Devdas music makes record Rs 12 cr

Bhansali picked 18-year-old Shreya Ghosal to be the voice of Paro (played by Aishwarya Rai) when he saw her perform on TVS Saregama on television. Ghosal has recorded five songs on the Devdas soundtrack, and says she’s a colossal fan of Lata Mangeshkar — that, she believes, did the trick with Lata-bhakt Bhansali. ‘‘He’s very difficult to please because he has a sharp ear, and is very critical. But for a young artiste like myself, it’s wonderful to have someone guide you to such perfection,’’ Ghosal says of Bhansali.

Trained in classical music, Ghosal is personally inclined towards light singing, and believes it is the innocence in her voice that attracted Bhansali. ‘‘There’s no pretence in her singing. She’s uncorrupted and fresh,’’ he says of his discovery. An arts student, Ghosal says she couldn’t have asked for a bigger break than Devdas.

Also making his debut on a film soundtrack is lyricist Nusrat Badr, a poet from Meerut after Bhansali heard the words he’d woven for ghazal albums for Pankaj Udhas and others. Badr has penned the lyrics for eight out of the nine songs which have already been filmed for the movie.

He says that the album does not have a classical flavour that many might expect, considering the period the film is set in, but has a certain purity and richness to it.

‘‘I wouldn’t say the words are modern, but they’re simple words which people of all generations can follow easily,’’ he insists.

Badr says he intentionally didn’t watch Bimal Roy’s version of the film because he didn’t want to be influenced by it.

‘‘You will agree that there is freshness to the songs because the words are not typical.

Yet, convey exactly what needs to be conveyed.’’ Explaining that there are really just three moods for songs in Hindi films — joy, sorrow and anger — Badr says lyricists need to reinvent themselves constantly so as not to appear stale.

Meanwhile, the movie itself is being anxiously awaited. Shrouded in total secrecy during its making, Bhansali’s film is the latest cinematic adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s classic novel. The novel has intrigued such veteran film-makers as P.C. Barua and Bimal Roy. Bhansali’s all-colour extravaganza, with a price tag of Rs 40 crore, is tipped to be among the summer’s most prominent releases.