Saturday, 04 September 2010 04:39 | [image: PostAuthorIcon]Written by Aman Narula
It is really heartrending that AR Rahman honored with international laurels is encountering aggravation for his anthem composed for Commonwealth Games 2010. It isdeplorable to see people remain indulged in drawing comparisons. They are seeking western flavor in Indiancomposition. Since the day when AR Rahman was assigned the job of composing anthem for CWG 2010, everyone wanted that his theme song should not only sound like Shakira’s “Waka Waka” (prepared for Football World Cup 2010) but it should outshine its success also. People have presented their reactions on social networking sitesin heaps. If we forget the views of higher officials regardingtheme song for few seconds and go by the opinion of public in general; they are missing the spark of energy and vigor in the anthem. It seems to be worn-out and what to talk of surpassing Waka Waka it is not even near to it. The song took six months of time and it costs Rs.5.5 crore. But the efforts of Rahman and Mehboob have not been recognized positively. It lacks the original spirit of India and it fails to showcase country’s culture to the world. “Oh Yaaro! India Bula Liya” does not fill you with the spirits that were present in Rahman’s Oscar winningcomposition “Jai Ho”. His music has earned standing ovation around the world that makes the Organising Committee of CWG 2010 to employ Rahman for the composition of anthem. But it seems that he has to compete with his own song “Jai Ho”. The theme song was anticipated to be the huge success as Rahman was behind it; perhaps this causes pressures over his work. And it is quite obvious that higher expectations usually influence the creativity. The things went worse when Rahman himself appraised the song and assured that it will be better than Waka Waka. His statement enthused his fans with great enthusiasm who were waiting for the release of the song. But it left most of the audiences unmoved as it could not touch the instincts of people. Sukhwinder Singh is also very sad about his friend receiving critical comments on anthem “Oh Yaaro!” He has sung several songs with his music. He believes Rahman has reached the summit as a result of his teamwork. He wonders as to how did he appraise his creation that he is so humble and down to earth that he never spoke about hiscomposition in the past. V K Malhotra was the first one not liking the theme song of CWG 2010 composed by AR Rahman. Then critical remarks kept pouring in by political leaders. In the recent development, former sports minister Shahnawaz Hussain has demanded recreation of the theme song. He says, “I respect Rahman for what he has achieved but the track simply does not excite me. No one in the Organising Committee (OC) likes it except perhaps Suresh Kalmadi. It isnowhere close to Waka Waka and has failed to lift the sagging spirits of the CWG. Either it is good music or bad. There is no middle way to evaluate the appeal of an Rs.5 crore (Rs.50 million) track, he can surely re-compose it”. http://ic-technews.com/entertainment/719-over-expectation-influenced-ar-rahmans-composition-of-theme-song-for-commonwealth-games-2010
