In keeping with the true spirit of the topic, I am listing songs which were only inspired, not blatantly copied. In these cases, you cannot accuse the composer of being a copycat, but on listening to these songs, it wil be clear to you that the Indian version could not have been composed unless the composer in question had listened to the original and drawn inspiration from it. But the most interesting part to me is that in all these instances, the originals were composed by rock bands. Now, a lot of people in India still believe in’guarding’ their children from the influence of rock for its largely anti-establishment appeal. And yet, rock music has trickled into popular film music slowly but surely. So if you are hearing rock without realising it, then what?
*1.Rubaroo - Rang De Basanti
Composer: A R Rahman
Inspiration: Beautiful girl Band: INXS*
A beautiful song by Rahman which has become immensely popular. Even I love the "Rubaroo." chorus. But, the similarity is unmistakable. The beats are exactly the same. Again, the dialogue-like, spaced-out tune arrangement is very similar to that of the original. Of course, the original had none of the ubiquitous electronic sounds and revolved around guitar, piano and saxophone.
*2.Woh Lamhe - Zeher
Composer: Mithun Sharma, Naresh Sharma
Inspiration: Hallowed be thy name Band:Iron Maiden
OK, the’credit’ should go to Pakistani band Jal, I know. Have it your way, but this 1982 heavy metal rage clearly inspired the’Asian’ version. Only, the original is about a man about to be hanged and his feelings and exudes immense grief in contrast to the soothing feel of the latter. But the beats and the solo wail at the start of the song have been incorporated into the song. Even the guitar tabs bear similarity.
*3.Urvasi - Humse hain muqabla
Composer: A R Rahman
Inspiration: Another one bites the dust Band:Queen
The bassline and signature line of the tune find their way into the bassline of this song. Quite apt, for the Tamil/Hindi version too was a rebel song! But this is not to take anything from the song, in every other respect it is a superb composition.
* 4.Kalakapovathu Yaaru - Vasool Raja MBBS
Composer: Bharadwaj
Inspiration: Corazon Espinado Artist:Carlos Santana
Now onto Tamil music. Again, if you have heard both the original and the Tamil version, you would have noticed the distinct similarity, particularly the beats, the chorus portion and the overall Spanish flavour. Let me add that this is not really rock and Spanish sounds beautiful though I don’t know a word of it, so you can let your kids hear this one!
*5.Rojapoo - Agni Natchatram
Composer: Ilayaraja
Inspiration: He’s a woman, she’s a man Band:Scorpions
In typical Raja style, very intricately done, but a sharp ear is all it takes to note the similarities. The beat is the same, but given a smooth pop-like finish and the signature line "He’s a woman." is reproduced very artfully in the Tamil version. Even the crushing guitar riffs and the high-intensity solo find their way into this song, but all so beautifully altered that a casual listener would never spot the similarities.
*6.Kalakalamaga - Punnagai Mannan
Composer: Ilayaraja
Inspiration: Strange kind of woman Band:Deep Purple*
The opening bass cue is reproduced note for note in the Tamil version. After that, the two songs go on entirely different tracks, though both are influenced by jazz. The interesting aspect is that Raja seems to have been considerably well-informed about hard rock, at least more than his fans would have ever guessed.
*7.Yennadi Meenakshi - Ilamai Oonjaladuthu
Composer:Ilayaraja
Inspiration: Man in the middle Band:ABBA
Neither is ABBA rock nor is the Tamil version inspired. Infact, it is pure CCP. The line "Yennadi Meenakshi" is a straight lift from the line "Can you see that man" in the original.
A review about Western music’s influence on film music can never end. I could go on and on. For instance, Genesis appears to have heavily influenced Ilayaraja’s orchestration and - hold your breath - Alan Parsons Project seems to be Harris Jeyaraj’s favourite source. Why are there no blatant copies by the usual suspects in Bollywood in this list? Well, blatant copies by known copycats are not interesting to me and then, Bollywood is more interested in pop and trance, which I don’t follow. Some of you may feel - kya pakaav review likha hain, you are only talking about chorus portions, beats and basslines. Well, all I can say is that those with more than a passing interest in music would find these examples of’inspired’ moments in Indian composers’ careers
interesting.
Comments and further contributions welcome!