25 YEARS ON... WHY THE MUSIC OF TAAL STILL ECHOES ACROSS GENERATIONS
Look who’s turning 25 with HT City! On its silver jubilee, singers who were a part of this 1999 musical masterpiece, which gave us iconic dance and romantic numbers, tell us why the songs from this film remain classics
Back in 1999, Taal, directed by Subhash Ghai dared to dream different by presenting an eccentric love story in a musical format. Starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anil Kapoor and Akshaye Khanna in lead roles, the movie is considered to have a masterpiece album, composed by AR Rahman. From love ballads to upbeat dance numbers — the album gave unforgettable melodies, written by Anand
Bakshi, to all ’90s kids.
Every song had a story to tell, for instance, Ramta Jogi’s opening sequence was done by percussionist Sivamani using a beer bottle! The Raga Dance was Rahman’s collaboration with British violinist Vanessa Mae. And who can forget the Taal Se Taal (Western) that gave way to several classical and western dance crossovers.
As the film clocks 25 years this year, we speak to some singers who lent their voice for the album that still remains a favourite among all age groups.
SONU NIGAM, ISHQ BINA
I had worked previously with Ghai ji for Pardes (1997). liked me since He had then. He wanted put me in the to song Ishq Bina, although my part comes late song (after four in the minutes).
If you notice, this I had never sung in kind of reshami awaz before, which stood out.
Later, when I singing a song was for Ismail Darbar (composer), he told me, “Sonu, Taal wali awaz woh isse pehle aayi He wanted me nahi”. for to sing in that something he way So was
Taal was the composing. first time people had heard me be romantic.
It was recorded in Chennai studio, at Rahman’s late in the night song is very as usual. The special to me till date.
This album is not just for listening, it is an academy in itself. And this song became the turning point in my life.
Back then delicate voices were in demand, whereas I have a husky, folksy texture. I was always told I don’t have a mainstream voice, and it can’t be used for a heroine. So my voice remained in the background. Rahman also used my kind of voice. Later I got to know that the song featured Aishwarya!
This was also a dream come true as I had really wanted to work with Rahman since I saw his name and photo on Roja (1992) or Bombay (1995) film album cover, calling him “new music director”. As fate would have it, Sukhwinder Singh (singer) asked me to come to a studio at 1am. To my surprise Rahman was present!