A few minutes ago, i discovered that the famous song " Mile sur mera tumhara", which i grew up watching on Doordarshan, the government owned TV station has been re-packaged. The remake stars the icons of modern day : Deepika padukone, Aishwarya Rai, Yesudas, Aamir Khan among others. I have embedded it here for those who want to have a look
What is going on here ? Is it another attempt at re-branding India, as the emerging 'super-power' ? Or an attempt to bring Indians together ( read all the bollywood stars from all religions, castes and denominations) in a show of unity ? perhaps a bit of both, with a ton of jingoism thrown in. It is also pertinent to mention that as i write this post, the Shahrukh Khan starrer, "My name is Khan" was released across cinemas last friday amidst much controversy. Apparently Mr.Khan has hurt many people by saying that Pakistani cricket players be allowed to play in the Indian Premier League. This is being seen as a very 'un-Indian' thing to do. The right-wing in India has very predictably jumped into the fray and attacked him with all its might. The fact that he is muslim helps their cause. The movie was not due to be released amidst threats from the Shiv-sena in Mumbai, but ultimately was released across the country. Ironically, the movie received much publicity as a result and many more people would want to see it now just to see if there is an element of controversy in it.
The story line itself sounds very cheesy and typical bollywood. From what i could gather watching the trailer, it is about a certain Rizwan Khan, a Muslim who falls in love with a girl in the US attempts to prove to the world that he is not a terrorist by trying to meet the president of the US. How banal and mis-placed can one get ? The saving grace seems to be some of the sound-tracks.
I am curious to see how the movie is received in India and abroad ? king khan is known for his power to drive up revenues of films just by his presence. It remains to be seen if he can draw in the crowds with such a jingoistic and in the face story-line.
Here is the older version of 'Mile sur mera tumhara'. Hope you tell the difference. No prize for guessing which one i like and why.
The older version
