3 posts tagged “bollywood”

 12/28/2008 00:47:36  ♥ written by vu ()

A.R. Rahman - Jai Ho

A.R. Rahman

I just saw another great Danny Boyle movie called Slumdog Millionaire, the movie I'm sure you have all heard about. It basically about a story of Jamal's life, through a series of questions from his appearance on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". Although I won't go too much into the plot, without giving away too much, it's ultimate a destiny love story between Jamal and Latika.

I will point out some things I didn't like was that most of the movie was in English, which seems kind of weird, being in India. The small parts that did feature subtitles, well the subtitles was done in a way that I haven't seen before. Also, I didn't feel like there was any sense of real danger. I know there are a few realistic horrible scenes (the children league of beggars scene for instance, you'll know what I'm talking about if you see the film), but I was never at any point in fear of what will happen to the characters. It's not grim or gritty and the directing doesn't come off as comedic or cheesy, but it's not "real life", if you know what I mean.

Either way, I did enjoy the film, but not love it. I don't hate it, but considering his earlier enjoyable works such as Sunshine (his sci-fi movie), 28 Days Later... (his fast zombie movie), The Beach (his "I'm not working with Ewan McGregor" movie), Trainspotting (the Britpop druggie movie), or Shallow Grave (the first of the money-bag trilogy movies)... Slumdog doesn't quite have it as a Bollywood movie. And I reckon it's not what he intended the film to be compared to either.

M.I.A.-Paper Planes

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Anyway, like Boyle's Britpop-soundtrack of Trainspotting, the soundtrack to Slumdog fits the film quite nicely between modern and traditional Indian music of A.R. Rahman and the urban world hip-hop style of M.I.A. Although I think Rahman's compositions works well as background music, I felt sometime M.I.A.'s in-your-face music overwhelm her scene. Still, it's hard to ignore the catchy sound of "bang bang bang ka-ching" sound effects in her "Paper Plane" hit song.

Sonu Nigam featuring Alisha Chinai - Aaj Ki Raat

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My two favorite songs from the soundtrack is Alisha Chinai's vocals on the Sonu Nigam song "Aaj Ki Raat". Chinai is quite famous in India, often called The Indian Madonna. Anyway, the song is actually originally from another Bollywood picture called Don - The Chase Begins Again, but I suppose Boyle love the song so much, he snuck it onto his own film.

Also, of course, the big bollywood dance number, "Jai Ho", was also pretty memorable. Incidentally, if you were wondering the vocals on that track is by Sukhwinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, and Mahalakshmi Iyer.

So I highly recommend you checking out Slumdog Millionaire, if it's still showing at your local movie theaters.

Links: foxsearchlight.com/slumdogmillionaire

 06/06/2008 08:06:12  ♥ written by vu ()

Global Noize - A Jam 4 Joe Global Noize 1 comment Read More Jason Miles http://weheartmus... So what is Soul Summit? They're not exactly a band, they seem to be more of a project by producer...

The two Jasons (Jason Miles and Jason Kibler, aka DJ Logic) have teamed up for a cultural exploration in Global Noize, released April 29^th on Shanachie Records.

If the name Jason Miles sounds familiar, that's because he was the mastermind behind Soul Summit, an album that captured the live energy of the Berks Jazz Festival.

Global Noize combines an array of sound, from electronica, funk, trip hop, world, and jazz - such fusion sounds that M.I.A. and Santogold are making famous. So if you enjoy those artists, you should definitely check out this phenomenon album.

This project started rolling into effect when Kibler, called to ask Miles to join him for a live performance at the Blue Notes in New York. Miles recalls:

On that day I had a horrible root canal and was mourning the loss of a close relative. I thought that this could be just the tonic I needed to pick myself up. We went through life-altering experiences. It was so new to us - mysterious, crazy and another view of the world. We both knew we had to make this project happen. The picture on the CD over of the both of us with the camel in the desert says it all!

The first song on the album, "A Jam 4 Joe" sets up the mood for the album: the vocals of Falu suggests Indian, while the dedication of Joe Zawinul, suggests jazz. This is a perfect song for any mild/chill party.

Falu appears again on "Bollywood", obviously because of her Indian voice, but the bass on this song made it sound like funk.

If you can't get enough of the relaxing vocals, there is another song that features singing, "Quero Dancar" (I Want to Dance With You). As the title suggests, this is a Spanish-based song (but sung in Portuguese?) with a smooth jazz mix, featuring some very sexy vocals by Vanessa Fallabella.

The large majority of this album is instrumental, that should comes as no surprise. Songs as "Dar' Abesque" showcase Miles' staple jazz sound (check out that Herb Alpert trumpets), but as you listen in closer, you can hear Logic's contribution in shifts and beats mixed in.

As far as I'm concern, these two perfectly compliment each other, making for an interesting collaboration on Global Noize. They are going to team up for a brief appearance at the Aspen Jazz Festival in Colorado on August 28^th, so check it out if you're in the area.

Links: myspace.com/globalnoizejazz www.djlogic.com www.jasonmilesmusic.com

Asha Bhosle - Mohabbat Hoon Haqiqat Hoon

Asha Bhosle

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This is a Bollywood movie called Karmayogi, directed by Ram Maheshwari and released in 1978. The music is by Kalyanji Anandji and lyrics were written by Varma Malik.  The credit to the singer falls on Asha Bhosle, who I'm assuming provides all the women-singing part since Asha is not the actress in this movie.

Reading the plot summary of the movie, it seems to revolve around Shanker who had one son, Mohan, and expecting another. He left his pregnant wife in the small village for the city.

Shanker and Mohan became crime lords in the new city and pretty soon ran into Ajay (unbeknownist to everyone was the missing son and brother). Ajay published a newspaper called "Karmayogi", exposing criminals, and made enemies with Shanker & Mohan.

Shanker was murdered and Mohan believed that Ajay was responsible for his death and pretty soon it's brother against brother.

Since I can't understand Hindi, I can only imagine that this song was sung by the grieving wife (although the tone doesn't seem to be too sad). The title translate to: "King Yes Fact Yes" "I Am the Love, I Am the Truth". If you speak Hindi, please help :)

 August 4, 2007 1:48 AM  vu my♥posts vu@weheartmusic.com imdb.com/title/tt0367927

Cactina wrote: Aug 6, 2007 10:05 AM

[this is good] [this is good] Hey, I'm sorry I saw your comment so late. I think the song means something like: "i am the love, i am the real (thing), i am the youth, i can be your downfall- if you'd like to have me- raise your hand!"

Yeah, its corny :-D

Asha Bhonsle has an amazing voice. I love her! Her range spans the very indian in aankhon ki masti mein to the very hippie dum maro dum.

Kaz wrote: Aug 6, 2007 1:32 AM

hey vu... i saw the movie long long time ago so i dont remember any of it .. but the title of the song when translated is (i think) " i am the love, i am the truth".. and ur correct it is certainly not a sad song