Phir Mile Sur Mera Tumhara

All of us tend to get attached to something that has been part of our life for a long time. Replacing these things wih something new is definitely very difficult. I realized this when I was watching the new version of mile sur mera tumhara. Here's the link for the new version:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videoshow/5502160.cms

The original version was a legendary piece of work. The link for the original version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekvevq_ipaI

The original version is short and sweet. It is like an excellent short movie to give a brief about India. It had captured the diverse culture, the people, the celebrities and the earthiness of India in a very apt manner.

The new version is looooooonggg ... At over 16 minutes the audience might tend to get a little restless in waiting for the song to finally end. Having said that it has captured very frank ideas in a fairly effective manner.

Deepika Padukone wearing a short dress in a patriotic song might seem to be a horrible idea, but that is the changing face of India, no matter how much we would like to run away from that fact. Few western pieces of music are also a part of the changing taste of Indian audience and their their willingness to accept new ideas. The musical pieces by various artists are a treat to listen to. Salman Khan pulls off a very sweet act too. I think the solar powered water heater behind AR Rahman is also a different aspect of today's India. The tribute to our armed forces is also very heartening

But, somewhere I feel the people of India are missing. It seems like a more glamorized version. Of course that was expected out of a Zoom Entertainment Network Production. The musicians and celebrities of India have been captured fairly well. But with a 16 minutes of screen time, excessive screen time has been given to a few individuals which could have included many more significant achievers of our nation and made it a more complete version. I personally there was a lot of space to capture the rural India, the industries, the evergrowing telecom secctor, the famous institutes, many more beautiful visions of the India scenery... there is a lot that could have been done because India is changing by leaps and bounds and it is absolutely beyond all the celebrities, no offense to them, they are important, but they cannot solely represent India.

The expectations from the new version had to be huge, and people like me were bound to criticize its shortcomings. Acceptibility of the new version will take some time as people are still nostalgic about the old one. Overall a decent effort, but could have represented India in a much better way.