Month: January 2013

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‘I wish all films wouldn’t need item songs to sell’

Shalmali Kholgade discusses winning the Filmfare Award for her song ‘Pareshaan’, and what annoys her about Bollywood, among other things.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

Shalmali Kholgade sang the wonderful ‘Pareshaan’ from Ishaqzaade last year. Her heady voice, combined with the song’s beautiful lyrics, took the composition straight to the nominations lists of several film awards this year, and culminated in a Filmfare trophy for the 23-year-old. And ‘Pareshaan’ was her debut song in Bollywood!

In an interview with The Metrognome, Shalmali speaks about her win, what her pet peeve about the Hindi film industry is, why she doesn’t drink milk a day before a song recording, how she began singing, and why she looks for that ‘one’ moment of total harmony when she sings.

First of all, congratulations on winning the Filmfare award for ‘Pareshaan’. What was it like to hear your name announced as the winner?

When my category was announced, my heart was racing. But I have this cool ability to mask everything happening inside. But when my name was announced, my heart stopped beating for a second – or so I thought. I remember trying to look calm and composed, but I can’t say if I did that well enough. I walked up to the stage, and everything after that goes blank in my head. All I can say right now is that it must’ve been too intensely powerful a feeling to account for in retrospect.

You looked gorgeous on awards night. What did it feel like, getting all dressed up for the awards?

Thank you very much. All credit goes to the immensely creative, innovative and gorgeous Sonaakshi Raaj who was my stylist and designer for the Filmfare Awards. Feel free to add all the superlatives you can think of to Sonaakshi Raaj – she is extremely deserving of them all. The white jumpsuit that she designed for me hit that balance between red carpet ‘elegant’ and a musician ‘casual’ perfectly. Getting dressed up for the awards was like a scene from Cinderella! I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Can you describe the creative process that went into creating ‘Pareshaan’?

The selection process for ‘Pareshaan’ included me singing the chorus of the song twice and then Amit Trivedi (Ishaqzaade’s music director) saying, “Are you free tomorrow to record the song?” And just like that I was recording ‘Pareshaan’ the next day. We recorded over two days, as there were lyrical changes. Habib Faisal and Kausar Munir spent a lot of time explaining every word and every line of the song to me. All three of them – Amit Trivedi, Kausar Munir and Habib Faisal – were extremely supportive of me and showed a lot of belief in me. That was a huge plus. The pronunciation of the words was the other thing that needed attention on my part. I wasn’t used to singing Urdu words. But Habib sir and Kausar ma’am got it out of me.

Who are your favourite music composers? And who is a bygone era composer you would have loved to work with?

My favorite music composers are Nitin Sawhney, AR Rehman, Amit Trivedi and Vishal Bharadwaj. I would’ve loved to work with OP Nayyar.

If you hadn’t sung ‘Pareshaan’, which singer would have done as much justice to the song as you did?

It would have to be Sunidhi Chauhan.

Tell us about your childhood. How did you take up music?

My mother (singer Uma Kholgade) taught Indian classical music at home. She is the reason I sing at all. Till my mother was eight months pregnant with me, she went for music lessons at her teacher, Shruti Sadolikar’s. She believes that it affected my musical leaning in some way. My mother made it compulsory for me to sit for music class twice a week for an hour each, and though I reluctantly sat for it, I owe so much to those classes.

My brother, on the other hand, who is eight years older than me, listened mostly to English rock and pop bands like Queen, Aerosmith, Michael Jackson, Phil Collins and Dave Matthews Band. His music, for some reason, was more inviting for me. I listened as he played his guitar and sang sometimes. I picked up the guitar watching him play. He has been my encyclopedia for English music.

How has the support from home impacted your career?

My father is a pharmaceutical consultant by profession, but is a lover of the Arts. He writes plays, short stories and poetry in Marathi and English in his free time. My mother, brother and I are always the proud first listeners of his writings. He also sings with the kind of confidence I have never seen, even though he isn’t trained in singing. My mother has taught Indian classical music at home till I was 16 years old. She is a fantastic teacher, who never taught music for the sake of making money. Her students love her and beg her to start taking classes again even today. I am so grateful to have parents who are so incredibly talented, supportive and encouraging. There’s no way I would’ve been here today if it weren’t for my parents.

Overall, what has been your musical journey been like? Have you sung for regional cinema as well?

My journey has been an utter joyride, with some incredibly diverse experiences of being able to listen to and sing with musicians from all over the world. (She is a vocalist with Mikey Mcleary’s popular act The Bar Tender and has performed as a soloist with a Latvian troupe in a cabaret named ‘Bombaloo’ which toured Moscow, Russia and Yerevan, Armenia).

I have had the chance to sing in regional cinema and that is something I thoroughly enjoy doing. I have a strong affinity for languages, diction and the tonal quality of every language. My first Tamil song ‘Raja Raja’ with music director GV Prakash released a month ago. My first Marathi song ‘Jag Saare Badale’ also released this month. I have recorded a Bengali track with the great Indradip Dasgupta, and also a Telegu song with Sachin Jigar. Both these songs release by the middle of this year.

What has been the most special moment in your musical journey so far?

When I was in college, I had a life-changing experience that convinced me that music was what I wanted to pursue. It was the final round of Western solo singing at St Xavier’s Malhar. As I sang ‘Desperado’ by the Eagles, with just a guitar accompaniment, I held the last note of the song till I ran out of breath. I felt like I wanted to hold on to that moment for as long as I could, because I knew it wouldn’t come again for a long time. That is the reason I am pursuing music today. I want to find that moment of complete harmony of voice, accompaniment and calm. It is indescribable.

What is the one thing you don’t like about the Hindi film industry? A lot of artistes complain about the lack of respect for time, for instance. What is your pet peeve?

Time would be number one on my list, too. But when it comes to music, there’s too much run-of-the-mill stuff, with little experimentation. I wish that would change. I wish all films wouldn’t need item songs to sell. I wish women in films would have better roles than just ordinary lovers to play. I agree that it is changing with films like Kahaani and Heroine. But my issue is with a majority of films having female actors that are used as marketing tools.

There are so many young singers today, each with their own USP. How is it possible to survive in this competition and bring your best to a performance every time?

I personally don’t think of anyone as competition. This does not mean I am unaware of all the talent around me. But I see it as people to learn from and skills to add to my kitty. It is all inspirational in one way or the other.

How do you train your voice on a daily basis?

I start my day with just humming any tunes. Slowly as my voice warms up, I do scales on lip rolls, humming, and plenty of other warm up exercises. I sing along with songs that play on my computer all day. I never count the number of hours I sing. I sing for as long as I feel tired singing. If I have a recording or a show on a particular day, I stop drinking milk a day before. That’s the only precaution I take. I am of the opinion that a positive mind always helps deliver well. When I think I am not singing to my full potential, I just sit over it and polish the song, a melody, a run up till it comes out effortlessly. This takes days, sometimes months.

Which projects are you working on currently?

I am doing a lot of shows, especially so in colleges all over India and that is something I am enjoying a lot. The youth is so full of life and love that it is always a pleasure singing to them. One of my songs from the film Mere Dad Ki Maruti will release this week. A handful more releases are due in the next couple of months and I look forward to them.

How has life changed for you post the Filmfare Award?

Winning the Filmfare award and the shower of wishes and expectations that followed have changed quite a lot in my life suddenly. From wanting to pursue music, to singing ‘Pareshaan’, to becoming a playback singer, to winning a Filmfare Award, all of it has in quick succession. I feel more responsible and I want to live up to the expectations of people, and more, over the expectations I have from myself.

What is a tip you would give aspiring playback singers?

Everyone is unique, with a different voice quality, a different range and a different personality. Use it to your advantage. Compete only with yourself. If you stop looking inwards and start indulging too much in the lives and feats of your contemporaries, you’ll lose yourself.

That is all that’s important. All the technicalities of singing in a studio and live can be learnt only through experience. I am also learning. I just keep looking forward!

(Pictures courtesy Shalmali Kholgade and karamnook.com) 

 

Categories
Overdose

The most unwanted job in the country

Jatin Sharma wonders: if all of us really want change, why can’t we just join politics and be the change?

Ever wondered what kind of job you always wanted? Ever wondered about the things that made you decide whether you wanted to join a field or not? Ever wondered about the things that would drive you to make that one job your whole life, your identity, your source of earning and your passion?

I have always decided my career based on two things: My interest, and earning from it, plus the respect associated with it.

So let’s talk about the most neglected job in the world. No one in my country wants it or wants to be a part of it. It’s one of the jobs that has a lot of respect attached to it, but it’s not a respectable job any more. The earning is good and sometimes, the best. But it suffers from nobody being interested in it.

The job I’m talking about is: the job of running our country.

Ask yourself: how did you get interested in a particular field? Was it because someone in your family was a part of it, or because you had an awesome professor from the same field who taught you about it very well? The exposure towards a particular field always decided your inclination towards it.

So the whole point I’m trying to make is that although becoming a politician is considered to be the worst job, it is not. We hate our politicians, but we are not ready to replace them. If we want to change the world, we just become journalists who think that by writing about it, change will knock on our doors. Why are we not teaching our kids about politicians being good, too? Why are people not telling stories about how politics and politicians are meant to be? Why are we perpetuating the myth that politicians are people who only participate in scams?

Human beings fight for power and money and respect. A politician has the power to change the world, he can earn good money, and the respect for the people who bring a change in their area is incredible. So why is it that everyone compromises with a less powerful job, like becoming a doctor, journalist or an engineer? Why is no one taking up one of the most lucrative jobs in the country?

It could be because ignorance is the devil that kills you before you take your first step. People in my country are ignorant about how to run their country. We don’t know how to bring about a change. We are so ignorant about the systems in our country that we just try to ignore them by saying, “Let it be, nothing is going to change.” But really, do you believe that nothing will change if you want to change it?

I think the first step that should be taken is by asking all our politicians to come and speak to students about their experiences of running the country. Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shashi Tharoor, Laloo Prasad Yadav, everyone should be given a mandatory notice to teach Politics and the problems they face as case studies in different schools. They should talk about how they get respect and how they are hated and how it is difficult to be practical while running a country.

Civics and Political Science should not be taught as laws, but in a way that seems more practical. It should be glamourised a bit more. All the major politicians of the world should come here and talk about politics in their country. It should not be just another photo opportunity for them, but a serious teaching assignment. They should speak about the problems they faced. Political Science should be taught as Political History; imagine having the chance to hear Barack Obama talk about what he went through when he ordered the killing of Osama, or how he faced the recession in his country and how he handled it. More to the point, politicians should talk about how they said ‘no’ to corruption.

In fact, the Government should have a degree for politicians – a Bachelors of Leaders in India or Diploma in Netagiri or Masters in Running India. The kind of respect and the power that this job holds should make people see that it is equivalent to being a CEO of a company. Students should be given assignments where they must come up with Bills and do a market research on why they are proposing a certain Bill.

Let the discussions happen and make them more about the future. Talk about the scams in textbooks and embarrass the hell out of the politicians who have been involved in them. Talk about the success stories of public figures and leaders who have brought a positive change in the society and for the country.

It doesn’t have to be boring. Why does politics have to be a name that brings out only negative emotions? Why does a Legislative Assembly or a Rajya Sabha or a Lok Sabha carry out its work in a manner and language nobody understands? They could be fun. Have workshops where people are trained for discussion and everyone works like in Parliament. Have books that speak about the blunders of politicians.

Make it more interesting. Make it glamourous. Make it contemporary.

If you want to serve the community, this is the best opportunity. Take this job. It’s now or never.

Jatin Sharma is a media professional who doesn’t want to grow up, because if he grows up, he will be like everybody else. 

(Featured image courtesy thekissof.wordpress.com)

Categories
Guest writer

‘Go Commando on vehicular lawlessness’

An annoyed Mumbaikar declares that the lawlessness on Mumbai’s roads has corrupted his driving discipline. Read on to know how.
by Rohan Naravane

I firmly believe the people of our country are responsible for corrupting my driving discipline. When I started learning to drive on the day of my 18th birthday, I had said to myself that I wasn’t going to be one of ‘them’, where ‘them’ refers to the unlawful sons-of-guns that you come across on the roads of Mumbai (probably many Indian roads, too).

These are the people who will break a signal after a quick glance to see if there aren’t any traffic cops around. Some of them even have the audacity to honk if you’re in front of them and trying to follow the law during low traffic hours. If that wasn’t enough, some even give you a “bloody law-abider dimwit” look as they overtake you.

Pedestrian signals are the biggest jokes I’ve seen in the city. If you ever see a green pedestrian light, brace yourself and keep an eye out for cars. On both sides. You might just find them coming at you from the opposite side – they’re trying to save U-turning at the next crossing.

With all this unlawfulness on the roads, it’s not too long before you subconsciously start breaking some rules yourself. If trucks or other cars keep driving at slow speeds on the fast lane, isn’t it instinctive for us overtake them from the left? ‘Slow is the new fast lane’ has become the unwritten law of this land. It is a vicious cycle, where one group of people breaks the law, frustrating the other group, thereby making them reciprocate in a similar way. When cars don’t have any consideration for the pedestrian signal, why would the latter respect their right of way?

And if you’re ever feeling courteous at a crossing to let other cars pass first, snap out of it. You might just be stuck there for an eternity! People are so impatient; it’s as if all of them have in-the-throes-of-labour pregnant women in their backseats at all times.

This impatience even goes beyond driving on the roads. Unless there is no designated marker that suggests forming a line, first-come-first-serve is a natural instinct. We’ve been reading boards that say, ‘Please let passengers alight the train first’ in our Mumbai locals since we started using the trains. But ever been to a point of origin (like Borivali, for example) during rush hours? It’s funny to see people who are wanting to alight, standing at the end of the other side, having the same look in their eyes that poultry does when it’s about to be slaughtered.

Then there’s the time I’m in my car, waiting in line to fill air in the tyres at a petrol pump, and almost every time I see two-wheelers callously driving past me, because their two tyres take half as long as my four.

If I kept writing on this subject, I could publish a book documenting such instances. The time to act is right now. It’s time to go Commando on vehicular lawfulness. The next time you see a slowpoke thinking he owns the fast lane, keep honking and flickering your lights till he gets the message. Slam down the accelerator the moment the signal turns green, scaring anybody who, wrongly so, is in your way. Show the finger to anybody behind you who honks, prompting you to jump the signal. Let’s uphold law before the line between right and wrong gets blurred right out of our minds.

And don’t think that this is an over-population problem. China has more people than us, but they’re doing just fine.

Rohan Naravane is a technology blogger based in Mumbai. When he’s not writing about technology (http://wherethegadgets.at/author/rohan/), he likes to talk about it and will ramble on if he finds you remotely technological. His other recent endeavours include getting back in shape, marathoning TV shows and movies. 

(Featured image courtesy conversation.cipr.co.uk)

 

Categories
Big story

Snag disrupts Western Railway

Technical snag disrupted train services in peak morning hours this morning. Trains ran late, platforms 1,2 non-operational for a while.

As usual, Twitter was the first to apprise the city of a major travelling crisis this morning: an empty rake at Borivli yard derailed at 1.30 am on Monday, and was rerailed at 6.22 am. The snag disrupted services on the Western Railway, stranding and harrying scores of commuters who were heading to work after a long weekend. While some trains had to be rescheduled, others were diverted as platforms 1,2 and 3 became non-operational for a brief period of time. Traffic was diverted on the fast route.

As of 9.15 am, announcements were made to inform passengers that services had been restored. Meanwhile, a pantograph got entangled with overhead wires near Airoli station at about 4.50 am on Monday. This led to delays along the Thane-Vashi trans-harbour corridor.

Here’s how the Twitterati alerted the city on the disruption:

@HycinthD: Train at borivli will not be coming on Pltform No 1 and 2, get your trains from 3, 7 and 8th platforms. #westernrailway
@TrafficBOM: TRAIN : TRAINS ON WESTERN RAILWAY RUNNING ARE LATE.
@Mahitisagar: Western Railway running Late by 20 minutes from Virar.
@MediaKaDoctor: What’s wrong with western railway?
@bombaylives: Only platform number 8 operational #Borivali
@zankhanc: Major snag at borivali platform number 1 and 2.. Trains running super late and super full! Plan accordingly! #westernrailway
@patkini: GM! #WesternRailway services seem to be hit to a pantograph entanglement at Borivali! Trains running up to 30 mins late! #IRFCA
@AniketSaki: You know how slow the trains get between Borivli and Kandivli. It’s doubly slow between Malad and Borivli today. #WesternRailway
@sandeep_mayekar: #westernrailway #mumbai After the long weekend Western railway locals provide for a late Monday.
@GarrulousRisho: Western railway trains running super late, midterms day 1 can it get any worse?
@theangrysaint: #Mumbai Snag disrupts services on Western Railway. South bound commuters please brace yourself for #MondayBlues
(Picture courtesy ibnlive.com. Picture used for representational purpose only)
Categories
Deal with it

Only ‘patrolling’ now for couples’ safety on seashores

But cops insist that the move is for the couples’ safety and not to infringe on their privacy. Okay, then.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

If you’re looking for some ‘quiet time’ with your partner at one of the city’s beaches, don’t look for a spot away from the crowd. You might as well mill about with others and go home early, because couples sitting at isolated spots are soon going to have the cops breathing down their necks and shattering any privacy they might have hoped to get.

Recently, Thane was rocked by reports of how policemen were rounding up couples out of doors after dark or meeting in relatively isolated places, before taking them to the police station and calling their parents. Just when the outrage over those incidents was dying down, the Mumbai Police announced its plan to remove couples sitting alone at the city’s beaches.

Following protests against this move, however, Mumbai Police Commissioner Dr Satyapal Singh changed the plan from summarily ejecting, to merely increasing vigilance on couples spending time alone on seashores or isolated inlets.

However, they still insist that this is not moral policing but a move to ensure safety for couples. Dr Singh has still not elaborated on what the police will do in case they see people sitting far away into the sea – if the couples are not asked to leave, will the patrolling cops wait and keep vigil till the couples leave?

“The seashores of Girgaon, Worli, Marine Drive, Bandra Bandstand and Juhu attract a lot of people. Couples generally visit these places and sit on the rocks when the sea is at low tide, for privacy,” a press release from the police says. “Such couples sitting in isolation may encourage criminals to target them and assault them for money or valuables. There is also the fear that girls may be sexually assaulted in such cases.”

However, it seems that though the recent Delhi gang rape case may have spurred the Mumbai Police into providing security to the citizenry, the cops seem more worried about the after-effects of such an incident occurring in Mumbai and causing law and order issues. “In view of the Delhi gang rape case, if such an incident were to happen in Mumbai, the citizens of Mumbai would feel insecure and the resulting protest demonstrations would cause a law and order situation in the city. To prevent this, the numbers of policemen keeping vigil along the seashores of Girgaon, Worli, Marine Drive, Bandra Bandstand and Juhu are being increased,” the cops say.

Like we said, don’t move away from the crowds unless you want some quiet time with the cops.

Is this move aimed at policing criminals or is it designed to keep a watch over couples? Tell us what you think.

(Picture courtesy tasveerz.wordpress.com)

Categories
Learn

What really happened in Dhule?

A Citizens’ Fact Finding Committee alleges that timely police action could have prevented the incident from escalating out of control.
by Humra Quraishi

Former DGP of the Gujarat Police, RB Sreekumar once said, “Rioting cannot go beyond two hours without police connivance.” Why is it, then, that the police machinery takes days to control and settle communal clashes and riots?

A recent report put together by a group of the country’s well-respected activists on the recent rioting in Maharashtra’s Dhule sheds light on the events that actually transpired there. Says Ram Puniyani, former IIT Mumbai alumnus-turned-full time-activist, “Dhule has been in the news for the past 10 days. It has been reported in the media that a small altercation in Dhule led to an event leading to violence between Hindus and Muslims. As such, the deaths of six innocent youth and injuries to several more, and massive loss of properties, burning of houses has taken place.”

Others say that the worst part of the episode is that all this allegedly took place with the police force being present. Contrary to official reports, the people in the area stated that the behaviour of the police was very biased against the Muslim community. “In the light of these disturbing reports from local activists, we decided that a citizen fact-finding committee should visit the Dhule, to investigate and present the facts objectively,” says Ram.

The Citizens Fact Finding Committee comprises Shabnam Hashmi, social activist, ANHAD Delhi, Professor Ram Puniyani of the All India Secular Forum, Professor Apoorvanand of Delhi University, Advocate Nihalsing B Rathod of the Human Rights Law Network, Manan Trivedi, Dev Desai, Tanvi Soni and Arma from ANHAD, Gujarat and Azhar from Jalgaon. The Committee visited  Dhule on January 13 and 14, 2013.

The detailed report puts forward the Committee’s crucial findings. “ This violence could have been prevented had the police acted in time,” says the report. “While stone pelting was done by members of both the communities, police action was selective and directed against Muslims only. The police did not follow the prescribed protocol to control the mob. Police firing was excessive and was done with an intent to kill.

All bullets were fired above the knee, a majority of the bullets were fired above the waist, many of them in the chest, neck and face. All six deaths were because of police firing.     Majority of the victims of the police firing were left unattended by the police and were taken to hospitals by friends.”

Furthermore, the report says, “159 police personnel were taken to the hospital out of which only 18 were admitted is evident from the record of the civil hospital (attached with the report). All the injuries suffered by the police were minor in nature due to stone pelting… No relief camps were set up for those Muslims and Hindus who lost their houses (approximately 40 Muslim families and four Hindu families), no immediate relief was provided by the State. Some food grains were distributed by the Red Cross.  The victims were threatened when they tried to register FIRs and no FIRs were registered.’

(Picture courtesy dawn.com)

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