Games song needs more India in it
The theme song approved by the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on Sunday for the Commonwealth Games-2010 could not be released here on Monday as some tweaking in the lyrics was required.
The lyrics apparently needed more lines underlining “India’s composite culture”. The redone song is likely to be released in the next 10 days. However, with this delay, the video shoot is likely to take well over another fortnight, further delaying promotional activities.
Talking to mediapersons at a press conference called to unveil “the making of the theme song”, music director A.R. Rahman, who composed the music for the song Swagatam, said it would be released later as some tweaking of the lyrics was required. He added that he was also working on an operatic version and wanted to add “some more Indian sounds into the composition in order to enhance the Indian appeal”. The Rs 5-crore song, around six months in the making, will feature, besides Rahman, the voices of Sukhwinder and Shankar Mahadevan.
It is reliably learnt that filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who heads the Games cultural committee, made the recommendations for a change in the lyrics during the meeting with the EGoM on Sunday evening. “It was felt that the lyrics in their present form sounded more Delhi-centric. However, lyricist Mehboob, who penned the song, may not be required to work overtime as additional stanzas along the desired lines do exist. They need to be changed slightly to fit in the entire scheme of things,” an official said, adding, “The updated version of the song, with the recommended additions, is likely to be presented in the EGoM meeting on Friday.”
According to sources, however, the delay in finalising the song, which was supposed to be released along with the video on August 14, will further delay promotional activities. “As planned earlier, the video had to be extensively shot throughout India by Bharat Bala Productions. But with things not being clear on the part of the Organising Committee it was delayed,” the source said. “The video, as planned, will take at least 15 to 20 days, which is likely to further delay the whole promotion process,” added an OC official.
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