Chhaayaageet #174 - "There has to be a song here."
It is a week before the film's theatrical release. The whole team is in the filmmaker's theater watching the film - the director, writer, producer, editor, music composers, actors, other executives from the production house, the whole shebang.
After they finish watching the film, no one says anything. They have lost count of the number of times they have seen the scenes, the rushes, the edits, and the whole film itself. They are proud of the effort. Lot of people, lot of hours, lot of hard work.
The producer's father is also in attendance. He has kind of retired from filmmaking. The son is now running the show. The father asks someone to rewind the film back to a particular moment in the last 20 minutes. It is a poignant and emotional scene. There is a very good background score to punctuate the tears in the moment. This is a very pivotal scene in the film.
The father tells someone in the projection room, "Pause karo". Pause here.
He turns back from his seat in the theater and looks at everyone. "There has to be a song here", he tells them.
No one knows what to say. Agree? Disagree? Next Friday the film will be out in the theaters. There isn't much time.
The producer son takes a deep breath. "Papa we don't have time. Plus the background score here is really good. It is exactly what we need for people to feel and connect with the emotions of the hero."
The father is a wise old hand. He knows there are a whole lot of people. He decides not to stretch the topic. Yet he cannot divest himself of his instincts about filmmaking and songs. Almost speaking to himself, he looks at the large screen and repeats himself, "There has to be a song here."
The projector is switched off. Everyone disperses. It is a very good film. They all feel proud of the work that has gone into it. Now it is up to the public.
The composer duo look at their watches. It is seven in the evening. The father's words rankle in their brain, "There has to be a song here." They decide to head back to their music studio.
That moment in the film is still stuck in their brains, and the producer's father's words ringing alongside. It is a moment of victory in the film, yet for the hero, it is a moment of redemption. There is a certain sadness that permeates that victory. If there has to be a song there, it needs to touch somewhere deep inside.
One of the composers remembers a song they had composed for another film. That director had rejected it. "This is too sad", he had told them.
The composer fires up the computer and retrieves that track. They realize it fits. They start working on the instrumentation and record a scratch version. This will really work. They call over the writer and lyricist to write new words. They call a friend of theirs, an upcoming playback singer to record along with one of the composers. By two in the morning, the song is ready.
The duo of Salim-Sulaiman composed music for Chak De! India (2007), produced by Aditya Chopra, written by Jaideep Sahni, directed by Shimit Amin. The song is sung by Salim Merchant and Krishna Beura, and serves as the background for the scenes filmed on Shah Rukh Khan.
It was Yash Chopra who felt intensely that there needed to be a song at that point in the film.
Salim-Sulaiman had composed this tune for an earlier film, Dor, which was made by Nagesh Kukunoor. However, Nagesh did not like the sadness in the tune and wanted a more positive song for his sequence.
Chak De! India was a blockbuster hit at the box office and one of the finest sports films to be made in India. The brief that was given by Aditya Chopra to Salim-Sulaiman was that he wanted the music to become a parallel national anthem for the country, and something that would be played in every stadium every time any Indian team played. That vision has come true!
Music: Salim-Sulaiman
Lyrics: Jaideep Sahni
Singers: Salim Merchant, Krishna Beura
*ing: Shah Rukh Khan
Producer: Aditya Chopra
Film: Chak De! India (2007)