The Story Behind Bismil song: 'Haider'

  • IndiaGlitz, [Monday,September 29 2014]

Featuring Shahid Kapoor, the song "Bismil" from Haider' has created waves. With its imposing music and distinct dance steps, the song has attracted one and all. But did you know, this climactic song from Haider', took months to compose? In an interview filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj admitted the reason as to why it took so much time is because the song was his expression of the Mousetrap in Hamlet.

In William Shakespeare's original play, the Prince of Denmark invites his uncle and stepmother to a play he has created and from their expressions and tries to gauge what if the ghost had told him is true. "It's storytelling through a song, narration of a situation, the kind you see in a musical." The filmmaker, who drew it from his experience of collaborating on a Broadway musical with Mira Nair, pointed out. Sukwinder Singh who has sung it, stated, "Bismil is like a ballet you see on the European stage. Only this one is set in reel life Kashmir."

The filmmaker-composer was very clear that he wanted Kashmiri folk music as it's rooted in the Valley. He hired local musicians to play the sarangi and the rabab and recorded with them in a studio there. Later, he even invited these musicians to the shoot and they joined Shahid Kapoor on stage, while picturising the song

Vishal blended Kashmiri folk music with western opera music, this time drawing from his experience of directed an English opera, A Flowering Tree. Scored by composer-conductor John Adams and based on a classic Indian folk tale written by Kannada scholar AK Ramnujan, the opera premiered in Paris in May, this year.

Vishal Bhardwaj, turned to Gulzar for the words, once the tune was composed. And his 'Kohinoor', as Sukhwinder describes him, didn't disappoint, coming up with the word Bismil which means wounded and is commonly used in the Valley. "As a child I'd first heard the word Bismil at the dargahs I visited. It was short for Bismillah, the starting point for any successful project, and as a result it had a spiritual significance for me," said Sukhwinder.

The "Chaiya Chaiya" singer was the obvious choice for Vishal, the filmmaker said, "He's the only one who can give expression to such songs. Working with him is like jamming, he gives his inputs."

Sukhwinder admitted that it took him 20 minutes to get the mukhda right. He points out that Gulzar's intelligent word play initially had everyone in the studio laughing. "Once I got the hang of it, the rest of the song flowed naturally," he said. When asked Sukhwinder, about how long it took them to complete the recording, Sukhwinder remarked, "Why would we watch the clock? We were not trying to set a record, only celebrating music." For the singer, a high point was when he heard the song playing at a night club in South Africa last week.

After recording Bismil, Sukwinder was amazed by another call from Vishal saying that he wanted to record another version of the song. "When are you free?" he asked. Sukhwinder offered to come along right away, he further added, "And there in the studio, right before my eyes, Ek Aur Bismil took shape. In 20 years, I've never heard anything like this in Indian cinema. Some people are congratulating me for singing jazz so well while others are saying I rock with country music."

A big thanks to Vishal and Gulzar saab who in this day and age, when drums are drowning out voices and lyrics are nothing more than a jumble of senseless words, have come up with a song like Bismil, twice over. Haider', starring Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Tabu, and Kay Kay Menon, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, produced under the banner of UTV motion pictures, is slated for 2nd October 2014 release.

More News

Shruti Haasan adds brand factor

Post 'Ramaiya Vastavaiya' and 'D-Day', the beautiful Shruti Haasan has been bagging a lot of big projects alongside famous Bollywood hunks. With 'Welcome Back', 'Gabbar', 'Yaara' and 'Rocky Handsome' in her kitty, the actress has got her 'Luck' working in her favour in Bollywood. Not only this, Shruti is also becoming the face of quite a few interesting brands.

Shahid Kapoor is being followed

Shahid Kapoor has always experimented with his look for every film. He changes his look completely - from his hair style to clothes in order to fit the role perfectly. The handsome and talented actor, not only plays the part perfectly, but also looks the part. And very often his hairstyles become trends.

Sunny Leone starrer 'Mastizaade' goes Thailand

The team of upcoming sex comedy 'Mastizaade' seems to be having great fun shooting. Going by the theme of the film, no doubt the cast probably enjoys some gags most of the time on sets. Starring Sunny Leone, Tusshar Kapoor and Vir Das in lead, the shooting of the film apparently, which is going on in full swing, has completed its shooting schedule in Mumbai.

Akshay Kumar Unveils The Trailer Of 'The Shaukeens'

Actor-producer Akshay Kumar on Saturday unveiled the trailer of THE SHAUKEENS, the remake of 1982 classic, SHAUKEEN, directed by the legendary comedy specialist Basu Chatterjee, who gave several comedies like CHHOTI SI BAAT (1976),BATON BATON MEIN (1979) KHATTA MEETHA (1977)CHAMELI KI SHAADI ( 1986).

OH NO! Yo Yo Honey Singh Slips & Gets Injured!! Misses SLAM Tour

There's unfortunate news related to Yo Yo Honey Singh. This latest sensation who's currently on a tour along with the team of 'Happy New Year', injured himself after he slipped. The effect of this is that he won't be performing at the scheduled concerts in Chicago, Vancouver and San Jose.