Hollywood gets at-tuned to Bollywood

With the world becoming a smaller place itrsquos no wonder that the West is now familiar with Bollywood Often looked upon as musicals Bollywood filmsrsquo love for songs is also wellknownIn fact The HundredFoot Journey which stars Helen Mirren Om Puri and Manish Dayal in lead roles and is slated to release on August 8 features three Hindi songs in different sequences from the film Baahon main teri masti ke gheren from Kaala Pathhar Sar se sarke sar ki chunariya from Silsila and Din maheene saal guzartey jayengey from Avataar are the three songs that have been used in this film that is being produced by Steven Spielberg Oprah Winfrey and Juliet Blakehitlist takes a look at other Bollywood numbers that won Hollywood over and ended up being featured in their filmsSong Chamma ChammaHollywood film Moulin Rouge 2001When Urmila Matondkar did thumkas in the song Chamma Chamma from the film China Gate one didnrsquot imagine that the song a hit in India would pique Baz Luhrmannrsquos curiosityUrmila Matondkar scorched the big screen in the song Chamma Chamma from the film China Gate The song was featured in Baz Luhrmannrsquos film Moulin RougeThe film that revolved around the love story between a British poet and a terminallyill cabaret dancer had a medley that featured songs such as Tera rang balle balle from Soldier Chamma Chamma from China Gate and Makhna from Bade Miyan Chote Miya Not surprisingly the song turned out to be a cracker of a remixSong Jaan Pehchaan HoHollywood film Ghost World 2001Known as one of the first rock lsquonrsquo roll songs in Bollywood Jaan Pehchaan Ho from the film Gumnaam was used in the Hollywood film Ghost Worldrsquos opening credits sequence The film starred Scarlett Johansson Thora Birch and Brad Renfro it was a high school dramedySong Wada Na Tod Hollywood film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet essay polar opposites in this cult film In one of the scenes Lata Mangeshkarrsquos voice plays in the background It wouldnrsquot be wrong to say that this song added another layer to the love story in the film Interestingly the song Mera mann tera pyaasa from the Hindi film Guide was also used in this filmSong Chaiyya ChaiyyaHollywood film Inside Man 2006You know a songrsquos popularity has soared and reached new heights when it gets featured in a film starring Denzel Washington Jodie Foster and Willian DafoeMalaika AroraKhan made Shah Rukh Khan match steps with her on the roof a train in Chaiyya Chaiyya from Dil Se This AR Rahman composition was played in the Hollywood film Inside ManChaiyya Chaiyya an AR Rahman composition for Dil Se that had Malaika AroraKhan gyrating on the roof of a train with SRK was used in the opening credits for this filmSong Chalka ChalkaHollywood film The Accidental HusbandChalka Chalka originally composed by AR Rahman for the film Saathiya was used in The Accidental Husband an American comedy that starred Uma Thurman and Colin Firth The film also featured other songs by Rahman including Yaro yarodi Swasamae and Rang de from the films Alaipayuthey Thenali and Thakshak respectivelySar se sarke sar ki chunariya from SilsilaMusicians speak outIt is a nice thing you know I am in LA right now working on a few projects I believe this trend is catching on in a big way since a lot of old Hindi songs are also being used in todayrsquos Bollywood filmsIt is great that our songs are being featured in Western cinema Itrsquos a case of old is gold and such is the popularity of these old gems that their recall value is being cashed in on by Hollywood filmmakers mdash Bappi Lahiri music composerThis is something that makes me very proud If anything it reflects the sheer calibre of Indian musicians and singers Of course a new Bollywood song despite becoming an overnight hit overnight in India will take a little longer to get famous worldwideIn any case a songrsquos popularity depends on a lot of factors Going by our successful collaborations in the past I am confident that we will witness more musical collaborations between Hollywood and Bollywood in the near future mdash Shekhar Ravjiani music composer and singerItrsquos a great to see that our songs are getting noticed Also our songs are not just being used in films they are also being featured in American pop music Kaliyon ka chaman for instance is a very well known song in the international arenaSince we donrsquot own the royalties for these songs our music companies should tap into the market TSeries for one promoted a lot of songs in the MiddleEast If the international market is exploited to its full potential a lot more songs will be adapted and used in Hollywood films Our old songs sound exotic to people in the West whereas the newer variety will take some time to trickle down to Western audiences ndash Pritam music composer