Are covers slowly nudging Remixes out of bollywood films? newer versions of classic hits have found their way into the latest soundtracks
Are covers slowly nudging Remixes out of Bollywood films? newer versions of classic hits have found their way into the latest soundtracks
If you've missed the bright promo video for Abhay Deol-starrer Road, Movie you'd be surprised to hear a heavily anglicised voice belting the Mohammad Rafi hit Tel Maalish from Pyaasa. The jangly version sung by New York based-vocalist Sylvia Black fit the script to the T, and is used to refer to protagonist Abhay Deol's disdain for his family's oil business.
Filmmaker Dev Benegal says that Tel Maalish worked its way into his brain and stayed there. "It's a concept song, woven and linked to the story in a visceral manner. In many ways it reflects the journey of this man. We've completely recast it and that reflects the evolution of Abhay's charater as well, who wants to break away with his past and reconcile with the future."
The song just landed in Sylvia's lap. The singer came highly recommended by Abhay Deol who heard her first on Last Night, the title track from American composer/songwriter Moby's last album. Abhay was hooked to her vocals. Says Sylvia in a telephonic interview from NY, "They wanted something modern and different. Something that could be played in au00a0 club."
The singer adds that she fell in love with Johnny Walker's character who sings the track in Pyaasa. "I loved the silliness and fun he brought to the track. It was a challenge. Nothing that I do in my life is normal, it's always quite random." Of late, quite a few vintage Hindi film tracks have been flipped on their heads, in a new wave of sorts.
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How they cut it
Last year, Pritam pulled off a cunning move that would have made Timbaland proud. The composer took the hookline off Mann Dole from the 1954 Hemant Kumar classic sountrack Nagin and created a brand new number called Twist sung by Neeraj Sridhar for the Saif Ali Khan-starrer Love Aaj Kal.
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"We were conscious about blending the old and the new, the kal and aaj, because the film too was about an old and a new love story that ran parallel," says Pritam. The composer admits being intimidated by the trend of using classics as musical reference points. "There's a huge responsibility because you're dealing with a hit song.
This is the reason why I refused to do Aa Dekhen Zara." The version was finally done by composer Gaurav Dasgupta, who shared composing credits with Pritam, for the Neil Nitin Mukesh film that released last year.
Says composer Shekhar Ravjiani who along with Vishal Dadlani scored a new version of Bachna ae haseeno for the Ranbir Kapoor film by the same name in 2008, "We retained Kishore's voice but also got his son Amit Kumar to sing for us. And we had fun by bringing in a rap section." The composers crafted the opening instrumental line on brass into vocal section.
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (SEL) used a few lines from from Sar par topi from the 1957 Shammi Kapoor film Tumsa nahin dekha in Rock n roll soniye from Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna four years ago. "It was more interesting to get Shankar (Mahadevan) to sing the lines instead of using a sample and getting committed to the note in which the original was sung," explains Ehsaan Noorani.
Why classic works
To quote Sri Lankan Brit electro star M.I.A., Timbaland would have been nothing without his Indian samples. Sure, Eminem's guru Dr Dre got embroiled in a $500 lawsuit over illegally using a sample from Kaliyon ka chaman in his track Truth hurts, but it nudged Indian composers to look at classic Hindi film music archives. The immediate remix outbreak that followed, lasted for two years and was soon swept out by versions and sample usage.
"The Black Eyed Peas have used tunes from Yeh mera dil (Don) and credited Kalyanji-Anandji," says Pritam, referring to the track Don't phunk with my heart from BEP's fourth album Monkey Business. Pritam first used the two lines from Ude jab jab zulfein teri from Naya Daur to open the dance track It's Rockin'u00a0 in Kya Love Story Hai in 2007. "It was really cool to hear Chamma Chamma from China Gate in Moulin Rouge too," adds Ehsaan, who thinks that versions work best for dance tracks.
"I would never use an old Hindi film song in a ballad. In dance tracks though, the classic adds a quirky groove and lifts the track because people don't expect it," he says. Although Shekhar feels that filmmakers and composers are well aware of the power of the surprise element and don't use covers often, to keep the buzz alive.
Coming up
For one, contemporary Hindi film noir not only has remakes of entire films but a lot of films have titles, which are names of retro film songs. Take the case of Dum Maro Dum, the Rohan Sippy film that just went on floors. The soundtrack that is expected to release late this year will include either a version of the original song from the 1971 Dev Anand-Zeenat Aman starrer Hare Rama Hare Krishna.
"I may use just the opening guitar line," says Pritam. Pritam will also use two lines from the Apna Desh hit by Asha Bhosle Duniya mein logo ko in the soundtrack for Milan Luthria's Once upon a time in Mumbai. SEL too have used the Laawaris track Apni toh aisi taisi in the upcoming Akshay Kumar starrer Housefull. Says Ehsaan, "Even though I'm not such a fan of the trend, sometimes the filmmaker feels that the track fits well but like all other trends, this too will come to an end."u00a0
Covers go Ka-ching
For the publishing business, especially for Saregama India Ltd, which owns the biggest archive of Hindi film tracks, licensing tracks is a flourishing business. "We've had very few requests for covers from the last decade it's mostly songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s," says Atul Churamani, vice president, Saregama India Ltd. One stray request was from the 90s Mere khwabon mein jo aaye from Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.
"The songs from Don were trigger points when the remake was being made (in 2006)," adds Atul. The license given is based on usage and the fee charged varies based on whether a full song is used, whether the song is lip synced, used in the background, or as an excerpt; say heard playing off a radio or music system in the film. "The most popular usage is the one in the background," says Atul.
Sources suggest that three years ago a license would fetch a company approximately Rs 4 lakhs. Last year, the number doubled to Rs 8 lakhs.
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