IIFA ROCKS! 2011: A Date with India's Creative Minds

One of the questions most often asked of music composers is "How do you compose a song?" Thanks to the IIFA 2011 Music Workshop, we have the answer.

In a live demonstration, for the first time in history, famed composers Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Salim Merchant, Vishal Bhardwaj and lyricist Javed Akhtar come together to create a musical delight before our eyes. Kalyan "Johnny Bongo" Pathak from Chicago joined them on percussion.

To begin, Javed Akhtar came up with two lines of lyrics which he pondered on and dictated to his partner, Shabana Azmi. When the lyrics were completed, Shankar called out the key and Ehsaan Noorani began banging out a melody on his guitar as Loy Mendonsa put his magic to the keyboard. Shankar Mahadevan used his amazing voice to fuse it all together, organically working on the tune with Vishal Bhardwaj and Salim Merchant joining in.

The following two videos capture the composition session from start to finish.

In the following video, distinguished guest Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, delights the audience with a unique and pace by pace account of how the 'Rang de Basanti' title song emerged thanks to A.R. Rahman (and here Aline CineHindi, my fellow blogger and huge fan of Mr. Mehra, gleefully jumps up and down because I brought back this exclusive video for her).

It is rare for the general public to get a glimpse of the meeting of brilliant minds blending their creativity and making magic happen. The music workshop was definitely the highlight of IIFA for me and I was thrilled to learn more about the creative process. I found it extremely heartwarming to watch it take place before my eyes, seeing wonderful people connecting and coming together to make a beautiful piece of music. A very memorable date and memorable sounds.

Read More >>

IMRAN KHAN chats about cinema

Need a whiff of fresh air? A youthful evening with a dash of romance at the movies? Have you seen 'I Hate Luv Storys'? Not yet?! What are you waiting for?!

Meanwhile see what lead actor Imran Khan had to say to Diana from the Cinema Hindi Italian blog who turned up for a live chat organized by Bollywood Hungama:

CH - Imran, what do you like about your character in IHLS?

IK - I like how much fun the character was to play.

CH - Which is you favourite scene of IHLS?

IK - I like the dinner scene with Sonam and Samir, just before “Sadka” starts. There’s a lot of tension in that scene.

CH - What do you think about new Hindi cinema producing films such as 'Love Sex Aur Dhokha', 'Kaminey' and 'Dev D'?

IK - 'LSD' was brilliant. I really like Dbakar, personally as well as professionally..

CH - Do you know Italian Cinema?

IK - I’ve seen all of Roberto Benigni’s films, I’m a huge fan of him.

FILM: I HATE LUV STORYS

Directed by: Punit Malhotra
Produced by: Ronnie Screwvala, Hiroo Johar, Karan Johar (Dharma Productions)
Starring: Imran Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Samir Soni
Screenwriting: Punit Malhotra
Executive producer: Marijke Desouza
Music: Vishal Dadlani, Salim Merchant & Suleiman Merchant (background score), Shekhar Ravjiani

Read More >>