The Hindu : New Delhi News : A story that gels with his kind of music

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 17, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

A story that gels with his kind of music

The responsibility to deliver is all the more if one comes from a family of illustrious Hindustani classical musicians. That is why Fazal Qureshi, son of the legendary tabla maestro Allah Rakha, agreed to compose and direct music for the upcoming Hindi film "Dansh" only when he was fully convinced that the storyline will gel with his kind of music. The film, starring Kay Kay and Sunali Kulkarni, has been directed by Kanika Verma.

Fazal, who was in the Capital on Tuesday, said: "When the script was narrated to me, I knew it will be a challenging task as the film is about the socio-political life of Mizoram. To make sure that the music was in sync with the plot of the film, I listened to a number of songs from North-East."

Fazal, who also excels in playing the tabla, composed a song for a funeral procession in the film. "This particular song is an integral part of the film. I do not have any interest in composing music for item numbers."

Younger brother of the tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Husain, Fazal said since a number of people in Mizoram follow Christianity, he used Western orchestration for the songs. "As the film dealt with a sensitive subject, I composed songs that went with the seriousness of the plot."

Expressing satisfaction over the way his four songs have been woven into the film, Fazal said: "The songs have been strategically placed in `Dansh' to suit the storyline. Two songs have been sung by playback singer Roop Kumar Rathore, while I asked Kailash Kher to sing a Sufi song. Kunal Ganjawala and Shreya Ghoshal have sung a duet that suits their singing styles." -- Madhur Tankha

-- Madhur Tankha

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