuda style
@Viru:true, the song is not about the nationalistic spirit, butmore of a musical gem
@Dids: ask ur company to make something terrific on this concept too

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
 
 
 

Top Tracks

Recent Tracks