Vishal Dadlani on plagiarism charges and the rift with Javed Akhtar.. in conversation with Rachana Dubey
Om Shanti Om is ruling the charts. You must be ecstatic?
(Beaming) We are, more so after being told by the marketing team of T- Series that it's the best-selling score of the year so far. It's been just four weeks since the album was released, and Shekhar and I have been flooded with appreciative smses. The phone doesn't stop ringing.
There were reports that Javed Akhtar was miffed with you for altering his lyrics.
I don't know where that came from since Javed saab is a very cool guy who doesn't mind some changes in his work. We're working on other projects together. If he was miffed with us, we would know.
What's been Farah Khan's contribution to the score?
Farah knew exactly what she wanted. She's worked on the film for quite some time. She had specific briefs for each song, but at the same time, was open to suggestions. Om Shanti Om was a challenge because it moves from the 1970s to the present day. And Farah wanted every song to appeal to the man on the streets.
Anyone compared this score to Anu Mallik's Main Hoon Naa?
Main Hoon Naa's music is a part of our collective memory. It was a huge hit. I adore the score, but it hasn't influenced the Om Shanti Om score in any way. There may be some comparisons.. it would be only natural. However, I think it's our next score that'll have to match up the standards set by Om Shanti Om.
There was a plagiarism charge against you recently.
Yeah, a leading tabloid accused us of ripping off a track from Wong Kar Wai's classic, In the Mood for Main. While everyone is entitled to his opinion, this guy made a fool of himself over the piece that only proved how little he knows about music. The only similarity between that song and our Main agar kahoon is that both are based on the waltz rhythm and play the pizzicato on violins.
Do singers complain of dummy recordings?
Not to us because we're not in the practice of having dummy recordings. We recently tried out a new singer because it is essential to discover new voices. However, it was made clear to her before the recording that her track could be dubbed by another singer if it was found wanting.
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