Soulful music of Amol Palekar’s ‘Samaantar’ launched by BIG Music

Shankar Mahadevan and Shreya Ghoshal sing for ‘Samaantar’

Mumbai, August 12, 2009: In today’s world of remix culture, the pure essence of soulful music, non-synthetic sound has been lost in oblivion. BIG Music is bringing back the eternal melodies, magical compositions seamlessly weaved in filmmaker Amol Palekar’s latest creation ‘SAMAANTAR’, a BIG Pictures production that is all set to release on September 4, 2009. The music for this Marathi magnum opus starring AMOL PALEKAR and SHARMILA TAGORE was released amid much fanfare at Cinemax Versova on Wednesday, August 12, 2009.

Present at the music launch of Samaantar was the film’s entire star cast & crew – Amol Palekar, Samir Dharmadhikari, Aishwarya Narkar, Radhika Apte, Sandip Mehta, Rishi Deshpande, Makarand Deshpande, Vandana Gupte, story, screenplay & dialogue writer Sandhya Gokhale, lyricist Kishore Kada aka Saumitra, music director Anand Modak. The film is about two parallel lives crossing each other in the twilight of life.

The music of Samaantar has been composed by Anand Modak, while the soulful lyrics for the songs have been penned by Kishore Kadam – both of whom were present at the music launch. Shankar Mahadevan and Shreya Ghoshal, who have lent their mesmerising voices to the songs of the film, performed at the music launch of Samaantar.

According to Kulmeet Makkar, CEO, BIG Music & Home Entertainment, “The music of ‘Samaantar’ is very original and melodious. I’m sure the discerning Marathi listener will find this album to be a classic in the making. BIG Music is proud to have content like ‘Samaantar as part of our catalogue, especially since it’s from a team of stalwarts like Amol Palekar and Anand Modak.”

Samaanatar presents an intense story through alluring characters of Keshav and Shama. Keshav’s melancholy amidst his busy surroundings is well carved by Palekar who is acting after his last film Khamosh directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Thirty years after his Ankahee, Palekar has directed and acted in his own film. Shama’s silent poise is depicted through marvelous performance by legendary Sharmila Tagore who is acting in a Marathi film for the first time. The two prolific actors have come together after their Bengali super hit film ‘Mother’ in late 70s.

For Amol Palekar, the music done by Anand Modak is completely in sync with the texture of the film. “Anand has capably conveyed the various emotions and changing rhythms of the script through his compositions. Anand’s strength is in his melodies rooted in clas sical as well as folk music.” he said.

Kishore Kadam who is immensely popular as “Saumitra” among the younger generations has penned the lyrics for all the songs in ’Samaantar'. “These songs are based on the diverse modes of relationships. Amolda and Snadhyaji briefed me very clearly about the demands of the situations and emotions. That made my task easier as a lyricist.” Kadam explained.

Sandhya Gokhale who brilliantly inscribed music in the earlier screenplays written by her for films like Paheli, Thaang, or conceived Dhrupad music in Anaahat is very excited with the winning score of Samaantar. “This music which synthesizes sensitive poetry and unforgettable tunes will be etched in our mind forever.” added the writer who is also trained in Hindustani classical music.

“Nuste Nuste”, a song sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Shreya Ghoshal in Samaantar, exudes hope while traversing through loneliness. This melodious song shot stunningly on scenic locations will surely hypnotize the audience for years to come. “Kay Jahale, tula manaa re…” is yet another song that will move the audience touching their heart. The two talented singers brightened the music launch evening by singing these soulful songs.

Anand Modak, who has composed the music for Samaantar, said that “Many non-Marathi singers like Hemant Kumar, Manna De, Mahendra Kapoor had lent their voices to Marathi film music. I am grateful to Amolji who offered me brilliant singers like Shankar and Shreya. Their accent is as Marathi as it could be!”

“Navika Re hati tujhya…” brings out the authentic fragrance of a majhi (boatman’s) song that was immortalized by the late S.D. Burman. “I have experimented with the majhi rhythm and tune which suited the situation taking place on the banks of river Ganges. Sudesh Bhosale has superbly brought out the pathos of the boatman’s yearning.” added Modak.

While hoping that the audience will patronize this fresh music richly, Mahesh Ramanathan, COO of BIG Pictures said, “We are proud to unveil a stupendous gift in the form of audio CD of Samaantar to eclectic music lovers.”

About BIG Music & Home Entertainment: BIG Music & Home Entertainment has taken significant strides towards its objective of emerging as a dominant player in the Indian Music and Home Entertainment industries. Apart from releasing chart-busting music of Hindi films like Luck By Chance, Rock On!!, the company has also released blockbusters such as Welcome, Jodhaa Akbar, Singh is Kinng and Rock On!! on home video.

The company is the exclusive licensee to the best of Hollywood’s prestigious studios - Universal Pictures International BV, Warner Home Video, Paramount Home Entertainment Global & DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. With its robust pan-India distribution network, the company will ensure reach for these Hollywood products, not only in urban market but also mass marketVisit us at http://bigmusic.co.in and http://bigvideo.co.in

About Reliance Big Entertainment: Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd. (RBEL, www.rbe.in) is the flagship media and entertainment arm of the Indian conglomerate Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (www.relianceada.com). It has a significant presence in filmed entertainment (film production, distribution, exhibition and TV content), broadcasting, studio infrastructure, processing, digital services, music, home video, animation, events, out of home, gaming and new media.

BIG Pictures (www.bigpictures.co.in), RBEL's motion picture brand, has built a formidable Indian film production slate in English, Hindi and several other Indian languages, which it markets and distributes worldwide.The slate has projects with leading production houses and marquee Indian directors, both mainstream and arthouse, including Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rakesh Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, David Dhawan, Anurag Basu, Kunal Kohli, Priyadarshan, Indra Kumar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Sudhir Mishra, Shaji N. Karun, Shyam Benegal, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, M.S. Sathyu and Amol Palekar.

In Hollywood, RBEL has signed development deals with Julia Roberts' Red Om Films, Nicolas Cage's Saturn Productions,Jim Carrey's JC 23 Entertainment, George Clooney's Smokehouse Productions, Chris Columbus' 1492 Pictures,Tom Hanks' PlayTone Productions, Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, Jay Roach's Everyman Pictures and Brett Ratner's Rat Entertainment.

RBEL's associate company ADLABS is India's largest film processing, exhibition and services company.

Reliance ADA Group (www.relianceada.com) is among India's largest private sector, business houses and has interests in communications, financial services, health, energy, infrastructure and media & entertainment.

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