WHY
WATCH OUT FOR PAA? |
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Paa
is getting noticed for a whole
lot of reasons. Well, it is
quite natural that a unique
story of a ‘father-son-father’
draws a lot of attention. The
casting department has pulled
off a coup by managing to put
Amitabh Bachchan as Abhishek’s
son. A year or so ago, when
Paa was first announced and
the makers had been very secretive
about Amitabh’s role in
the film and the look he would
be sporting, we never thought
it would be this big a surprise.
But of course, the film comes
from a man who last filmed a
story in which a 30-year-old
lady falls in love with a 60-year-old
man, much to the surprise and
dismay of her 50+ year-old father;
and it was all told in a pretty
light manner. That was Cheeni
Kum, a movie liked by a lot
of people. So, the Balki-Amitabh
team gets together once again
to provide something different.
There is one more person who
has been with this team since
Cheeni Kum; Maestro Ilayaraja.
Balki seems to swear by the
music of the Maestro and he
has been rewarded for his faith
in Cheeni Kum.
Music was one of the high points
of Cheeni Kum. Though most of
the songs carried tunes from
yesteryear Ilayaraja classics,
they instantly struck a chord
with the cotemporary audience
too. The sweet ‘Cheeni
Kum’, the soft ‘Baatein
Hawaa’ which also had
Amitabh narrating intermittently
and the mellifluous ‘Janne
Do Na’ were chartbusters
and still continue to be popular,
two years after the film released.
Now, we have Paa. One cannot
help but smile in delight |
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upon hearing the music of Paa. Of course,
we are used to such class music from Ilayaraja.
But, we don’t get as much in quantity
these days, he has cut down the number of
films down the years. Once the regular composer
for many of the top directors in the industry,
he now picks and chooses his assignments,
being a regular only with a select few directors
like Bala, Sathyan Anthikkad (Malayalam)
and now Balki.
The reason Paa is delightful is that it
is vintage Ilayaraja music. It has all those
traits that made his music so dear to all
of us over the decades. The use of instruments
is one of them. Paa is perhaps a statement
that there is no one who can create magic
with instruments quite like Ilayaraja; especially
with the violins. Who can forget the sheer
energy that he transferred on to screen
with the use of violins in ‘Rakkamma
kaiya thattu’ in Thalapathi? Paa too
has traces of that magic which is why we
have reasons to smile. Yes, the tunes have
been adapted from his yesteryear hits, but
the magic has not dimmed. That is proof
of the timeless quality of the music produced
by Ilayaraja, it can mesmerize people across
generations. The ‘Gumsum’ number
is a classic example of this. And, if you
thought that melody was his only forte,
then check out the ‘Mere Paa’
song in Amitabh’s voice. It is instantly
loveable; a song that can win hearts across
barriers of language and it is difficult
to slot it into any genre.
If music alone can make a movie go places,
then Paa is a definite candidate for success.
Looking at the storyline, it must be a touching
and enjoyable story of a young boy trapped
by a medical condition in an old man’s
physique (progeria). With the Big B in a
role of a lifetime (as his son’s son)
and music that can make you melt, watch
out for Paa. |
