Since I don’t watch television these days, I am a little late to comment on the new “Mile sur mera tumhara”. But better late than never! Recently, on Sankalp 6th anniversary, we volunteers had performed this song. This song was probably one of the best things that once happened to Indian television. I used to be glued to TV waiting for this song. It filled me with so much joy. I still go nostalgic just by thinking about it! But unfortunately, the new one stands nowhere close.
Yes I watched it; it was a mishap. I saw Shahid Kapoor vigorously rubbing his hands all over the mike. Why does Shahrukh Khan flaunt his trademark style here too? I saw an out-of-place Sonu Nigam, where the crowd surrounding him was staring at the camera. And I saw a long-legged Deepika, presumably on a break while filming for a Liril ad, trying to balance herself in the middle of water! What is this girl doing here? Arguably, she doesn’t know to act or dance. The same tragedy with Ranbir Kapoor! Towards the end, I had even started expecting Rakhi Sawant to pop up for her contribution to Indian television.
I did like the parts with Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Anoushka Shankar, Zakir Hussain, L. Subramaniam and Shivkumar Sharma in it. The ending was fine too.
But the old version had a soul to it. It was earnest. It showed to us the country that is India with its numerous subcultures. The new one just doesn’t do that- it is way too long. In the old one, the stars were shown together. The new one terribly lacks that togetherness. Unknown people who represented the true face of India lightened up the old version. Costumes, and culture of various places in India were so beautifully shown. The new one is a Bollywood feast- like an ad to a multistarrer film. It tries to accommodate as many Bollywood stars as possible. Sportspersons were covered for about 30 seconds in a more than 10 minute video! And there are no cricket, tennis, and hockey players in it. The video, which uses technology so much, has missed those who have made the advancement possible. No entrepreneurs, no activists, no authors, no scientists and no engineers!
सौरभ राय | Sourav Roy 