The Score Magazine October 2019 | Page 31

KADAMBARI SRIVASTAVA Taal; to put it literally, means beats. These can be taken in any sense, whether those heartbeats that tap to the tune of destiny, or those of music, the various permutations and combinations of set notes which open endless possibilities. But then there are those few which can capture that beat right from the centre of the heart, only to curate it into something so powerful that it reverberates through time. A.R. Rahman is one such magic composer. And one of the most beautiful Bollywood compositions that he gave to us in the past two decades was in the movie Taal — the 1999 blockbuster starring Aishwarya Rai and Akshay Khanna. The movie was a love story spun amidst the backdrop of music, of two lovers breaking apart and coming together by the musical stroke of fate. Music, here, played the protagonist, the narrator, and who better than Rahman to do justice to such a scenario? But, did you know that while most of the movie titles of the time were more or similar — long and ambiguous with the same old words roped in — it was Taal wherein the movie’s name was inspired by the music curated for it, in sync with love’s pain, loss, and ultimate finding. Yes. Upon the release of the movie’s soundtrack to widespread acclaim, director Subhash Ghai revealed the same. “I credit the name of the movie to composer A.R.Rahman. This movie is a romance and I could have called it any thing – Dil, Pyaar, Hum Bhaag Gaye, but it was SB's presence in the movie that gave me the confidence to call it Taal. Taal means music and music means Taal. The whole credit goes to A.R.Rahman and Anand Bakshi. SB kept me awake many nights, but after listening to the songs, I felt it was worth all the trouble,” Ghai said. Time has been kind to the movie and its soundtrack. In the times of social media when tides can turn any day in favour of something or against it, Taal has been rocking the boat steadily, like a cool stream amidst high tides. Even if Ghai wouldn’t have revealed it, it was an apt title to the movie. After all, it’s music which plays the role of narrator, mediator, a character in its own capacity. Each note, each song has been spun together so lovingly that it is in stark contrast to the lazy compositions of today that hardly experiment and mostly rely on the popularity of the old which are recreated to suit the forced narratives. The credit of Taal’s success goes as much to the music as to the other aspects, more so, if one dares say. So it is not surprising that it is named after the very beat which created it. Taal was the story of two star-crossed lovers, who met as music wafted through the beauty of nature, and fell in love as the tunes formed a song of its own. As class difference created a valley between them as misunderstanding crept in, it was eventually which cleared those and brought them together too. Music is not only the backdrop of the movie, but is omnipresent throughout the narrative, its presence felt in the highs and lows and in the pleasant plateaus of the plot. The music of Taal was as essential to it as the screenplay itself, and just when one thought Rahman couldn’t do it better, he went ahead and outdid himself. The music of Taal will remain in the hearts forever, as the fusion of genres and instruments will come alive with the immortal words of Anand Bakshi, and the story of love will live. Nostalgic Notes Taal - A Musical Marvel Beyond Years... The Score Magazine highonscore.com 29