Two decades later the ‘Taz mania’ still continues to rock the nationWhen you are living in a world thriving on cheap one night success stars, you are more than eager to know what’s the secret behind making it through 20 years of consistent success. “It’s keeping things simple and sensible,” Taz of Stereo Nation downloads his super hit formula - “masala, extra heat in terms of spice.” In musicolology, we call it a fine blend of melody and lyrics, “those that touch the heart in the most uncomplicated of ways.” For Taz, rather than dishing out a throwaway song, the idea is to strike a evergreen note. In town along with choreographer and rapper Feroz Khan for the Chandigarh Carnival, Tarsem continues to whip up his famous ‘Taz Mania’, and this time, he layers it up with fresh Bollywood cream. “I’ve been working as a music director for Hindi movies now,” he rolls out projects including Viviek Oberoi’s Prince of Thieves, Bachelor Party, the title track for Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty’s next and couple of international collaborations. Being in Bollywood might be the biggest platform for any artist, but Taz agrees that it’s more fun working on an album. “It’s personalized, there’s freedom, experimentation, whereas in films you have to work around the concept, the picturisation, the situation, storyline.it is a challenge though,” he enjoys expressing as a writer and composer, and this, interestingly, has trickled down to his next album which releases in February. From Johnny Z to Taz, life’s been a rollercoaster ride peppered with musical evolutions. One such milestone was the reality show Dhoom Machade. “A lot of reality shows are false, manipulative and fixed. It’s staged by the channel to make money which is a very sad thing,” he comments. Of course, only the talented survive, but this sure was a dampner for Taz. As for babes in bikinis in music videos, Taz feels it’s catering to a trend and it should not be viewed as something ‘pornographic in nature’. That’s a bit far fetched, however Taz agrees to one thing - image is everything. “We live in a very conscious world, so a face to the voice is a necessity,” he pitches for the package deal. Well, who doesn’t!The Right MovesHE’S following his boss’s footsteps, and we can vouch that she is a very happy person, especially after he made Abhishek, John and Priyanka do da bhangra in Maa Da Laadla. “That was me,” choreographer and occasional rapper Feroz Khan gives a sound byte. In town for Taz’s performance, this dancer was the man behind Hard Kaur and Shankar’s moves in Johnny Gaddar and his guru is none other than Farah Khan. “It’s been 11 years now. I started with Farah, and branched out after Main Hoon Naa,” Feroz sticks to the Farah style: simple, which everyone can dance to. “Because when everything looks the same, we outta stand out,” he smiles. With AR Rahman’s songs, couple of videos, IPL’s next video and film Daddy Cool, Feroz sure is standing out!
