Music and Magic

The first day of the 10th edition of Pune International Film Festival offered a real feast to the film-loving audiences of the city.

The first day of the 10th edition of Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) offered a real feast to the film-loving audiences of the city. Apart from the delightful array of movies,the discussion sessions featured an interaction with legendary music director,Illaiyaraja,the only Indian music director to have worked with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. A special talk on ‘Moving The Story Through Music in Indian Movies’ was organised at City Pride multiplex in Kothrud on the day,where Illaiyaraja and Uttam Singh were the panelists,while director Subhash Ghai handled the moderator duties along with Jabbar Patel,director of PIFF.

Without music,one cannot see movies and there must be real soul in music. God showed me the way of music; I became the follower, revealed the 68-year-old. Music is not cooking,which has a recipe to draw from. It cannot happen if the mind is used. Only when you connect to God that real music comes out of you.”

Both Ghai and Singh recalled old memories of working with Illaiyaraja,and shared many incidents with the audience. Raja ji used to compose around 24 songs with its alternate tunes in one day,and also used to record six songs a day,which is unbelievable! He is a complete institution of music world, said Singh. Ghai added,It’s indeed a pleasure that I got a chance to work with Raja ji . He never said no to any director and always showered his music on everybody.

Young director Johannes Naber from Germany is also in the city,promoting his film The Albanian ,which will compete in the World Cinema Section. Thanking the organisers for giving his film a chance to compete,he said,I have invested ten years to make this film. It is a story from a small and poor country in the middle of Europe. I almost stayed there for four years to study the country and afterward to shoot the film. Naber was in search for producers and funding for three years before he started to shoot. I believe that movies can change the world and the thinking of the people,so I started making them. My roots are in documentary-making,but I would like to make some good movies in the future.”

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