MUMBAI: The launch of ‘Raunaq’, which should have been a musical gathering turned out to be less musical and more overwhelming due to the numerous Bollywood elements present. The event took place at Taj Land’s End Bandra, and saw the unveiling of a collaborative album between the legendary A R Rahman and Union minister turned lyricist Kapil Sibal.
The extravaganza hit all the right notes when it kicked off with Rahman behind the piano and Sibal reciting his poem on the mic. This star-studded event also had advertising fraternity and Bollywood actors extending support. Unfortunately, the live music performance was short-lived with the appearance of Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
The frenzy that followed included Khan taking the stage and making statements that had little connection to the event, and leaving the venue in less than an hour. Naturally, Khan’s comments got the rumour mill churning and left Rahman in a spot. His interaction with the media left him answering questions that were less musical in nature and more attributed to explaining his rather complicated professional relation to Khan.
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Replying to a controversial question asked by a media personnel, Rahman candidly stated, “You are creating headlines for tomorrow” which left many laughing. The Oscar winner seemed to gracefully brush aside the incident and continued talking about the music and his album ‘Raunaq’. Rahman has not only composed music for it but also played the role of a visual story teller and has conceived the narrative of the lead music video as well.
The album features seven plus songs sung by some of the best artists from the music industry. Bharat Ratna Awardee Lata Mageshkar will be heard on the track ‘Laadli’; Shreya Ghosal has sung ‘Kismat se’; and Jonita Gandhi offered her vocals for the song ‘Aa Bhi Jaa’.
However, the one track that stood out for Rahman and Sibal was ‘Laadli’, which both feel is simple and pure, considering it homage to all the girls in India.
Sibal who had given Rahman his 50 odd poems, feels proud that the ‘Dil Se’ singer decided to work with him. Despite being present for a music event, Sibal was hounded with political questions, however, refrained from answering anything politically related.
The album is currently still in the works and will be completed in coming weeks.
