"Bulla ki jaana…” sang Rabbi Shergill and wowed music lovers with his debut album. His popularity and fan following, mesmerised by his Sufi tunes, rose rapidly. For purists, this news might come as a shock, but Rabbi is now composing the music and writing the lyrics for his first Hindi film. Called Delhi Heights, the films stars Jimmy Shergill and Neha Dhupia and has been produced by Sivaji Ganesan (Chandramukhi).
Rabbi says, “I’m trying to do something different. I wasn’t interested in just writing lyrics or playback singing or composing music, but running the whole show. I’m getting complete artistic freedom to attempt something new. It’s a creative challenge.”
Delhi-based Anand Kumar, who has made many a commercial and music videos like Gulabi aankhen, jo teri dekhi, will make his directorial debut with Delhi Heights. Interestingly, the film also marks the return of Sivaji Ganesan to Hindi films after 30 years, his last Bollywood production being Amardeep with Dev Anand and Vyajanthimala as the lead pair.
“The moment I narrated the script to Rabbi he loved it so much that he readily agreed to pen the lyrics and score the music,” says Kumar.
“You’ll hear a totally different kind of music from Rabbi in the film. I’ve heard two tracks and they’re simply mind-blowing. The only track we’d like to use from his debut album is Tere bin, but that, too, because it fits the situation so perfectly.”
{{/usCountry}}“You’ll hear a totally different kind of music from Rabbi in the film. I’ve heard two tracks and they’re simply mind-blowing. The only track we’d like to use from his debut album is Tere bin, but that, too, because it fits the situation so perfectly.”
{{/usCountry}}But according to Rabbi, “That’s still contentious at the moment.” On the kind of music he is composing, all he is willing to reveal is, “The music is very contemporary with my influences, rock beats, all that popular Hindi film music is all about.”
Delhi Heights is, quite obviously, set in the Capital. “Three couples — played by Jimmy and Neha, Rohit Roy and Simone Singh and Om Puri and Kamini Khanna — live in this apartment complex called Delhi Heights. Jimmy and Neha work in rival companies, but fall in love and get married. That’s when professional rivalry threatens their marriage and the film looks at how they sort out their differences,” reveals Kumar. “The song sequences will be shot in the north,” he informs.
On bridging the north-south divide, Kumar says, “I met Ram and Prabhu, sons of Sivaji Ganesan, and discussed the story with them. They were also looking for a good script to make a Hindi film, and this suited them fine.” The film will go on the floors on May 1 and the shooting will be wrapped by July. “We’re planning to release the film during the Diwali,” says Khanna.