Congratulations India!

[ Photo from Hindustan Times]

I could not let the day pass without celebrating India’s momentous victory in Cricket. The World Cup back in India’s grasp after so many years! I remember seeing Kapil Dev’s team win in 1983. It is a pleasure to see the cup back in India’s hand!

This song from Chak De India (2007) composed by Salim & Sulaiman Merchant and sung by Sukhwinder Singh seems the most appropriate to mark this event :

Chak de India–Sukhwinder Singh

Listening to: Taal (1999)

This album used to be a family favourite once upon a time. But like much of filmi music, it lost favour after a while and then got relegated to history. But it had been played often enough  for the songs to have been etched in memory. So out of curiosity to see what had attracted us to this album, I decided to listen to the music and re-watch the film as well.

The film, though not fascinating, didn’t force me into too many fast-forwards. Some miscellaneous things which caught my attention :

• Akshay Khanna has hair on his head!
• Aishwarya has aged after all! She looks very young and flawless in this film.
• She’s good at Yoga, really flexible.
• The latest digital camera of those times looks like a brick.
• Cliff edges are dangerous places to do yoga..and if you’ve once fallen off a cliff, I would expect you to avoid it at all costs..
• Amrish Puri has a fantastic voice and his diction is SO good.

Except for these very salient observations, I’ll go on to the music as this blog is not about movie reviews. But you must read this very amusing review by Roger Ebert, it left me giggling !

This is thing – the music didn’t grab me. I was surprised, as both music director A.R.Rehman and lyricist Anand Bakshi won Filmfare awards for their efforts. Oh, it was good of course, but didn’t feel great.  Judge for yourself :

• Kariye na – Alka Yagnik, Sukhwinder Singh. Very nice folk song.
• Taal se Taal – Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan. The second version is with Sukhwinder Singh, I like this one better. A good title song, it tends to stick in memory. Excellent choreography and dancing.
• Ishq bina  – Anuradha Sriram, Sujatha, Sonu Nigam, A.R.Rehman. There is a second version by Kavita Krishnamurthy and Sukhwinder Singh. which I liked better. Nice choreography again. 
• Ni main samajh gayee – Sukhwinder Singh, Richa Sharma. Lovely ethnic sounds.
• Kahin Aag Lage – Asha Bhonsle, Aditya Narayan, Richa Sharma. Great choreography but the song I can pass.
• Ramta jogi – Sukhwinder Singh, Alka Yagnik. Now this is a fun song, very memorable. Nice choreography again. I remember my daughter wrapping herself in a white sheet and trying to imitate Aishu. It always brings a smile to my lips.
• Nahin Samne – Sukhwinder Singh, Hariharan. A slow and soft song. The picturisation in a windswept street is very nice, poetic almost.

Here’s a link to the album.

And my choice for the day? In memory of my daughter-in-a-sheet, its Aishwarya bending in all ways in Ramta Jogi:

Ramta Jogi–Sukhwinder Singh, Alka Yagnik