Rahman croons for successful Games

The empowered group of ministers liked it. The OC creative team likes it. And even the media, exposed to only one line of the song, seemed to like it. But you'll have to wait another 10 days before AR Rahman, the composer of the theme song for the Delhi Games 2010, unveils his music.

Monday's supposed unveiling of the theme song of the Delhi Games 2010 by the organising committee (OC) was more of a teaser than the actual launch as Rahman said he wanted to work for another 10 days on the song before launching it. "I can't reveal much but what I will say is that its a song about India, about energy, winning and not giving up,'' said the Oscar winner. He added he was still "tweaking'' the song. Rahman rounded it off by belting out the opening chorus of the song: "O yaaro India bulaye''.

With only 47 days left to the Commonwealth Games 2010, the OC is hoping that the intense focus by the public and national media moves to more positive aspects, like the theme song of the Commonwealth Games 2010. It was a fact reiterated by the maestro himself, who appealed to the waiting reporters to give a "positive'' response to the OC's effort, so that international focus is not "negative''. Claiming he has been working on the song for the past six months, Rahman said he was the lead singer in the composition, which would be a "big part'' of the celebration. An "operatic'' version of the song is also being worked out. The song would be dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, he added.
Interestingly, the Bollywood flavour seems to be getting stronger in the opening and closing ceremonies. After Shyam Benegal, AR Rahman and Bharat Bala being part of the core creative group, the other Bollywood A-listers on the creative team were Prasoon Joshi and Javed Akhtar. Sources in the OC confirmed the two-hour opening ceremony would also have segments by Shankar Mahadevan and Hariharan.
"The music has been broken into seven segments, each being composed by different musicians,'' said the source. Incidentally, Shankar Mahadevan was part of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune in 2008.
The theme song comes at a crucial time for the OC, which sent a high-powered team to the UK on Monday to check out the helium balloon, another part of the opening ceremony. Rahman is reportedly part of the group that has gone to attend the testing of the aerostat. With the theme song being ready, the OC is now expected to launch a series of outreach initiatives to the general public, to start the "ownership'' process of the Games.
Admitted Suresh Kalmadi, OC chairperson, "Besides actual administration, public events are an important part that we (the OC) will be initiating.'' OC's merchandising deal has already bitten the dust, with the merchandiser pulling out earlier last week.