Monday, January 21, 2013

BOLLYWOOD part I

"Jai Ho" is a song composed by A. R. Rahman for the soundtrack to Subhash Ghai's 2008 film Yuvvraaj. Ghai, who suggested Rahman use the words "jai ho" in a song, thought it was "too subtle and soft" for inclusion in the film. Rahman and Gulzar, who co-wrote the lyrics to the song, felt that the song had "immense potential", so when Danny Boyle, the director of the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, approached Rahman to compose its soundtrack, Rahman used the song for it. "Jai Ho" accompanies a choreographed dance sequence at the end credits of Slumdog Millionaire. The song features vocals from Sukhvinder Singh, Mahalaxmi Iyer and Vijay Prakash in three Indian languages: Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. Indian singer Tanvi Shah wrote and provided vocals for a Spanish section of the song.

"Jai Ho" was, at the time of its release "the toast of the town in almost every part of the world". Videos were posted on YouTube of people covering and remixing the song, as well as doing the "Jai Ho" dance featured in the film. "Jai Ho" received universally favorable reviews from music critics, citing it as the best song on the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. It was also the official campaign song of the Indian National Congress during the 2009 election. 
American girl group The Pussycat Dolls recorded an English interpretation of "Jai Ho". Entitled "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)", and credited to "A. R. Rahman and the Pussycat Dolls featuring Nicole Scherzinger", the song appeared on the re-release of the group's second studio album Doll Domination (2008). After watching Slumdog Millionaire record executives Ron Fair and Jimmy Iovine wanted to turn "Jai Ho" into a "pop record without deviating from the original melody". Music critics responded generally favorably to "Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)", citing it to be a great adaption to the original song.

No comments: