Jana Gana Mana 2000

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 27: When an all-white A R Rahman comes to town, one can expect flashbulbs to pop and overworked camera crews to cross w...

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 27: When an all-white A R Rahman comes to town, one can expect flashbulbs to pop and overworked camera crews to cross wires. When he comes to declare his love for the country once again, with 30 different renditions by artistes as varied as Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle and Pandit Jasraj of the national anthem, you can expect everyone to stand to attention.

That8217;s exactly what happened in the Capital on Thursday, when the man who makes Michael Jackson8217;s ringlets seem passe, made an appearance to release his latest album Jana Gana Mana 2000. That was just before he whizzed off to sing for Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at the National Stadium and then to do namaaz at the Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah.

Giving him company was G Bharat of Bharatbala Productions, who takes pride in the fact that he has re-packaged patriotism into pop music, thus taking pop patriotism literally. Also present at the five-star function were Sudha Raghunathan, Shobha Gurtu, Hariharan sans the ponytail and Pandit Jasraj, the latter looking none the worse for the mauling he received at the hands of a posthumous Protima Gauri Bedi in Timepass.

Lata Mangeshkar and sister Asha Bhonsle, both of whom have lent their voice to the album together in one sequence, did not turn up, though.

While Rahman said the album attempted to bring out the inherent soul in both the vocal and instrumental renditions of the national anthem, he also reiterated that the music was totally unlike Vande Mataram which had been adapted to modern beats.

8220;The album was more like a producer8217;s job since it involved putting all the renditions together. Though it took us three weeks to record, the production took us three months. While Vande Mataram was a popular album, this one is a completely non-commercial venture. It was something I wanted to do. It is not pop patriotism.8221;

Unlike Desh Ka Salam, which, he says, was produced for the soldiers in Kargil and was updated to match today8217;s sounds and music. 8220;But this is not the case with Jana Gana Mana 2000

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.After all, it is our national anthem and we didn8217;t change its music or try to give it a modern touch. Its rendition was made slower, though, purely to give it soul. And it is meant for the people, as the album is not my property.8221;

Bharat believes, like Rahman, that the idea behind Jana Gana Mana and his previous Vande Mataram, was to direct latent nationalism towards the mainstream. Which is why the album has greats like Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Bhimsen Joshi, D K Pattamal, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Begum Parveena Sultana and Pandit Jasraj. It also has Rabindranath Tagore8217;s original rendition as well as an instrumental version of the national anthem. Combining Hindustani, Carnatic and folk music, the album also comes complete with a small booklet which has been designed by Milind Moudgill.

In a burst of real national integration, the video has been shot not in Rajasthan like Vande Mataram, but in Ladakh, where Bharat has filmed a 40-piece string orchestra performing the national anthem. Which is why both Rahman and Bharat insist on calling it a collector8217;s item. One supposes it8217;s only time before they decide to do the same favour to Sare Jahan Se Achcha.