Happened to listen to George Peter’s attempt at doing a Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, a single called ONE The Unity Song comprising a ginormous lineup of artists from across languages and genres. 60 people in 9 minutes, yes that is ginormous. And the song does have its good things. A catchy tune for starters (darbari raga, I think), with a smart arrangement featuring some fab instrumentalists like ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram, ace drummer Sivamani, bassist Keith Peters and keyboard wiz Stephen Devassy. The choice of vocalists too is, with a few exceptions, quite spot on – having a fair mix of the old school and the new, of classical and commercial. And good of George include some singers of whom we don’t get to see/hear much of late.
Ok good things done. Now the things that didn’t work for me. Firstly the lyrics. Riddled with cliches. Secondly, a lot of random faces who seem to be there just for the heck of it. Assuming that the target audience is Malayalis, given the predominance of Malayalam in the whole thing, a lot of unnecessary inclusions that I felt. And thirdly the rap by Sreesanth. No, I am not being biased against the man or anything, it is just that Malayalam-accented rap isn’t really my thing.
Anyway, here is the video. The song is decent like I said, so check it. Also, it would be good fun trying to identify all the faces.
