Taking cue from a facebook post by film maker Jaideep Varma, I watched his 4th full length documentary “Par Ek Din” today. With a foot note specifying that it was shot in about 4 days under a budget of 1 lakh rupees, and about a band that has not released any music so far – you pretty much know what to expect. But having watched all his previous films, I couldn’t wait any longer.
15 minutes into the film, I felt the same enthusiasm as watching a “Classic albums” documentary, which had a more generous production backing. I had watched a couple of these, and the documentary on Steely Dan’s Aja is exceptionally filmed. But then, a realisation struck me – the making of music that I had watched on Classic albums series were of albums that I had listened to at least a thousand times before I watched the documentary, which made that watching extremely engrossing. However, Par Ek Din was about a band I had not even heard before, and the music was all new to me. Still, I was hooked till the final cut!
Par Ek Din covers the story and music of the band CityHaze based in Mumbai, members with an average age of 25. From the first song featured, you know that you are in for a different sound, and utterly fresh and beautiful, but rather “gloomy”, lyrics. I wouldn’t say that the sound of the band is completely original or fresh. While I was debating this in my mind, my wife who heard one of the songs asked me whether they were covering Wilco, which pretty much made me conclude that they did not have a very original sound, but then again I was thinking about the definition of originality. You could see a lot of influences, especially that of Lucky Ali which is mentioned in the movie, and through a poster in their bed room – but the way the whole thing came together, there was magic! I felt better when I remembered something that I had read in the liner notes of an Amit Chaudhuri album, written by Prof Anand Lal:
One key element that stands out in the film is the band’s honesty. I was very impressed by their view points, and seriously doubt whether I had that much of worldview when I was 25! Speaking of honesty, they were not shy to tell you about their shared interest in watching WWF wrestling! I remembered with a smile what Frederick, a serious painter from Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, said:"Can you imagine the level of a mind that watches wrestling?"
It was really heartening to see these five individuals striking a path to their calling, than be forced to comply with the society’s rules – perhaps a message that this film delivers apart from the sheer joy of watching music making.
Watch Par Ek Din here:
15 minutes into the film, I felt the same enthusiasm as watching a “Classic albums” documentary, which had a more generous production backing. I had watched a couple of these, and the documentary on Steely Dan’s Aja is exceptionally filmed. But then, a realisation struck me – the making of music that I had watched on Classic albums series were of albums that I had listened to at least a thousand times before I watched the documentary, which made that watching extremely engrossing. However, Par Ek Din was about a band I had not even heard before, and the music was all new to me. Still, I was hooked till the final cut!
Par Ek Din covers the story and music of the band CityHaze based in Mumbai, members with an average age of 25. From the first song featured, you know that you are in for a different sound, and utterly fresh and beautiful, but rather “gloomy”, lyrics. I wouldn’t say that the sound of the band is completely original or fresh. While I was debating this in my mind, my wife who heard one of the songs asked me whether they were covering Wilco, which pretty much made me conclude that they did not have a very original sound, but then again I was thinking about the definition of originality. You could see a lot of influences, especially that of Lucky Ali which is mentioned in the movie, and through a poster in their bed room – but the way the whole thing came together, there was magic! I felt better when I remembered something that I had read in the liner notes of an Amit Chaudhuri album, written by Prof Anand Lal:
To tell the truth, all music is fusion. No musical form remains untouched by acculturation, though classical pundits still turn up their noses at the perjury committed by colleagues who jam with jazzmen. To pin those purists down on hybridization, just ask them how their ragas Kafi or Miyan ki Malhar got their names, or how violin found such a hallowed place in south India.Hence, I find it absurd to classify a particular artist into a specific genre, or to judge the originality of the sound – it is just the working of various things that goes into music making that defines what it really is.
One key element that stands out in the film is the band’s honesty. I was very impressed by their view points, and seriously doubt whether I had that much of worldview when I was 25! Speaking of honesty, they were not shy to tell you about their shared interest in watching WWF wrestling! I remembered with a smile what Frederick, a serious painter from Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, said:"Can you imagine the level of a mind that watches wrestling?"
It was really heartening to see these five individuals striking a path to their calling, than be forced to comply with the society’s rules – perhaps a message that this film delivers apart from the sheer joy of watching music making.
Watch Par Ek Din here:
