There was this excellent classic called Mile Sur Mera Tumhara produced by Doordarshan in the '80s. I grew up watching it on the national television. It still warms my heart to watch it. We played a game of identifying the language that a line is being sung in. It still is a testimony to national integration.
This Republic Day, the Times of India group produced a video which they call Phir Mile Sur. This new video comes no where near the original version. The original video featured people from all walks of life and from all regions of India. The current video highlights only Bollywood stars. This one is a cheap commercial project. What is Salman Khan, who has successfully killed black bucks, overrun people in a drunken state, doing in it? Where are the great leaders like Dr. Kalam, Sachin Tendulkar?
And they could not find any better persons than Prosenjit and Rituparna to lip-sync the Bangla part! I thank the gods that West Bengal is not known for its forgettable movies. What more? The people who matter a bit, like Baichung Bhutia, Abhinav Bindra, the armed forces, are pushed to the end more like an afterthought.
This article in the Hindustan Times aptly summarises the reactions. (However it must also be noted that The Hindustan Times has its interests going against The Times of India.)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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True. I too watched it. How easily can we see our Indian culture and tradition going down the drain! Why! I find my head upright with pride when I see Deepika Padukone wearing a skimpy dress and chanting Mile sur... I thought that the TV people are a lot smarter...now I realise they are a herd of assholes having no cultural sense.
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