Veer-Zaara Music - I was so surprised that it did not win lots of Filmfare awards. It should have won Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Music, Best Singers... all awards. I mean look at the music charts... the music is still in top 10 for last 6 months or more. You can listen to music over and over. All the best to Yashji for making a very classic movie and the music is absolutely amazing. I have the CD and DVD. I wish him all the best.
- Abdul Nasser Ali (Canada)
I totally love the song's Main Yahaan Hoon, Lodi, Do Pal and Aisa Des Hai Mera. Plus the people who did the singing are great.
- Sonia
BOLLYWOOD DREAM: OLD SONGS, NEW HIT
- by Jim Bessman
(Article appeared in Billboard USA, issue dated April 02, 2005)
Songs and songwriters are as much the hook in Bollywood cinema as actors and directors. Last year's award-winning "Veer-Zaara," in fact, played up the songs by the late Madan Mohan way above esteemed director Yash Chopra and a spectacular cast including male superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan and top actresses Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji.
"Veer-Zaara," which was named best film at the prestigious Filmfare Awards in February in Mumbai, India, is now available on DVD. But the story of the soundtrack is as powerful a saga as the inspirational love tale at the heart of "Veer-Zaara."
Indeed, the soundtrack was a huge success even before the film was released. It is so unusual that it engendered a novel companion CD, "The Making of the Music," featuring commentaries by Chopra and legendary film music diva Lata Mangeshkar along with decades-old demos by Mohan himself.
The previously unreleased compositions by Mohan, who died in 1975, were discovered by his son Sanjeev Kohli, now CEO of Chopra's Yash Raj Films.
"He did 104 films in his 25-year career, of which maybe 10 were box-office successes," says Kohli, whose father was born Madan Kohli but chose a "more musical" surname. "The others are remembered only for their music.
"He never won a major award, but two films released after his demise - 'Mausam' and 'Laila Majnu' - became runaway hits," Kohli continues. "Suddenly, his name became the most revered among composer - and is still held in great esteem. None of his films would be listed in the top 100 of Indian cinema, but at least 10 of the 100 most-remembered film songs would be his."
When Kohli was 17, Mohan died from cirrhosis of the liver at age 51. The death of his father shattered Kohli.
"I had lost the opportunity to learn music and make music my career," he recalls. "But on some days when I missed him, I would listen to his songs on master spools - which we were never allowed to touch as children - and also cleared his 'music cupboards' and found some spool tapes and cassettes of some amazing compositions. Some he played on the harmonium or piano, some he just hummed or used dummy words, some went back to 1958 and were never used for want of an appropriate film. What a waste of such melodies!
So I fantasized: What if I could have these tunes recorded - and they could be a part of a new hit film?"
Kohli pursued an education in management but landed in the music business in Mumbai after all. Following a five-year stint as A&R manager at Polydor, he served 10 years at EMI as marketing and A&R VP (including three years in London). He produced all of Mangeshkar's albums at the time - she being his father's main female voice and muse.
This, however, was in the 1980s and 1990s, when popular music in India was absorbing Western influences.
"I found no time to fulfill my dream, and if I ever thought of it, wondered if my father's tunes would be 'old-fashioned' today," Kohli concedes.
Then, in 1995 he joined Yash Raj Films, India's most successful entertainment company. In 1997 he brought in Uttam Singh to compose the score to Chopra's "Dil to Pagal Hai," which became a huge-selling soundtrack.
"In 2003, Yash Chopra decided to direct a film that needed 'old-world music' - away from the Western influences," Kohli says. "Music that had a strong melody line, with acoustic instruments - music like that of the '60s and '70s. Instinctively, I blurted that I had some old-world melodies on tape, not heard for 28 years."
Using only three musicians, Kohli spent three months recording demos of 35 of his father's unheard songs.
"All through my career, I had been passing judgment on singers and composers as a powerful A&R person and album producer. Now my father and I were on test to see if his melodies were relevant in today's times," Kohli says.
Incredibly, Chopra and his son Aditya Chopra, who wrote the "Veer-Zaara" screenplay, chose 10 of the songs, and informed Kohli that they wanted to retain the organic sound of the demos.
"It was unbelievable," Kohli says. "Such a big film's score with the biggest producer and director of India and with the biggest star cast assembled in recent years - on my slender shoulders."
But Kohli took on the challenge "as if some divine force was guiding me," he says. He even cajoled Mangeshkar, now semi-retired at 75, to reprise her role as his father's star singer.
"It was daunting," he says, "but I kept on, employing his trademark sitar and string arrangements as much as the screenplay permitted. But I had to remember that this was not a tribute to Madan Mohan but the soundtrack of a film traversing 22 years over two diverse cultures.
"It was a filial duty, and through this entire endeavor I have rediscovered my father - as well as some of what I inherited from him - and I know I didn't let him down: I saw his name up there on billboards at the Empire in Leicester Square and at the Loews on Broadway. What more could a son ask for?"
Hearty congratulations on the success of Veer Zaara - the music and the movie! I do hope that you have found time to wind down and enjoy the fruits of success.
Recently, I came across an interview with Billboard (which was also carried by Reuters), and was so happy to read about your wholly justified and well-deserved feelings of pride and joy in your achievement. By all accounts, this was a daunting endeavour - and you have pulled it off with great aplomb. I sincerely hope that you will continue to see success in your current position. And dare I say that I sincerely wish that we will have more Madan Mohan compositions "revealed" (after all, they were more than mere compositions, they were revelations!) to us through some great voices in the near future?
With very warm regards,
- Jay Jhaveri
BAHUT HI ACHCHE... KHUDA KARE SUR SAJEN AUR ZIYADA HAMESHA HAMESHA...
YAQEEN MANEN AGER FILM UNGOOTHI HAI TO MUSIC US MAIN JADA EK KHRA AUR SACHCHA NAGEENA. SCENE KAHAN KHATM HOTA HAI SANGEET KAHAN SHURU HOTA HAI... BILKUL SHARIR AUR AATMA KI TERHA EK DOOSRE MAIN GHULE MILE HAIN.
LAGTA HAI JAISE KHULI AANKHON KA KOI SAPNA HAI JISE HAATH APNI MUTHTHI MAIN JAKED LENA CHAHTE HAI. FILM KHUMAAR HAI TO SANGEET EK MEETHA SUROOR HAI.
KAASH KAASH MERE NOVEL SUKHE PAID KO YASH JI KI HIDAYAT, MADANJI KA SANGEET AUR DIDI KE SUR MIL JATE. BAHUT BADI KHUWAHISH KER LI MAIN NE DEEWANE KA KHUWAB. JISKI KOI TABEER NAHI.
AAP SE SIRF EK DARKHUWAST HAI MADAN JI KE SANGEET KO BAAR BAAR SHARADHANJALI ARPIT KAREN. SANGEET SE APNA NATA NA TODEN. ISI TERHA JUDE RAHEN. AAPKE KAAM LAGAN TAPASYA SHRADDHA KI TAREEF KE LIYE MERE PAAS ALFAAZ NAHI.
- NAJAMA MERCHANT
Seven months after release of the album and still I am hooked on to it. So much so, the Veer Zaara CD is always with me even when I am travelling. Veer Zaara is THE music of the year. I was personally disappointed that it did not win any awards. Lataji was right in her disapproval, but then Lataji is always right - be it her impeccable singing or her humble remarks. She is the best. Please do make her sing more. Aaapki baat toh maanti hain... tell her not to space out releases this far and between... we fans feel deprived then! Please, do request her to sing more often. I love Lataji's voice...
- Deepak Jeswal (Kathmandu, Nepal)
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! I just received the fantastic instrumental version of Veer-Zaara's music and it is simply exquisite! Tranquil and soothing, it's like going home again. Thank you so very much for making this brilliant rendition of the already captivating songs of Veer-Zaara. Two awesome CDs for one awesome film! Keep up the amazing work!
- Simran (Judi Silva)
Veer Zaara is a blockbuster no doubt. The music especially is very special. Yash Uncle - you are the best and Adi - great story man. The song 'Tere Liye' is eternal, something which i am always humming. Please continue all you great work.
- Zico (UK)
We read with great pleasure the review of the instrumental music of "veer zaara - romancing the legend" in Filmfare.
The review of the musical score was superlative and has acknowledged this music as "by far the best musical score of 2004". This is a fact acknowledged by the reviewer in the magazine but unfortunately Filmfare has played games once again, and not given the best music award to the one most deserving.
