A. R. Rahman - Doubting the Legend Amol Mategaonkar9:53 AM 4 comments

Nothing seems to be going well with Common Wealth Games. As if the controversies relating to the corruption surrounding CWG were not enough, even the theme song composed by A. R. Rahman as well has become a point of controversy. The media has gone crazy in criticizing Rahman on the song to the extend of concluding that he no longer has his focus on India and is too occupied with assignments from Hollywood. Did we forget so quickly that he is the one who put India on a global map and brought home the Oscars and Grammys of the world? Why is our memory so short and reactions so extreme?
Last week the theme song for CWG was released. You can listen to it online here.


General reaction to the composition has not been very encouraging all over. The critics didn't like it. Common people didn't like it. There are open reactions to the song on Facebook with fans expressing their dislike for it. The media stretched it too far. Mumbai Mirror ran a huge article on him "Lost to the World" claiming that he has more ambitions in Hollywood, is inaccessible to producers in Bollywood and hence is "lost to the world". It was only a few months earlier that the same media made him the God after he brought home the black lady of Oscar. Suddenly after not so great innings with Ravan and CWG, his very commitment to his own country is being doubted.
Our media, and we as a society, are so extreme in our reactions to our heroes. Whether it is Rahman, or Sachin or Dhoni we tend to go aver the board when they succeed, bring us glory, and quickly forget it within no time if they lose form.
Let us not forget the umpteen number of super compositions that the "Mozart of Madras" has given us. Starting with Roja, Dil Se, Taal, to Bombay, Lagaan, Swades, RDB, Guru, Jodha Akbar and so on. His melodies are incomparable to his contemporaries. Have a revision of his body of work here, if you need to.


Try to build such a piece for all the composers of the contemporary hindi cinema and you will run out of stock even before you start.
I honestly did not like the CWG song. But then, I also think that "Jai Ho" is not Rahman's best composition. It still took the world by storm. My opinion does not matter. As a fan, I don't expect that I will love all of his compositions and I am perfectly fine with it.

Rahman is a hot topic of discussion everywhere right now. Unfortunately for wrong reasons. Through a discussion thread on Facebook with my friends Uday and Anish, an important observation came up. The comment Rahman made before the release of the CWG song, as Uday points out, was very "non Rahamanish". He said - "Song would go beyond Shakira's chart-buster for this year's soccer World Cup 'Waka Waka'. This is a humble request to the legend. We would love to see the same low-profile, humble Rahaman who would let his music speak for him rather than he making such tall claims and eventually not fulfilling them. We understand he is also a human and these things are normal. But as Anish says rightly, "Its tough for anyone, more so such greats, to not make such a faux paux once in their lifetime. Rahman's greatness will lie in how he takes this experience and comes out of it". I can't agree more.

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Rajneeti - Mahabharat Revisited Amol Mategaonkar2:55 AM 0 comments

Watched Prakash Jha's much awaited "Rajneeti" on the day of its release. With so much hype around it, and acclaim of Jha's earlier ventures - Gangajal and Apaharna, the expectations were very high. Here is my own opinion about the film.


Bottomline An excellent movie, worth every penny, elaborate plot, powerful performances, grand cinematography and a gripping story telling under Jha's superior direction.

What Works:

• Elaborate Plot: One of the few movies in the recent past (after Kaminay, I guess), that has a strong plot. You really need to watch the movie carefully to get it completely. Its today's incarnation of Mahabharat. You can easily place all the major characters of Mahabharat. Duryodhan, Arjun, Krishna, Kunti, Karna and so on. Still, Jha has been immensely successful in making it look absolutely contemporary. The earlier attempt by Suraj Badjatya to modernize Ramayan (HSSH) was a disaster. This one is the opposite.

• Powerful Performances by a Powerful Cast: The second most famous Bhajpai on the planet delivers his second performance of lifetime - after Satya. Watch out for his expressions when his rival brother tells him that he is quitting politics for ever. He deserves a standing ovation. Arjun Rampal is further on his journey towards a matured actor after OSO, Rock On. Nana and Ajay both are very impressive, as usual in a very intense role. It is Randhir Kapoor who walks away with your attention. Simply superb. His transition from a foreign university student to a hard core politician is amazing. Katrina is suited to the roll, but cant make an impact amidst such a star cast

• Superior Direction: Kudos to Prakash Jha for pulling off such a huge star cast, a complex storyline and a potentially sensitive topic with such an ease. The movie hardly drags anytime. He makes perfect justice to all characters... almost

• Grand Cinematography: Some of the scenes of Political rallies and gatherings are so huge and real that I wonder if Jha used any special effects. Simply awesome.

What Doesn't Work:

• The film becomes little non-realistic towards end. I mean, Politicians might kill each other... but not themselves. That was Mahabharat... this is Indian Politics
• There is one loop hole in the plot. Which political party will get the rival party's leader killed just before the elections? Its anybody's guess that the rival will get the sympathy vote.
• Some performances are weak... Ranbir's mother, especially.
• If you miss first 5 mins, you will never see Nasir. Such a fine actor, only as a cameo?? It might be purely my love for Nasiruddin that I felt he was wasted :-(

Finally

• Rajneeti works for its story, performances and direction. Worth every penny.
• Going by the media, it seems there has been enough Rajneeti behind Rajneeti. Well, some hands-on experience might have helped Mr. Jha.
• Last but not the least.... The story of Mahabharat written by Vyaas thousands of years ago is still very much valid. I wonder should we still call it a Mythology?

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