Mahadevan sings in Marathi

MALLIKA MULHERKAR

Marathi cinema is getting bigger, thereby attracting talents from the Hindi film industry

The latest is that Shankar Mahadevan is singing for Most Wanted, a Rajan Prabhu film in which the latter is the director, script writer and music composer. The film is being released by the end of the year, and Shankar’s participation will heighten the curiosity manifold for sure.

The film is a comedy of errors based on seven criminals, who come together in search of work when others refuse to let them lead a normal life. The track sung by Shankar brings back memories of their past. Called Tya pahate chi me vaat pahin (I will wait for a new dawn), the track set to bhangra beats turned out to be an awesome experience for those working on it. “When actor Milind Gawli heard the song, he said that if someone could do justice to the song and the music it would be Shankar Mahadevan. That is how we approached him. He liked it a lot, and found it very different,” recalls Prabhu.

Ask Shankar about this, and he sounds really happy. “I am a great fan of Marathi music as it is very melody based. The tunes and the taals are so catchy. My guruji hails from this music background, and it was a beautiful experience to be a part of a Marathi movie and sing a meaningful song. Last year, I also received an award for Mann uddhan varyache, a song I did for a Marathi film,” says he.

We asked Rajan about his experience of working with Shankar. “He is such a huge personality, and yet so humble. When I recited the song, he heard me without stopping me for a bit even though he knows much more about music than I do. Even though he had his hands full, he worked on our project and the song sounds superb!” says Rajan. With Shankar doing the singing, one can understand why.

Adesh Bandekar Joins Shivsena

Mumbai Popular Marathi TV star Adesh Bandekar joined the Shiv Sena on Friday. Welcoming Bandekar into the party fold, Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray said the alliance between the Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party for the Assembly polls would be finalised soon after discussions to clear the air on a couple of seats.

Bandekar’s entry into the Sena comes close on the heels of the first Indian Idol, singer Abhijeet Sawant, joining the party.

Bandekar joined the Sena in presence of Uddhav and wife Rashmi at a function organised at the Thackeray residence, Matoshree, in Bandra on Friday morning. Bandekar’s TV show ‘Home Minister’ on a Marathi channel (in which he visits homes and interviews women, who have to play games to win a Paithani, an expensive traditional handwoven silk saree, in each episode) is quite popular among housewives.

Bandekar, along with Sawant, is expected to add glamour to the poll campaign.

Uddhav, speaking about finalising the seat-sharing arrangements for the October 13 polls with the BJP, said, “We are finalising seatsharing between the two parties. It will be done soon.”
“There are no differences between the alliance partners on seatsharing. There are a couple of seats which both parties are staking claim to. But things would be sorted out in a few days,” he said.

In the 2004 polls, the Sena had contested 171 seats and the BJP 117 of the total 288 seats and the formula is likely to be repeated this time. Sources said that post-delimitation, the Sena has claimed Guhagar seat in Konkan currently with the BJP. Leader of the Opposition Ramdas Kadam of the Sena is keen on contesting Guhagar as his Khed constituency has been wiped out in the delimitation exercise.

On the crisis within the BJP at the national level, Uddhav said it would have no effect on the elections in Maharashtra.