Phir nahi mile sur mera tumhara...
Anyone who grew up in India during the 80s and 90s, wont forget the patriotic bit of National Integration song/video "Mile sur mera tumhara". Doordharshan used to telecast it time and again to promote unity in a nation whose one unique identity is its vibrant diversity.
I revisited the nostalgic years when I chanced upon the song on youtube one day. It brought me more than a smile when old memories returned. I reminisced of the celebrated great talents of our nation, the masteros of sitars, tablas, vocal chords and perfect graceful movements. The gems of our country were duly represented as also were the varied cultures, languages and natives. There were a couple of appearances of movie stars to add glamour. I particularly loved the ending. Hundreds of little children dressed in the symbolic colours orange, white and green, formed the tricolor national flag. I always thought that it was very creative and symbolic of children being the future of our nation.
I was surprised to see that there was a new version to this old video - "Phir mile sur mera tumhara". A newer version made after 22 years apparently to remind us of everything that the older bit had represented.
It did, but not of national unity and cultural diversity; not of the talented gems that adorm our country; not of the colourful people and vibrant cultures that make this nation a one of a kind in the whole planet; not of the playful, eager children who will take the reigns of India in the future. Instead all I saw was the latest additions to bollywood cinema, and the extent to which cinema has grown, developed and overtaken our lives!
22 years later, I sadly miss the pride that welled up every time I saw the video.
There are a few remarkable moments in the video. Honouring our genius, Oscar-winning national pride A.R. Rahman at the very beginning; the appearance of Anushka Shankar the daughter of pandit Ravi Shankar(who appeared in the older video); the melodious Shreya Ghoshal in place of the legendary Lata Mangeshkar; Shaan, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Sonu Nigam, Vijay Yesudas and the like are representations of the young and musically talented minds that India produced in the past 22 years. It was heartening to see the older gurus pandit Shiv prasad sharma, fashin designer Rohit Bal, tabla mastero Zakir hussain, Yesudas, Mamooty, Bhupen hazarika and Kavitha Krishnamurthy. Music was given its due. So was dance with the two of the country's finest dancers.
But what is bad-boy Salman doing here once again shirt-less! And Shilpa Shetty , Deepika, Shahid Kapoor, Abjishek Bachan, Ranbir Kapoor etc... Apart from the fact that some of them are sons/daughters of the legends of yester years I seriously doubt their credentials for a national integration video where they are juxtaposed alongside the wonderful talents mentioned earlier, unless long legs and big biceps are a requirement! Precious video time is wasted for such insignificant inclusions.
Our country alone has more cultures than the entire Europe taken togather! Where are they in this video? Apparently Mr.Kailash Surendranath's visiblility had very poor range. Its only as wide as the spotlight, literally, the bollywood spotlight!
Besides acting, we do have a lot of other art-forms and able artists in the country who deserve better recognition. What happened to sports? Sadly that arena was fully sidelined. Doesnt our country produce a decent number of good atheletes who deserve a mention? The ending in particular was a shameful disappointment. Olympic medal winner Abhinav Bhindra sure was featured as also were a couple of others, but it was a -"if u blink, u miss it"-rush-through-at-the-end kind of treatment.
We as a country have been reduced to a group whose lives, thoughts and behaviour are being shaped by bollywood movies. As with this video, its becoming evident in every thing else we do. And if people like Kailash Surendranath keep this in kind and make a conscious effort, they can make better videos that are not a parading ground for all the bad and mediocre actors/actresses of bollywood.
I revisited the nostalgic years when I chanced upon the song on youtube one day. It brought me more than a smile when old memories returned. I reminisced of the celebrated great talents of our nation, the masteros of sitars, tablas, vocal chords and perfect graceful movements. The gems of our country were duly represented as also were the varied cultures, languages and natives. There were a couple of appearances of movie stars to add glamour. I particularly loved the ending. Hundreds of little children dressed in the symbolic colours orange, white and green, formed the tricolor national flag. I always thought that it was very creative and symbolic of children being the future of our nation.
I was surprised to see that there was a new version to this old video - "Phir mile sur mera tumhara". A newer version made after 22 years apparently to remind us of everything that the older bit had represented.
It did, but not of national unity and cultural diversity; not of the talented gems that adorm our country; not of the colourful people and vibrant cultures that make this nation a one of a kind in the whole planet; not of the playful, eager children who will take the reigns of India in the future. Instead all I saw was the latest additions to bollywood cinema, and the extent to which cinema has grown, developed and overtaken our lives!
22 years later, I sadly miss the pride that welled up every time I saw the video.
There are a few remarkable moments in the video. Honouring our genius, Oscar-winning national pride A.R. Rahman at the very beginning; the appearance of Anushka Shankar the daughter of pandit Ravi Shankar(who appeared in the older video); the melodious Shreya Ghoshal in place of the legendary Lata Mangeshkar; Shaan, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Sonu Nigam, Vijay Yesudas and the like are representations of the young and musically talented minds that India produced in the past 22 years. It was heartening to see the older gurus pandit Shiv prasad sharma, fashin designer Rohit Bal, tabla mastero Zakir hussain, Yesudas, Mamooty, Bhupen hazarika and Kavitha Krishnamurthy. Music was given its due. So was dance with the two of the country's finest dancers.
But what is bad-boy Salman doing here once again shirt-less! And Shilpa Shetty , Deepika, Shahid Kapoor, Abjishek Bachan, Ranbir Kapoor etc... Apart from the fact that some of them are sons/daughters of the legends of yester years I seriously doubt their credentials for a national integration video where they are juxtaposed alongside the wonderful talents mentioned earlier, unless long legs and big biceps are a requirement! Precious video time is wasted for such insignificant inclusions.
Our country alone has more cultures than the entire Europe taken togather! Where are they in this video? Apparently Mr.Kailash Surendranath's visiblility had very poor range. Its only as wide as the spotlight, literally, the bollywood spotlight!
Besides acting, we do have a lot of other art-forms and able artists in the country who deserve better recognition. What happened to sports? Sadly that arena was fully sidelined. Doesnt our country produce a decent number of good atheletes who deserve a mention? The ending in particular was a shameful disappointment. Olympic medal winner Abhinav Bhindra sure was featured as also were a couple of others, but it was a -"if u blink, u miss it"-rush-through-at-the-end kind of treatment.
We as a country have been reduced to a group whose lives, thoughts and behaviour are being shaped by bollywood movies. As with this video, its becoming evident in every thing else we do. And if people like Kailash Surendranath keep this in kind and make a conscious effort, they can make better videos that are not a parading ground for all the bad and mediocre actors/actresses of bollywood.
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