Highlights
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of “Taal”, the film’s director Subhash Ghai reveals the secrets of this musical picture. The movie ‘Taal’ which was released in the year 1999 not only enthralled the viewers with a beautiful story line but also brought about a change in the concept of musicals in Bollywood. The movie has Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Akshaye Khanna and Anil Kapoor in the lead roles and the music was integrated in the plot very effectively. Ghai discusses the creative issues, working with the music director A. R. Rahman, and the concept that made ‘Taal’ a milestone in the Indian film industry.
A Rebel’s Vision: Reconstructing Subhash Ghai’s Cinema
Subhash Ghai who had already established himself with the super hit “Khalnayak” (1993) was eager to come out of the mold of crime thriller filmmaker. The success of “Khalnayak” had a long shadow and Ghai wanted to show that he is versatile. When asked about the inspiration behind making the film Ghai says, “My inspiration was the rebel in me that I will not make a crime film.” This desire to challenge himself resulted in the creation of “Taal” as a pure love story.
The 79-year-old filmmaker consciously decided to name his film as ‘Taal’ which is rhythm in Hindi to ensure that he does not lose sight of the fact that the film is a musical. This decision did not only affect the story of the film, but it also created the film’s legendary music. Ghai’s commitment to reinventing himself as a director was evident in his approach: “I transformed myself as Subhash Ghai the director and went for a different trip.”
The Musical Heart: A. R. Rahman as the Unseen Hero
Music was the heart of what Ghai wanted to achieve in “Taal” and so he enlisted the services of the already famous A. R. Rahman. Ghai was not shy of this and in fact he made this quite clear when he said to Rahman, “My title is Taal and you are the hero and the rest are my characters and stories.” Ghai and Rahman worked together for 80 days on this project.
The director was obsessed with the musical side of the movie and rewrote his script after the songs were recorded. This was a very unorthodox way of letting the music dictate the story and this is where one could see that Ghai was a director with a different approach. The oriental touch of Rahman mixed with the flavor of north Indian lyricist Anand Bakshi and singer Sukhvinder Singh gave a music album which is still cherished even today.
The Making of a Cinematic Spectacle
The casting of “Taal” was also a source of its interesting stories. Ghai finally clears the air on the rumors about Mahima Chaudhry being finalized for the lead role; he states that it was actually Saroj Khan who suggested Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for the role. “One day I asked Saroj, ‘who is the best dancer amongst all the heroines on my wishlist’ and she said ‘Aishwarya Rai’,” Ghai narrates. The director was particularly impressed by Rai Bachchan’s commitment to the character; she danced in difficult circumstances.
The film’s choreography was a collaborative effort of three renowned choreographers: Shiamak Davar, Ahmed Khan and Saroj Khan etc. This was possible because of the versatility of dancers and the choreography which enabled a variety of dances that would suit the transition from countryside to city.
Here’s what Ghai had in mind for ‘Taal’ – he wanted to make a musical film free from the trappings of mainstream Bollywood cinema. He said, ‘I decided there will be no villain, no fight, no violence, no mirch masala,’ which shows how he distanced himself from his previous films
