CWG has a new theme song !!

AS OSCAR - winning musician A. R. Rahman's official theme song for the Delhi Commonwealth Games draws more brickbats than bouquets, the state government on Thursday unveiled its own song for the event.

Punjabi pop singer Daler Mehndi has laced the fastpaced song titled Khel Le with Bhangra beats that usually hit the right note in north India.

He unveiled the song on Thursday, performing live in front of chief minister Sheila Dikshit and top bureaucrats at a function where the government launched its revamped tourism website.

"I was asked to prepare the song two-three days back. I have made a lot of effort in this short time and I hope people like this song," Mehndi said.

Several people, including Commonwealth Games executive board member V. K. Malhotra, had criticised Rahman's song, India Bula Liya , for being slow paced.

Rahman was paid over '5 crore for composing the official theme song. But while releasing his song, Mehndi said he made the song "free of cost for India". Before unveiling the song, Dikshit launched a 24-hour telephone help centre for all kinds of information about Delhi and a tourism website providing a range of services.

"Delhi ranks number one in foreign tourist arrivals. This makes it vital for it to have a robust tourist guidance system in place," Dikshit said.

She said the online and phone facility (telephone number '1280') would make Delhirelated information and services more accessible.

Tourists can download thematic city maps, information brochures and informative videos to plan their trip better.

Information on hotels, bed and breakfast establishments, transport services, currency converter and weather updates besides detailed information on the city's heritage, will be available at the click of a mouse.

A.R Rahman to recompose his CWG song?

His romance with the West may be peaking, but AR Rahman's Indian run seems to have run into a bit of rough weather. His theme track for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) has not gone down well with both fans and politicians.

While the song's online popularity is nowhere near that of Shakira's Waka Waka, which he had famously claimed his tune would surpass, politicians and CWG officials now want the Rs 5 crore-track "recomposed".

Swagatham aka Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto is a mid-tempo song sung by Rahman with distortion guitars, bhangra beats, very 70's style sitar riffs and a bit of English rap thrown in.

However, the composition, which critics say has neither the pace nor the punch of Waka Waka, or the rousing quality of Maa Tujhe Salaam, has disappointed.

Ever since he posted links to the tracks on his social networking pages, Rahman has been flooded with unsavoury comments. "We expected something better," is the general refrain while others have been kind enough to say, "It will grow on you."

Though experts say with more promotional activities the track it is likely to pick up, the CWG committee is unhappy with the result. Soon after the launch of the track on August 28, Vijaykumar Malhotra, board member of CWG organising committee (OC) claimed, "We had expected a better song from a composer of Rahman's status. He has given some very good songs like Maa Tujhe Salaam but this song is not that impressive."

Former sports minister Shahnawaz Hussain said, "I respect Rahman for what he has achieved but the track simply does not excite me.

No one in the OC likes it except perhaps Suresh Kalmadi. It is nowhere close to Waka Waka and has failed to lift the sagging spirits of the CWG."

Hussain said he was provoked to demand a re-composition of the theme track only because Lalit Bhanot, organising secretary of the CWG kept insisting that people would begin liking Swagatham if they keep listening to it. "Either it is good music or bad. There is no middle way to evaluate the appeal of a Rs 5 crore track, he can surely re-compose it," said the Bhagalpur MP.

At the same Delhi's political circuit is buzzing with questions over why Rahman was given the sole responsibility to compose the theme track. "Not all Rahman scores become a hit, do they?" say sources requesting anonymity.

Incidentally, the launch of the theme song was delayed as the OC had asked Rahman to make changes. "I think it won't be good to release the theme song without making the necessary changes," Rahman had earlier said.

Veteran jazz musician Louis Banks who has composed several theme tracks for popular shows and events, says, "Rahman's work has always been controversial. But if you are truly inspired, it takes ten minutes to compose a tune. Given that it took him six months to compose it, I guess something must have gone wrong somewhere !"

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/music/Rahman-to-recompose-his-CWG-song/articleshow/6472471.cms