Get’s nostalgic about father’s poem ‘GULON MEIN’ part of BIG Pictures’ film ‘Sikandar’ – a Tribute to her father
Delhi, March 23rd ’09: Salima Hashmi, a renowned Pakistani painter who served for four years as the head of the National College of Arts and daughter of one of Pakistan’s most renowned poets, Faiz Ahmed Faiz addressed the Media here in Delhi today. She was touched with the fact that BIG Pictures, the motion pictures brand from Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd, for paying a tribute to her father the famous Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz by incorporating his famous nazm ‘Gulon Mein Rang Bare’ for their upcoming film ‘Sikandar’. The film is scheduled for an April 2009 release.
With nostalgic feelings, Prof Salima Hashmi said, ‘I am feeling so honored that the lyrics of my father have been included as a beautiful song Gulon Mein in Sikandar. The film is very well crafted out and this song further adds to it’s beauty. I firmly believe that this song is surely going to be a favorite among the people and personally it is also very close to my heart’
The famous nazm ‘Gulon Mein Rang Bhare’ has been adapted for the film, as visualized by the director Piyush Jha, while writing the script of ‘Sikandar’. Lyricist Neelesh Misra was roped in to use the mukda from Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s famous ghazal ‘Gulon Mein’, and has penned two new versions. What’s interesting though is how the song subtly and metaphorically fits perfectly with the film. The song has two versions, a slow serene version by music director Justin-Uday and an upbeat version by music director Sandesh Shandilya. The old ghazal is deftly modernized with the use of contemporary singers like Mohit Chauhan and KK and using western orchestration to make the entire experience relevant to these times.
‘I’ve known this song for the past 20 years. When I was writing my script, I kept thinking about the poetic embodiment of my film. This song ‘Gulon Mein’ sprang to my mind and it truly embodied the thought behind the film¿ ‘Let the spring breeze blow, let it bring color into the flowers; come back so that the garden might rise to its magnificence once again’. When I and the music director and lyricist started working on the music of the film, we thought of using the mukhda from Faiz Amhed Faiz’s poem and the rest of the song would be a modern interpretation of his lyrics and thought process. The song ‘Gulon Mein’ in the film is a tribute to Faiz and at the same time presents his work in a modern context conveying the essence of ‘Sikandar’.’ Says Director, Piyush Jha, reflecting on the song ‘Gulon Mein’.
‘Sikandar’ is a suspense thriller starring Parzaan Dastur, the adorable little Sardar from film ‘Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai’, now in his teens, Ayesha Kapur of ‘Black’ Fame as she makes her come back as a lead actress this time along with R. Madhavan, Sanjay Suri & Arunoday Singh in key roles. The film has been written and directed by Piyush Jha. ‘Sikandar’ is a co-production between BIG Pictures with Sudhir Mishra’s production house -CineRaas Ltd. Sikandar’ is a film about a young boy who has a dream to play football for the National team. It’s about his aspirations and challenges and how his life unfolds when one fine day he finds a GUN on his way to school and what follows. ‘Sikandar’ is a suspense-thriller with its heart in the right place. Log on to the website www.sikandar.bigflix.com
About Mrs. Salima Hashim.
Famous for her quick wit and ability to read and analyze artwork with effortless ease, Salima taught for 30 years at NCA, Pakistan’s premier art institution, and retired as its Principal. Her work has been exhibited, and she has traveled and lectured extensively all over the world. She has also curated numerous international art shows in England, Europe, the USA, Australia, Japan and India. Salima Hashmi is a recipient of The President’s Award for Pride of Performance, Pakistan. She is presently the Dean of the School of Visual Arts at the Beacon house National University.
Salima’s father Faiz Ahmed Faiz was the first Asian poet to be awarded the Lenin Peace Prize, the Soviet Union’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize in 1963. Before his death in 1984 he was also nominated for the Nobel Prize. His exquisite Publications include Naqsh-e-Faryadi 1941, Dast-e-Saba1953 ,Zindan Nama, 1956, Mizan, a collection of literary articles, 1956 Dast Tah-e-Sang, 1965 Sar-e-Wadi-e-Seena, 1971 Sham-e-Shehr-e-Yaran, 1979, Merey Dil Merey Musafar 1981, Nuskha-Hai-Wafa, 1984 (A collective work) Pakistani Culture, (Urdu and English)
About Reliance Big Entertainment Pvt Ltd.
Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd. (RBEL) (www.rbe.co.in ) is the flagship media and entertainment arm of Indian conglomerate, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG), (www.relianceada.com) with significant presence in film entertainment (film production, distribution, and exhibition), broadcasting and new media ventures.
With investments over USD 1 billion in its Filmed Entertainment business RBEL’s motion picture brand, BIG Pictures has built a formidable film production slate in Hindi, English & other Indian languages, which it markets & distributes worldwide. The slate has projects with leading production houses and marquee Indian directors like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rakesh Roshan, David Dhawan, Indra Kumar, Ravi Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, and Sudhir Mishra. Shaji N. Karun, Shyam Benegal, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadev Dasgupta, M.S Sathyu & Amol Palekar,
On the Hollywood slate, BIG Pictures has development silos with Nicolas Cage’s Saturn Productions, Jim Carrey’s JC 23 Entertainment, George Clooney’s Smokehouse Productions, Chris Columbus’ 1492 Pictures, Tom Hank’s Playstone Productions, Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, Jay Roach’s Everyman Pictures, Brett Ratner’s Rat Entertainment and Julia Roberts’ Red Om Films.