Masakali
Encyclopedia
"Masakali" is a popular
Hindi song from the 2009 Bollywood film Delhi-6
. It was composed by A. R. Rahman
, sung by Mohit Chauhan
and lyrics penned by Prasoon Joshi
. The song was released as part of the soundtrack album of the film on 14 January 2009 at the Indian Idol 4 competition. The song got overwhelming positive responses and won five Mirchi Music Awards including the Best Song of the Year Award.
and Abhishek Bachchan
with a pigeon. However, the song was not part of the original film. According to the director, "The song was not really meant to be part of the narrative. I mean, who would think of putting in a song about a dove in a film like Delhi-6? It just happened. When I came to the pre-climax portion of my script, I was stuck. I needed a continuity link taking the narrative to its finale".
. They commented on the song, "
This expressive number from the film Delhi-6, sung by Mohit Chauhan, bowled people over. An AR Rahman composition, it's a free flowing, addictive, fun song. Masakalli is still being played on music channels and radio and it's expected to stay with music buffs for some time to come, owing to its joyful mood." The song topped the Indian charts for more than 34 continuous weeks and was declared as the most successful song of that year.
by winning the following categories.
singer Jagjit Singh dashed out against Prasoon Joshi
for using the word "Masakali". He says: "Do you understand the meaning of "Jai Ho" or "Masakali"? I did not understand." (The former song is Academy Award winning work by Rahman and noted poet Gulzar).
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
Hindi song from the 2009 Bollywood film Delhi-6
Delhi-6
Delhi-6 is a 2009 Hindi-language film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and starring Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Om Puri, Waheeda Rahman, Rishi Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Deepak Dobriyal and Divya Dutta. The film is reportedly based on Mehra's growing up years in Chandni Chowk area of Old...
. It was composed by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
, sung by Mohit Chauhan
Mohit Chauhan
Mohit Chauhan is an Indian pop and playback singer, most known for his romantic ballads. He started his career singing Indian pop songs with the band Silk Route, which released two albums, Boondein and Pehchan. The song "Dooba Dooba" became a rave in the Indipop music scene. However, the band...
and lyrics penned by Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter and advertising copywriter. A prolific Writer-Poet whose first book of 3 books "Main aur Woh" was published when he was 17 years of age, an internationally acclaimed Indian advertising professional, Bollywood film songwriter, as well as a...
. The song was released as part of the soundtrack album of the film on 14 January 2009 at the Indian Idol 4 competition. The song got overwhelming positive responses and won five Mirchi Music Awards including the Best Song of the Year Award.
Development
Rahman composed the song much before he swept nearly all the international music awards for his Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. He recorded the song in December 2008 and the vocalist was collaborating with Rahman only for the second time. The title of the song was the name of a pigeon appearing in the movie. The pigeon was a major theme used in the movie.Release
The song was released as part of the soundtrack album of the film on 14 January 2009 at the Indian Idol 4 competition. The first video of the song "Masakali" was released featuring Sonam KapoorSonam Kapoor
Sonam Kapoor is an Indian film actress who appears in Bollywood films. Kapoor made her acting debut in the unsuccessful film Saawariya opposite newcomer Ranbir Kapoor, which earned her a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She earned her first commercial success in I Hate Luv...
and Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan is an Indian actor and producer. He is the son of Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai....
with a pigeon. However, the song was not part of the original film. According to the director, "The song was not really meant to be part of the narrative. I mean, who would think of putting in a song about a dove in a film like Delhi-6? It just happened. When I came to the pre-climax portion of my script, I was stuck. I needed a continuity link taking the narrative to its finale".
Chart performance
The song got excellent responses and soon became the chart topper of the year. It ranked #2 in the 2009 top songs list of The Times of IndiaThe Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
. They commented on the song, "
This expressive number from the film Delhi-6, sung by Mohit Chauhan, bowled people over. An AR Rahman composition, it's a free flowing, addictive, fun song. Masakalli is still being played on music channels and radio and it's expected to stay with music buffs for some time to come, owing to its joyful mood." The song topped the Indian charts for more than 34 continuous weeks and was declared as the most successful song of that year.
Awards
The song along with the soundtrack album, swept all the major music awards of the year. It emerged as the biggest winner in the Airtel Mirchi Music Awards - 2009Mirchi Music Awards
The Mirchi Music Awards are presented annually by Radio Mirchi to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film music industry of India. The awards, given in seventeen different categories, were instituted to award the best of 2008. In 2010, the Southern...
by winning the following categories.
- Best Song of the Year
- Best Music Director of the Year - A. R. RahmanA. R. RahmanAllah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
- Best Male vocalist of the Year - Mohit ChauhanMohit ChauhanMohit Chauhan is an Indian pop and playback singer, most known for his romantic ballads. He started his career singing Indian pop songs with the band Silk Route, which released two albums, Boondein and Pehchan. The song "Dooba Dooba" became a rave in the Indipop music scene. However, the band...
- Best Lyricist of the Year - Prasoon JoshiPrasoon JoshiPrasoon Joshi is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter and advertising copywriter. A prolific Writer-Poet whose first book of 3 books "Main aur Woh" was published when he was 17 years of age, an internationally acclaimed Indian advertising professional, Bollywood film songwriter, as well as a...
- Best Song Arranger and Programmer - A. R. Rahman
Criticism
In an interview about the lost literary elements of songs, ghazalGhazal
The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...
singer Jagjit Singh dashed out against Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter and advertising copywriter. A prolific Writer-Poet whose first book of 3 books "Main aur Woh" was published when he was 17 years of age, an internationally acclaimed Indian advertising professional, Bollywood film songwriter, as well as a...
for using the word "Masakali". He says: "Do you understand the meaning of "Jai Ho" or "Masakali"? I did not understand." (The former song is Academy Award winning work by Rahman and noted poet Gulzar).