Truth Hurts
Nazir Patel
music stations. The song is addictive from the same name album and the
artist is Truth Hurts. The song starts of with a fast song of a Lata old
movie hit. Something like Thoda Accha Lagta Hai and then it comes
throughout the song at frequent moments. They should atleast include
the Bharat Ratna Lataji in their song credits. Has anyone listened to the
song ? It is quite catchy. See it on the US BET station ( a black music
channel that always plays hit song videos.
Karthik S
Its amazing how those guys in the US got hold of this godforsaken and
obscure song. Even more intriguing is the Harry Anand version of the same
song, which he lifted from the American number!!!
Part 1 of the write-up
Melody of errors
NARENDRA KUSNUR has an unforgettable experience with a Lata Mangeshkar song
---
THE music world can be really funny. Check out what happened yesterday.
A few days ago, I heard that a Lata Mangeshkar song had been sampled in an
American number called Addictive, rendered by somebody called Truth Hurts.
Yesterday, I discovered that this song had become a rage in the US and UK,
even
reaching No 9 on Billboard Hot 100. Truth Hurts was actually a singer named
Shari Watson. The song was produced by Dr Dre and had a rap stretch by
Rakim.
So I decided to find out which film the original Hindi song belonged to, who
composed it, who wrote it and whether they were aware their song had been
used
by somebody. The only thing I knew was that the song had a line called
'Thoda
resham lagta hai, thoda sheesha lagta hai'. Now here's what happened.
1.30 PM-4 PM: I asked every possible source whether he or she had heard this
song. I approached musicologists, trade analysts, music company people, film
music historians and Lata Mangeshkar fans, and nobody knew. Some, probably
looking for an excuse for not knowing, suspected that these might not be the
opening lines. I even tried Lata Mangeshkar's residence but was told she was
abroad.
4.30 PM: A colleague received an e-mail from her brother saying he was
forwarding a song which had become big in the UK. We played the song, and
there
it was - Addictive by Truth Hurts. It began with Lata singing "Kaliyon ka
chaman jab banta hai, thoda resham lagta hai, thoda sheesha lagta hai", and
then went into a hip-hoppish vocal by Shari. Lata's voice was there
throughout
the song, playing faintly in the background when Shari's voice was on. From
the
style, I suspected it was either Laxmikant-Pyarelal or R D Burman.
5 PM: I tried to get some details about the song on the Internet. The
colleague
dug out this quote from Dr Dre from mtv.com. Dre said: "The song is really
simple... All it is is a drum track, bassline and this Indian girl
singing..."
Hello, did he say 'girl'????
6 PM: I spoke to Pyarelal, who said he'd never heard a song with those
lyrics.
But I kept trying others - musicologists, music buffs et al.
6.20 PM: I called Hridaynath Mangeshkar's residence and spoke to Lata's
nephew
Baijnath Mangeshkar. He said: "The song is from the film Jyoti, which has
music
by Bappi Lahiri. Strange nobody knows this song."
6.35 PM: I was on line with Bappi, and explained how one of his songs had
become such a hit in the US and UK. I read out the lyrics, but sorry, he
hadn't
heard the song either. We then played it over the telephone, and he said:
"You're right. This is my song." Though I told him the song might be from
Pramod Chakravorty's early 80s' film Jyoti, Bappi wasn't sure. "I'll call up
my
office in Kolkata and get back to you," he promised.
8 PM: Bappi still didn't know which film the song belonged too, and was
convinced it wasn't from Jyoti. The Kolkata office was still finding out.
But
he said he'd find out whether the Americans had used the track after knowing
whose song it was. "If they knew the original artistes, they should have
given
credit. How can anybody take a song without permission?" he asked.
8.10 PM: I called up Baijnath again, and he said he was sure it was from
Jyoti.
He also said he'd received a call from Lata, who was wondering whether she
had
been given any credit. I said I hadn't heard of any such thing.
8.20 PM: I called up director Pramod Chakravorty, and read out the lyrics.
His
reply: "No, this wasn't in Jyoti."
8.50 PM: Bappi called up. He beamed: "You were right. The Kolkata office has
checked up the facts. They just confirmed that is from Jyoti, The song has
been
sung by Lata didi, written by Anand Bakshi and composed by me." I asked him
whether he was planning to take any action because the American artistes
hadn't
given any credit or asked for permission. Bappi's reply: "I'll think about
that
later. Right now, I am really happy that I and Lata didi, the legend of
Indian
music, are at the top of the international charts. This is an unforgettable
day
for me and for Indian music."
Well, there it was. Kaliyon Ka Chaman, a song whom nobody knew, a song which
was a complete flop when it was released two decades ago, a song which even
the
film's director and music director had forgotten... this tune has now become
a
rage in the West. But never mind - that's showbiz, folks.
Part 2 of the write-up
Melody of errors: The sequel
NARENDRA KUSNUR finds out how musicians are cashing in on the US hit
containing
Lata's voice
PROLOGUE: On June 20, I spent my day finding out the original film, composer
and lyricist of a forgotten Lata Mangeshkar song with the lines 'Kaliyon ka
chaman jab banta hai, thoda resham lagta hai, thoda sheesha lagta hai'. The
reason for my enthusiasm was the latest international rage Addictive, in
which
producer Dr Dre and singer Shari Watson aka Truth Hurts had sampled this
Lata
tune.
Despite speaking to many people and going through many websites, I couldn't
get
details about the original till Lata's nephew Baijnath informed me that it
was
from Pramod Chakravorty's Jyoti, composed by Bappi Lahiri. Neither Bappi nor
Chakravorty could remember the song when I read the lyrics. But Bappi agreed
it
was his song when I played it on the telephone. Of course, it took him a few
hours to confirm it was from Jyoti, and that it was written by Anand Bakshi.
The exercise proved how a song could suddenly be the talk of the town 20
years
after it flopped. I narrated my experiences in the article 'Melody Of
Errors'.
But obviously, things didn't end there.
JUNE 25, 9.30 AM: I had just returned to my office from the GO FM studio,
where
I'd done a small segment about the Truth Hurts song Addictive yesterday
morning. The song was still buzzing in my head, though I still hadn't heard
the
original, as music stores informed me there was no stock of CDs or
cassettes.
Wondering what the original was like, I opened a packet on my table. It
contained some cassettes and CDs. My eyes suddenly popped out when I read
the
back of a Universal Music compilation named UMI-10: Volume 3. The opening
song
was titled Kaliyon Ka Chaman. The credits attributed music to Harry Anand,
lyrics to Dev Kohli and singing to Shashwati.
10.30 AM: I played the song. It started almost like Truth Hurts, but instead
of
Shari's hip-hop vocals, it had a few antaras in Hindi. Obviously, Anand had
remixed the Truth Hurts song. Probably thinking the hip-hop version would
never
come to India, he had fresh lyrics and a new voice, hoping to get a huge
hit.
His bad luck was that people got to know about the Truth Hurts number before
his version hit the market.
11.30 AM: After speaking to Anand, Kohli and Shashwati, it became obvious
that
none of them had heard the Jyoti song. While Anand said he had only remixed
the
Truth Hurts song (he had no option, did he?), Kohli said he had only written
antaras to a theme that the company had given him. The singer didn't seem to
know that Lata had sung something similar 20 years ago. Fair enough. But
where
on earth could one hear the original song?
1 PM: After visiting a few music stores, I found the Jyoti VCD at Rhythm
House.
I rushed home.
2.45 PM: There came the song in Jyoti. It was a mujra picturised on Aruna
Irani, with a drunken Vijayendra Ghatge in the scene. The starting was
completely different. After the intro lines "Hamari is nazakat ko qayamat se
na
kam samjho, hamein e-chahne walon na mitti ka sanam samjho," there was the
mukhda which went: "Thoda resham lagta hai, thoda sheesha lagta hai, heere
moti
jadte hain, thoda sona lagta hai, aisa gora badan tab banta hai..." The
lines
"Kaliyon ka chaman tab (not kab, as I thought) banta hai, thoda resham lagta
hai, thoda sheesha lagta hai" came at the end of the first antara. That was
the
line that Truth Hurts used, and Anand rehashed.
4 PM: Back in office, I wondered how this obscure song now suddenly had two
additional versions - a remix by Truth Hurts and a 'remix of the remix' by
Harry Anand. To add to that, I read from the internet that another mix of
the
song by Pakistani DJ Aphlatoon had also done the rounds in the US - this one
had Lata's vocals but didn't feature Shari. Apparently, the Lata song was
big
on the US club circuit, and one of the mixes - which Truth Hurts got from DJ
Quik - became big.
But that was the funny part. A song that nobody knew of now had (at least)
three versions besides the original. Bappi would never had dreamt any of his
songs - a forgotten one at that - would be such a craze.
EPILOGUE: I called up Bappi in the evening, wondering how he would react.
But
he was out of town, and his mobile was not reachable. Either he was partying
because of the long-deserved international success. Or he was in some remote
part of the country, wondering what he should do to tell the world that
everybody was (ironically) copying his song.
As for me, I kept imagining what would happen by the month-end. Would I be
bombarded with 50 more versions of Thoda Resham Lagta Hai? And why had I
suddenly begun singing "Thoda gadbad lagta hai, thoda sar-dard lagta hai"?
--Karthik
Inspired Indian Film Songs - http://www.iespana.es/i2fs
"Nazir Patel" <naz...@rogers.com> wrote in message
news:HqlQ8.88613$831...@news01.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com...
Anant Rege
"Karthik S" <in...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:afc3su$d2bhm$1...@ID-134554.news.dfncis.de...
>
> NARENDRA KUSNUR has an unforgettable experience with a Lata Mangeshkar
song
>
> become such a hit in the US and UK. I read out the lyrics, but sorry, he
> hadn't
>
> heard the song either. We then played it over the telephone, and he said:
> "You're right. This is my song." Though I told him the song might be from
> Pramod Chakravorty's early 80s' film Jyoti, Bappi wasn't sure. "I'll call
up
> my
> office in Kolkata and get back to you," he promised.
>
> 8 PM: Bappi still didn't know which film the song belonged too, and was
> convinced it wasn't from Jyoti. The Kolkata office was still finding out.
> But
> he said he'd find out whether the Americans had used the track after
knowing
> whose song it was. "If they knew the original artistes, they should have
> given
> credit. How can anybody take a song without permission?" he asked.
>
What a comment Bappi da. You just made my day.
Anant
Pankaj Vyas
Pankaj
"Anant Rege" <ar...@removethis.crgroup.com> wrote in message
news:uDkS8.4875$aW1.134470@news...
Malini
to Zee-TV, you may have seen the Ad for Zee Gold Bollywood Awards.
Looks like 'Truth Hurts' is going to perform live during the show. In
the Ad they show the song and it starts with Lata's voice singing
these lines. The video clipping of the song is also available on
truthhurtsonline.com. The lines sung by Lata is :
kaliyo.n kaa chaman tab banataa hai
(tho.Daa resham lagataa hai
tho.Daa sonaa lagataa hai
hiire motii ja.Date hai.n
Tho.Daa sonaa lagataa hai) - 2
followed by alaap....
aalaap goes on for quite a while before the words start again.
Rahul Upadhyaya
Best regards
Rahul
malin...@hotmail.com (Malini) wrote in message news:<6d82c617.02062...@posting.google.com>...