Cricket and cinema bind the country like nothing else. So fittingly, when World Cup 2011 juggernaut comes to town, Bollywood composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy will be singing in honour of it. The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently launched the official anthem for the cup composed by the trio titled, De Ghumaa Ke, which will have Hindi, Bengali and Sinhalese versions as well.
De Ghumaa Ke literally means “hit it hard” and talking about the track Shankar Mahadevan of the S-E-L trio said, “To be able to reach out to millions of cricket fans from all across the world, who are so passionate about the game, through our song is an incredible feeling. What’s more incredible is to have people sing and dance to our song and be able to watch them enjoying themselves immensely.”
As “official tracks” of global sporting events more often than not turn anthems these days, the track could hopefully give Ricky Martin’s Cup of Life or Shakira’s Waka Waka a run for its money. Talking about the track’s expansive linguistic reach, Ehsaan Noorani comments, “It was an honour that we were given the platform to create a song not only for India, but for our neighbouring countries as well.”
The track that was released on New Year’s eve on TV and radio networks is picking up pace as the cricketing bonanza, now only 40-odd-days-ahead, approaches. And by kickoff the song would ideally resonate among millions of cricket-lovers in the three host nations — India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Loy Mendonsa, the third cog in S-E-L, remarks, “It’s lovely to bring a song to a multitude of cricket lovers who think, love and live cricket.”