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Two decades ago, the original Mile Sur song had left the nation humming to tunes of national integration, secularism, unity and patriotic fervour. On Feb 19 the creators of the video, Aarti and Kailash Surendranath, have reawakened the spirit of the patriotic song with Phir Mile Sur.
It's an idea by ZOOM and the Times Group; to rekindle the passion in a brand new secular generation. This new version is far from a repackaged, re-glossed version of the original, it is a labour of years of research, conceptualising and creation by the makers. For producers, Aarti and Kailash, the toughest part of the creation process were selecting the cast. In fact, one of India's most-loved icon, masterblaster Sachin Tendulkar was not seen in the first run of the video, but he now appears in the `bonus' track after the initial release.
Talking about Sachin's sudden inclusion in the video, Aarti explains, "It is a misconception that he was included at the end. Sachin's life is such an open book; he wasn't available to shoot because of his matches. Even Sachin didn't realise that the whole nation was freaking out because he wasn't part of it. I guess during his matches he didn't get a chance to catch up on news, so he didn't know how people were reacting. We were always meant to feature Sachin in this video. We have shot this video over the last six-and-a-half months, so you can imagine how challenging it was to shoot with different personalities in different parts of the country."
While the original Mile Sur (also created by Aarti and Kailash) still rekindles memories, the new version is more hip, youthful and fused with the current generation, and of course, with an idolistic stature given to Bollywood.
Comparisons and creative criticism are plenty. "It was meant to be totally contemporary. I worked very hard on creating the backdrop. Every part of the video has a social relevance, and we have tried to simplify it to make it understandable. We have shot at places of historic and national importance where people haven't ever shot before. The current generation understands the language of rock and pop, hence, we had Shahid Kapoor in a rockstar avatar. Today, our movie stars are doing so much more, and they have become role models. If we wanted to do it exactly the same way as the original, then there would be no point doing it again. We have tried to present the icons the way they are and for what they are." But what Aarti has beautifully left unsaid is that this is one epic that can go on being extended - with new stars and newer icons year-on-year. And given India's great wealth of culture - it may become the longest song of patriotism ever sung
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