PICTURE SPEAK

Krishna, the muse of artists

When maestro Pandit Jasraj or singer Anup Jalota sing bhajans on stage, the encore is for Krishna, the most magical, mystical and playful of all gods. With Krishna Jayanti round the corner, music companies are in a hurry to cash in on the festive mood. They are releasing not only original compositions but also cover versions and compilations. So there's Bolo Radhey by Jalota and Krishna by Shubha Mudgal (Music Today), Braj Ras by Anuradha Paudwal and Gaur Shyam by Suresh Wadkar (HMV), Hari Ka Dhyan Laga Man Mere by Mohammed Rafi (an archival release from Universal) and Mayi Savare Rang (collected artists from Sagarika).

What is it about Krishna that every musician wants to sing His praises? Simply, He symbolises romanticism as well as bhakti. Nowhere is the romanticism of Radha-Krishna more beautifully depicted as in Mudgal's songs. As she says, "Krishna can be addressed as a companion, as God, friend or even lover. Maybe that is why He is the muse of artists."

The Krishna obsession is evident among the young as well-there are Hare Krishna remixes in lounge bars and pop band improvisations. Pandit Jasraj, a devout Krishna bhakt, says he sees images of Krishna while singing: "His name itself inspires peace. Do I need to say more?" Music Today has many titles on Krishna, including Krishnadhwani, Colours of Krishna, Makhan Chor Nand Kishor, Krishna Sewa and Morning Chants. Eternal charmer as marketing product? "If the concept and music is world class, the albums are bound to do well," says Gurmeet Singh, business head, Music Today. The truth is, as Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia says, "No one could play the flute better than him." Krishna is indeed the true artist.

-By S. Sahaya Ranjit

PICTURE SPEAK

YAHAAN Director: Shoojit Sircar Starring: Jimmy Shergill, Minissha, Yashpal Sharma

Kashmir has long been cinematic fodder. Earlier filmmakers framed romance against its beauty. Later ones explored the tragic ironies of its violence. In Yahaan, debutant director Shoojit Sircar attempts to do both. Yahaan, the love story of a Kashmiri girl and an Indian Army officer, is well photographed (Jacob Ihre) and finely enacted. Jimmy Shergill, a very underrated actor in Bollywood, gives a well nuanced performance as a soldier struggling between desire and duty. Minissha, playing the nubile small-town girl who dreams about wearing a sleeveless top and jeans, has an awkward charm that works.

Sircar grapples ably with the multiple perspectives that make Kashmir such an arduous and intricate conflict. At one point, the girl's brother, a terrorist, speaks of the angst of the Kashmiris caught among India, Pakistan and geopolitics beyond their control. Sircar also imbues the forbidden romance with a tender passion-the couple make love amid fields, flowers and Shantanu Moitra's melodious music. What stops Yahaan from being a great movie is its inexplicably slow pace and far-fetched climax. Yet it is a compelling debut by a distinctive director.

-By Anupama Chopra

Nalapat's painting

DELHI People For Animals organises "The Incredible Moment", a collection of 2,500 momentous images by the country's finest photographers, 250 of them. At ITC Maurya Sheraton, August 19-21.

MUMBAI Deepak Shinde depicts love, war, infatuation, passion and intrigue in the fashion of fables or parables in his 20 recent works on display at the Jehangir Art Gallery. Till August 24.

BANGALORE Artist Anuradha Nalapat shows her latest collection at the Chitra Kala Parishad from August 16-18, after which it travels to Kochi.

DELHI Osian's exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi, "Revisualising India", encompasses India's cultural history in the past three centuries through art, rare books, maps. August 17 to September 2.