First of all, I'm not even Indian, but I've got to settle this one issue. I used to have an Indian friend, and his parents would always play these old songs in their car or their home. Since then I've gained an appreciation for the voice of Mohammed Rafi, who wikipedia says is "India's best playback singer".
So I've heard a lot of people talking about this Heineken commercial:
And they seem to think the song is great.
But, what strikes me is that most people don't even know it's an Indian song, nor do they have any idea how amazing of a singer this guy really was (1. because Heineken decided to put East Asians in the commercial and 2. most people have no idea how vast and beautiful the voice behind that song is)
Here is the real song where Heineken got it from:
But, to be honest, this isn't anywhere close to being his best song... Nor is it anywhere close to being his most well known song.
The way this works is Rafi sings the song in a studio, and when the actors shoot the scene, they lipsync and try to make it seem natural that the words are coming out of their mouth. I believe that's the way it still works in Indian movies.
Anyway, I have tried to the best of my abilities to compile a list of Mohammed Rafi's best or most popular songs (keep in mind I don't even understand the language so it's based on how good the songs sound or how good his voice is in the songs, or view counts on the original videos). This is all a result of me browsing youtube for songs that I thought I heard of, or anything by Rafi that I could find that was kind of catchy. As you'll see, Rafi isn't as well known for upbeat, rock'n'roll fast songs (like the first video I posted) as he is for slow, soulful romantic songs.
I've put them in spoliers for convenience. Enjoy! (sorry it's so long, it's hard to just pick a few)
Heyy Effervescing Aureola! The original Mohammed Rafi song and video are sooo much better. The aesthetics are less pleasing but the choreography in the video is so funny! I am so going to take some dancing inspiration from that spastic zombie move on my next party dance night.
Its sort of lame, but I think people like songs that are in commercials, shows, movies simply because they are on television. I suppose it is just a result of less artistically independant minds (woops im kind of elitist and pretentious.) I don't think it means that they want to get into eastern music.. They just like the mystique for that one commercial. Also the song in the Heiniken commercials has that surfy dirty guitar trumpet sound which is an aesthetic that I feel is coming into style, what with it being all through the movie pulp fiction.
Anyways his voice is an interesting and impressive instrument. I love how it just like a round wave of sound from note to note with ease. Watching the videos was like watching opera because i could just hear his expression and see the women. Thanks for taking the time to compile this though. I appreciate stuff like this.
By the way, you always remind me of a song that goes like this:
An Effervescing Elephant with tiny eyes and great big trunk once whispered to the tiny ear the ear of one inferior
A part of it might also be that commercials always, always, always try to get a good, catchy tune so that it indelibly etches itself into your mind and keeps you thinking about the song (and thus, the product) for longer than the commercial. And to that end, they usually only take the most catchy part of the song, and edit so that it features very prominently. (This song, Hoodie Ninja by MC Chris, just about all the times when a song is used in a recognizable way in a commercial. I'm seriously waiting for Psy to make big money showing up in a commercial singing about "Chevy Style!" or something equally crazy.)
Also, is it still true that you can't really make a film in India without including at least one really great song and dance number? They do it so well.
On September 26 2012 02:53 meteorskunk wrote: Heyy Effervescing Aureola! The original Mohammed Rafi song and video are sooo much better. The aesthetics are less pleasing but the choreography in the video is so funny! I am so going to take some dancing inspiration from that spastic zombie move on my next party dance night.
Its sort of lame, but I think people like songs that are in commercials, shows, movies simply because they are on television. I suppose it is just a result of less artistically independant minds (woops im kind of elitist and pretentious.) I don't think it means that they want to get into eastern music.. They just like the mystique for that one commercial. Also the song in the Heiniken commercials has that surfy dirty guitar trumpet sound which is an aesthetic that I feel is coming into style, what with it being all through the movie pulp fiction.
Anyways his voice is an interesting and impressive instrument. I love how it just like a round wave of sound from note to note with ease. Watching the videos was like watching opera because i could just hear his expression and see the women. Thanks for taking the time to compile this though. I appreciate stuff like this.
By the way, you always remind me of a song that goes like this:
An Effervescing Elephant with tiny eyes and great big trunk once whispered to the tiny ear the ear of one inferior
Yes, I realize that just because someone heard that one song in that particular context of advertising doesn't make someone a fan of Eastern or Indian music. And what you said is exactly right, they like it for the mystique of that one commercial. But, I think it's important for everyone to understand or have an appreciation for different perspectives and recognize that there are rich and deep traditions of music, art, and literature, in every culture around the world. Music, like art, is a gateway to another culture and, when it's in an another language, a gateway to a whole different dimension of awareness. It's like a world just waiting to be discovered, if you're willing to open your eyes and ears and heart.
At the same time, of course, I'm happy that Heineken would use a song like this, because it means exposure on a whole different level, so people who ordinarily would not have heard this song or Rafi's voice can become familiar with it.
EPT
