From the monthly archives:

March 2009

Rewind: O Sajana (Parakh-1960)

by Sujoy on March 24, 2009

in Bolly,rewind

Nostalgia is a great feeling. Especially when it takes you back to those days when you started listening to music. In my case, my musical education started with my Dad playing tunes of Lata Mangeshkar and Mohd.Rafi in our old Philips Audio Cassette Player. I can’t remember how old I was at that time, but those were the tunes which still give me chills when I listen to them. This new tag of Rewind is entirely dedicated to the ” Shwet Shyam” ( Black and White ) and the EastmanColour generation of Hindi Cinema; to the Rangolis and the Chitrahaars; to Shammi Kapoor, Sadhana, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Kishore Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Nargis and the immortals of that era.

Dad’s audio cassette collection had only three brands: HMV, EMI and T-Series (only for the Anup Jalota bhajans). And all the “Best Of” collections were often on HMV. One of these collection cassettes was a Best of Lata which had the song: O Sajana from the 1960 movie by Bimal Roy, Parakh. Dad also had the Bengali version of it: Naa Jeona. A brilliant composition of Salil Chowdhury, O Sajana finds glory in the lyrical simplicity of Shailendra and the immensely moving voice of Lata Mangeshkar. And then, coated with the innocence of Sadhana, this is when immortality is achieved on earth.

My favourite part of the song is in the second verse:
“Aise RimJhim Main O Sajan,
Pyaase Pyaase Mere Nayan..
Tere Hi …Khwaab Main…Kho Gaye..”

(Attempt at Translation: In this rain, O my Love; My eyes are thirsty; I am lost in dreams of you)

The Bengali version has an entirely different meaning, when it comes to the lyrics.
‘O Sajana’ talks about longing for one’s love in the rainy season. Whereas, the Bengali version: Naa Jeona talks about asking one’s love not to leave.

A bit from the Bengali lyrics:
Aami Je Tumari Shudhu, Jeebone Morone
Dhoriya Raakhite Chaahee Noyone Noyone

(Attempt at Translation: I am only yours in life and death, I wish to hold you in my eyes)

Simply put, it is just one of those legendary compositions that can never be recreated.

AFTER THE BREAK: The 3 , yes 3 versions of the song.

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Movie Review: Dev D

by Sujoy on March 21, 2009

in Bolly,Reviews,movies

I have been away from writing movie reviews for quite some time after the bashing I received for reviewing CC2C in a pretty good light. But, a stubborn ass like me can’t stay away from it for long. Especially after watching Dev D. Why did it take so long for me to review them has everything to do with my prevailing academic tension. But forgetting that for now, what I want to put forward in this review is that Anurag Kashyap is undoubtedly the dark horse director of Bollywood who dares to narrate and portray a dark story in all its filth and ugliness without the make-up that is Bollywood. Dev D speaks of chaos, disorder and gloom and more so, speaks of the brilliance of the filmmaker that Anurag Kashyap has become. Black Friday was nothing short of a brilliant movie, but there are exceptions to this ( No Smoking was a complete non-smoking film, Paanch is still yet to see the light of the day and Gulaal turned by Gu into Laal) .But this post is all about Dev D; and so be it.
Sarat Chandra’s Devdas finds a complete makeover and shift to current Punjab and Delhi. There are mobile phones and MMS scandals which transform Lenny to become Chanda.The characters sensibilities have been altered majorly, and surprisingly, it all turned out to make this movie a must-see. Following are the reasons.

*5 reasons why I liked Dev D, and 2 minor complaints.*

1. They do it.
Dev and Paro do it. Dev and Chanda do it. It is a completely contrast world to the setting of Bhansali’s so-called Bharat Shah sponsored Magnum Opus. There are no stained glasses, no heavy ghagras by Neeta Lulla, and no palatial compounds or chandeliers erected by Nitin Desai. Dev and Paro do it in the Khet, the claustrophobic darkness of enclosed rooms whilst a marriage ceremony is being held. Chandramukhi aka Chanda doesn’t sing or dance, but sports multiple accents and can speak erotic in Tamil. Chunni does not sing like Vinod Rathod, but he has the tapping passcode of the theka which serves daaru at odd hours. And last of all, Dev asks on the mobile  “Paro, do you touch yourself?”. Imagine SRK doing that particular scene and the entire nation, including Karan Johar would find it inappropriate.

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SKETCH: ANIME ANGEL

by Sujoy on March 20, 2009

in oks

I have been planning on sketching a good anime concept, and I found this one on a website which I can’t remember now. But I have edited the facial features from the original, and given it more defined hair and eyes. The wings got a bit messy, and the left hand as well. So, I had to resort to Photoshop to undo the harm. I wish I knew how to colour well in Photoshop to give this a real good technicolour feel. But, it will take some time-may be a year or two for me to come up with a colorful sketch, coz I know that I am shit when it comes to colouring. Last but not the least, I dedicate this sketch to one of my best friends – Rajkamal Roka, aka MAMA—Here’s to you bro!! Congrats for IIFT. Anyway, here we go. I am uploading two stages of the sketch. 

Stage 1: Without Wings. 

As the name suggests, the initial frame of the angel; her body.

For High Resolution Download: Click Here

Stage 2: With Wings. 

For High Resolution Download: Click Here

So, did you like it, or did it offend you somehow? 

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Say What? Axis of Awesome

by David on March 7, 2009

in Say-What

This one is inspired by my favorite Axis of Awesome song – can you guess which one?

 

I had some more spare time on my hands – sorry!

Click here to listen

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