Most Indians have missed the inclusion of one of the most popular numbers of A R Rahman Chaiyya in the hit Hollywood film ‘INSIDE MAN’ some years ago.
It became a special number when Jazz musician and trumpeter Terence Blanchard composed the film score, marking his eleventh collaboration with Lee. The soundtrack for Inside Man features the song “Chaiyya Chaiyya”, composed by A. R. Rahman, which originally appeared in the 1998 Hindi film Dil Se..
The song is featured during the opening credits of the film. A remix of the song, titled “Chaiyya, Chaiyya Bollywood Joint” plays during the end credits, and features Panjabi MC’s added rap lyrics about people of different backgrounds coming together in order to survive.
More than two million people heard the song Chaiyya Chaiyya in movie theaters while watching the film Dil Se. and at least 18 million movie fans would have heard the song, not once but twice, in more than 3,000 theaters in over a dozen countries including America, Canada, Britain and Italy, after watching the hit film Inside Man. the thriller starring Denzel Washington and directed by Spike Lee.
Chaiyya Chaiyya caught Spike Lee’s attention when the musical Bombay Dreams with A R Rahman’s music was on Broadway. It was one of its highlights. The song sequence also received applause in the London version where, unlike on Broadway, the show was a big hit. Otherwise this song was not a fit for the film’s theme, except that its original Indian musical energy and entertainment ability of the heart. It fills you with exuberance and happiness and leads you to the dancing floor.
There are two versions of the song in Inside Man, which opened at the number one position in North America The first time, we hear the original recording, with a bit of enhanced music. The second time around, a hip-hop song is laid atop the Sukhvinder Singh number.
This could be the first time a Bollywood song is heard over six minutes in a Hollywood film. That too in a big film. Earlier Bollywood song was featured in a film of Moulin Rouge grossing 140 million dollars.
