Jas Personal Blog
Posts tagged Music
Mamma Mia Live performance at Hyderabad
Jul 20th
Aimless meandering around the booking sites like BookMyShow.com surely helps once in a while. Last Wednesday I came across this advert for a live musical being organised in an auditorium near my home in Hyderabad (India) – Mamma Mia, based on the hit – world’s most successful musical by same name.
The show was performed by newly floated Hot Shoe Entertainment Company, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the legendary Greek fable-based musical Mamma Mia. The show is a veritable treat for Abba fans who slip into nostalgia, courtesy pop favorites like Waterloo, Dancing Queen, Money money money and a whole range of ABBA hits. The energy and enthusiasm with which the crew performed, showed they haven’t taken audience gratis a bit. You could see the enjoyment on the faces of crew members as they danced away the play and showered the euphoria, being part of it. The very face of the lead lady here (on the right) who played Sophie, the bride, says it all! Am impressed beyond limits young lady, hats off to your enjoyment of the career, for many lesser and higher mortals miss it. The way she could dance, act and sing at same time, reminded me of a friend from Nagpur who has similar skills.
And to make sure the energy gets siphoned in the audience too, crew invited audience too to be the part of the all time famous Mamma Mia song, which saw about 50 people taking stage and stairs to join the troupe in singing and dancing on the song. As Jeffrey Vardon, co-producer and choreographer, put it this evening – “Mamma Mia has history of running house full and still having 50% of seats vacant as public could not keep their feet from dancing along!“
For those who do not know about ABBA, they were the legendary group of Pop culture of 70s. Mamma Mia just collected their songs and threaded a musical play around it, tweaking the songs a bit. Over here the troupe has made sure the dresses and play’s flow matches the actual movie. The songs, which are sung live by the way, captured that charisma of ABBA. The lady who plays Donna (mother) also happens to be single mother in real life. I must admit I was lucky that I had not seen the original so could take a fresh look at the performance, rather than compare it all the while.
After the play ended on lines of original musical, the two producers came on stage to give a damn neat performance dripping with elegance and panache. The control that beautiful Varalaxmi Sarathkumar showed here, stamped her élan over the final sequence. (see below)
Another thing that happened was that I could not convince any friend of mine to shell Rs.770 for a musical play, so I was left all alone over there (with other families, essentially two fat ladies in post 50s to accompany me on either side!) to savor the performance. And do I regret it? No way! Maybe one of the best Sundays I have spent in Hyderabad!
Psst.. next performance of the crew is in Banglore, then Mumbai before they leave for Dubai and Colombo.
Memoirs of a fool’s youth
Dec 7th
You know what is the difference between some bad incidents and bad memories? The incidents you may had forgotten but the latter one will be still haunting you. Shown more or less aptly in the psychological drama – Flashbacks of a Fool, Daniel Criag plays a fading star Joe Scott who burns his hollow life with coke, sex and drinks only to come back and face himself one day when he gets the news of death of his childhood best friend, Boots’ death. This takes the protagonist, and the movie, into an extended flashback to a sea-side town in 1970′s Britain.
In his teenage Joe is seen enjoying his childhood with Boots. As a teenage boy he gets in a tentative relationship with a school-girl called Ruth. Although he loves Ruth from heart he takes the life on a casual note and ends up with a guilt from an unintended accident which leads to the death of a small girl. Unable to confront himself, he runs from away from England on the day of funeral and lands up in US.
Movie shifts to present and Joe decides to confront his fear and returns to England for a difficult meeting with Ruth, who had gone on to marry Boots and has been a left a poor widow now.
The characters have been played very distinctively and director makes sure each one justifies his/her presence. The initial dialogues of each character defines his/her individuality markedly. In the outset only the following dialogue vividly explains the character of Joe.
Ophelia (helper/secretary): Don’t you have any philosophies in life other than self indulgence?
Joe: I really do not like looking at myself from your eyes. Your happiness doesn’t interest me, mine does.
Also you cant help but appreciate how the backdrop has been chosen for all the shots. The fact that the director Baillie Walsh has earlier worked in music video direction does have a positive impact on the movie, as its visually and symphonically more appealing than average. And the song that has been his favourite in his teenage years have been using not only as the backdrop but also as the theme for the movie. “That song was a key to the writing of the script because the lyrics are so pertinent to the script.”, he adds. This song, “If there is something” of Roxy Music is first played when young Ruth brings Joe to her home and both dance on this song. Lyrics of the ending part of the song goes like:
Shake your hair girl with your ponytail,
Takes me right back when you were young.
Throw your precious gifts into the air,
Watch them fall down when you were young.
Lift up your feet and put them on the ground,
You used to walk upon when you were young.
Takes me right back when you were young.
Throw your precious gifts into the air,
Watch them fall down when you were young.
Lift up your feet and put them on the ground,
You used to walk upon when you were young.
Young Ruth dancing to “If there is something”
The expressions and dance movements have been done so elegantly that the viewer catches the song even deeper. You may not like the song in first minute, in case you download and hear, but the gripping saxophone and guitar mix comes from 1:30mins past start and then the late 70′s British glam era grabs you with force. I personally felt the song did justify to be the theme or the storyline did justify the song. Later on when Joe has to meet Ruth, which he never does, he leaves her few pounds and a letter with the lines, ”Shake your hair girl with your ponytail, Takes me right back when you were young.”, reading which she breaks out in tears marking end of the movie.
It is not a kind of movie that will appeal to everybody and thus has a limited viewership, but if you can connect with the plot, its surely worth the money for one time.
Amazing Ghazal by Rafi (1963)
Nov 3rd
Had gone to a team outing and came across this amazing ghazal sung there by a talented team member. I had to dig this up which was difficult going by the fact that its from a 1963 movie called Taj Mahal. Just feel the lyrics, they mark the difference between the words and expression -
jo baat tujhmein hai,
teri tasveer mein naheen,
tasveer mein naheen, jo baat tujhmein hai …rangon mein teraa aks dhalaa, too naa dhal sakee,
saanson kee aanch jism kee khushboo naa dhal saki,
tujh mein, tujh mein jo loch hai meree, tahreer mein naheen
tahareer mein naheen,
jo baat tujhmein hai,
teri tasveer mein nahee, teri tasveer mein naheen …bejaan husn mein kahaan, raftaar kee adaa,
inkaar kee adaa hai, naa ikraar kee adaa,
koi, koi lachak bhee zulfein girahgir mein naheen,
girahgir mein naheen,
jo baat tujh mein hai,
teree tasveer mein naheen.duniyaa mein koi cheez naheen hai teree tarah,
phir ek baar saamne ajaa kisi tarah,
kya aur ek jhalak meri taqdeer mein naheen,
taqdeer mein naheen.jo baat tujh mein hai,
teri tasveer mein naheen,
jo baat tujh mein hai.
Soulful!
aks = image, reflection
aanch = heat
loch = bending with ease, limber, lithe
tehreer = handwriting
Edited: Found the youtoob video!
Kehte hain ki Ghalib ka andaz-e-byaan aur…
Nov 1st
Har ek baat pay kehtay ho tum, ki tu kya hai;
tumhi kaho ki, yeh andaz-i-guftagoo kya hai
Ragon mein daudtay firnay kay hum nahi kayal ;
Jab aankh hi say na tapka to fir lahoo kya hai
Ragon mein daudtay firnay kay hum nahi kayal;
Jab aankh hi say na tapka to fir lahoo kya hai;
chipak raha badan par lahu se pairaahan
hamare jeb ko ab haajat-e-rafu kya hai
jala hai jism jahan dil bhi jal gaya hoga;
Kuraidtay ho jo ab raakh justajoo kya hai
Har ek baat pay kehtay ho tum, ki tu kya hai;
rahi na taqat-e-guftar aur agar ho bhee
to kis umeed pay keh dain ki aarzoo kya hai;
Har ek baat pay kehtay ho tum, ki tu kya hai;
tumhi kaho ki, yeh andaz-i-guftagoo kya hai
Har ek baat pay kehtay ho tum, ki tu kya hai …
————-
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Aaja Nachle Downloaded
Oct 31st
If you are even a bit of Bollywood movie buff, then this new development would surely not have had escaped from your eyes and ears – Madhuri Dixit comeback after six years in a visible treat in the trailers of Aaja Nachle. As vibrant as ever, the icon of hindi cinema has lost a few kilos at right places to set the idiot box on fire with equally ear catching OST – Aaja Nachle.
While the newspapers have been reporting of an upset Madhuri with news that her role has been cut to accommodate more young look to the movie. Yash Raj banner has been on the receiving end from the audience for a long time now and they want to play safe by giving the movie a younger feel as most of its audience is urbane and young. Reports are that Madhuri has even denied to promote her movie. All this will sound absurd if you see the promos of the movie where its only Madhuri you will notice, the rest of rather impressive cast of Akshaye Khanna, Konkona Sen Sharma and Kunal Kapoor. So is it just another promotional stunt?
Off lately the Bollywood movie releases have become an eye of tornado for marketers. The promotions have been very capital intensive, with comprehensive marketing and PR plans and the thespians going all out to promote their movies. Slowly we are reaching the competition levels of Hollywood with advertising cost becoming significant in the cost of movie. Just look at this, with not even the music album released officially, the movie already has made it to web , Wikipedia, IMDB and You Tube.
You can download the OST- Aaja Nachle over here.
Following are the (few of the) trailers of Aaja Nachle, I have picked the earliest one as it really captured me watching TV candidly, the text flows in great sync with the music. Awesome work for Madhuri fans…
Saawariya Lyrics OST
Sep 27th
With every movie’s OSTs coming in remixes and then multiple remixes, the songs from Saawariya are a sweet melody to ears. Really like this song, just only wish is that the singer would have lessened the more than frequent lowering of voice or its fluctuation, still a good listen. Here is the link to songs for download -http://www.apniisp.com/songs/indian-movie-songs/saawariya/440/1.html
Movie : Saawariya – 2007
Music Director : Monty Sharma
Singer : Shail Hada
Lyricists : Sameer
Lyrics:
Saawariya.. hha hha haa, Saawariya.. hha hha haa,
Saawariya, ho Saawariya!
Oh dholi mein bithake, sitrao se sajaa ke
Zaamane se churake le jaye ga
Saawariya.. hha hha haa, Saawariya.. hha hha haa,
Saawariya, ho Saawariya
Ohhh dholi mein bithake, sitrao se sajaa ke
Zaamane se churake le jaye ga
ek rooz tera udake jiya
Ohh Saawariya.. hha hha haa, ohh Saawariya.. hha hha haa,
yehey Saawariya, hho Saawariya
udley he he, odley he he
uudede hey he he, ohhhdede he he (yodely)
Palko ke shaamiyane mein, kwaboon ke har tikane mein
Teri hi parchaiya hai, tu tho har lamha yaadon mein hai
Teri khamosh pehali nazar ka deewana bana
Saawariya.. hha hha haa, Saawariya.. hha hha haa,
Saawariya, hh Saawariya
Ho dholi mein bithake, sitrao se sajaa ke
Zaamane se churake le jaye ga
Saawariya..(I wanna be your date tonight) hha hha haa,
Saawariya.. (You wanna be my princess of night) o hha hha haa,
Saawariya, (I wanna love you my love at first sight, will you be my date tonight) ohhhh Saawariya
Saawariya..(I wanna be your date tonight) hha hha haa,
Saawariya.. (You wanna be my princess of night) o hha hha haa,
Saawariya, (I wanna love you my love at first sight, will you be my date tonight) ohhhh Saawariya
