The video of the “new age” classic Mile sur mera tumhara has left me so flabbergasted that I am writing a post here for want of an avenue to vent my frustration. Before I begin the bashing, I would like to ask the producers of this appalling video a few questions
- What in the name of Christ prompted u to go ahead and make a video like this?
- Just like the “bolly celebs” dance around at peoples’ weddings, is this like a video for Mr. Kailash Surendranath’s wife’s birthday???
- Do u really expect people to buy this unworthy piece of s*&t as a masterpiece representing our feeling of national integration???
- Where is the “sur” in the song????
The video opens with A. R. Rehman.. U got us our first Oscar dude… Point taken.. But pls compare ur “Vande Mataram” to this… Do u think u should really have been in this video given its mediocre production value?? Then comes in the Big B singing about how ur sur and my sur together can coalesce to form our sur… Believable sir.. Coming from a person like u, who has done India proud in a way, I must say I am willing to accept that. Enter the trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy… The beginning of their piece is all noise.. Later when things start settling down, u might find a flicker of harmony..
Next comes in Anoushka Shankar.. Cool I thought.. Maybe she might greet me with some much needed “divine lift” that is usually associated with the sitar.. But once again, I was left in the lurch… I felt like driving a nail thru my ears…
Honestly speaking, after seeing the first 2 mins of the video, my heart started sinking.. That feeling got worse with Vikram n Surya showing up on the screen.. I respect the fact that both of them are superstars in their own right. But to come in as a representative of the rich Tamil culture.. I’m sorry.. Not really impressed..
Then comes Shreya Ghoshal.. Gal, u r the reason I started believing in the music reality shows. But u sing atop a running bus and lend ur voice to the very plastic, trying-too-hard Mrs Junior Bachchan and there goes my respect for u, down the drain… Joining the Bachchan bahu is the Bachchan beta.. He HAS done our country proud I must say, to merit a place in the video. After the 3 Bachchans, I was almost expecting Big B’s better half, Mr. Amar Singh, the B’s personal hair-stylist, kaam-wali bai n others to smile at me thru the screen.. Thankfully, that didn’t happen…
Mahesh Babu is shown surrounded by the elderly, depicting our concern for them. This projects a sensitive image and turns out to be one of the very few honest moments in the video. The Sharmas come in next with their Jugalbandi.. Now this seems more like a part inspired by the political scenario in our country, if u know what I mean… The symbolism attached with the Sur-taal in the Gurdaas Mann part is kinda nice. And who’s that female screeching behind Juhi’s face?? I was filled with pity for the effervescent Juhi when I saw her part… Poor gal…
Bringing in Bhupen Hazarika just for the sake of fitting him in the video is a great disrespect to the man.. He deserves much more honour than is bestowed upon him in the video. Shilpa Shetty Kundra comes in to show us that we are empowering our women to become independent. Ok Mrs Kundra, we believe u… Or rather, would like to believe u…
Then comes Salman Khan.. No doubt his portion with the differently abled kids strikes a chord.. But dude, u r in a video made on national integration, not in some cheap infomercial shown on AXN.. What r u doing “topless?” Sivamani’s track seems like a background score of a chase sequence in some arbit hindi movie. No justice done to the maestro here..
Enter Dr. L. Subramaniam MBBS( Miya Biwi bachchon Samet).. Really???? Biwi is fine.. But what about the kids. Can u justify their presence in a video like this?? Now comes the part that I hated the most about this video… The over-expressive Deepika Padukone enters showing her legs.. How do u connect national integration to her legs??? Pls explain that to me.. Either I’m really dumb who could not see the link or there is something seriously wrong with the producers of the video who chose to enforce such imbecilicity on us…Moreover just because her father featured in the previous video, does she warrant a place here?? Reminiscising of the “khandaan” tradition anyone???
Priyanka Chopra shows us that we no longer look at our daughters as just “Ghar ki Laxmi”. We are giving them an opportunity to study and go ahead in their life.. No qualms against u :).. Showing Sudarshan Patnaik in the video was another good point. He has taken sand sclupting to whole new levels and made India really proud..
Just as I’m looking for some good points in the video, another family tree shows up.. Gawd!!! I groan.. Pls knock some sense into these guys… Just as my hopes are ebbing away, Dr. Yesudas provides the much needed relief. The visuals in the background, representative of “God’s own country” are cliched, but beautiful nonetheless…
Mallika Sarabhai.. I missed u in the video.. Although I think it was respectful on ur part no to appear in it.. Shobhana has done a good job.. But why club her with Shaimak Davar?? Logic anyone??? And why Aamir had to do his “Aati kya Khandala” bit is beyond me..
Sonu Niggam used to be one of my favourite singers of all times. But the video shows him as a demented, turned-out-of-his-own-home fellow which does his image no good. I think I speak for all his fans when I say this kind of stupidity on his part, was totally uncalled for. And what are Shahid and Ranbir doing here??
Now enters *drumrolls……….* The King Khan… Expecting him in a Swades-kinda look.. But he is a major turn off.. His act is reminiscent of “Suraj Hua Maddham” and not “Yeh jo des hai tera”.. Now I’m seriously wondering if I am watching a video on National Integration or some candy floss hindi movie… Then comes his best bud Karan Johar… Really??? Is this a Dharma production?? Can I hear a Farah Khan wailing that she wasn’t asked to be a part of this hippodrome??
Vijender Singh, Sunil Kumar, Abhinav Bindra, Saina Nehwal,Baichung Bhutia, Mary Kom are all featured for about 20 seconds.. Where are the other guys like Rajyavardhan Rathore, Gagan Narang, Sachin Tendulkar?? And yeah, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle who have sung songs in almost every Indian language should never be incorporated here… Deepika’s legs are much more a sign of India “developing” than the two nightingales.. How ironic, in a video about sur, the Goddesses of Indian music are not even given a fleeting mention..
I don’t mean to be spewing hatred here, but is this the kind of India we want to project to the outer world? Does India mean bollywood and vice versa? If that’s what we think, then I’m sorry to say the westerners are not wrong in their perception of Indians as a bunch of wannabes. As a matter of fact, this is a blasphemy to the sacred idea of India.. We r being paraded as a group of losers who want to cling on to anything shiny, however fake and artificial it is.. If this is how India has progressed in the past two decades, then “God bless India”….