Raajneeti going to IIFA Sri Lanka

Raajneeti will be screened at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, starting June 3 in Colombo and director Prakash Jha is panicky because he has to record a patriotic song before his political thriller goes on its global journey.

The Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpai-starrer will have a seven-city global premiere and IIFA screening is the last-minute addition.

Dhan dhan dharti is the title of the patriotic song that Gulzar has written for Raajneeti. The lyrics are being composed by the American composer Wayne Sharpe who has taken on the daunting task of incorporating the tune for Vande Mataram into Gulzar words.

"We've just taken the basic core notes of Vande Mataram and then built our own patriotic song almost from scratch," Jha told IANS.

This is the first time that Gulzar has collaborated with an international composer. The idea was to find another global catch-phrase to equal the easy reach of Gulzar's song "Jai Ho".

"We are not trying to be one-up on any other song. But the idea was to make the song reflective of the collective Indian psyche," said Jha.

Dhan dhan dharti will now be released across the globe as soon as the right male voice is chosen to render the number. Jha says the song is perfect for the late Mohammad Rafi -- who will be at the mike is now being debated.

IANS/Yahoo/NDTV

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Ranbir Kapoor declined to perform live at the 10th IIFA awards in Macau

Ranbir Kapoor seems hellbent on not making the mistakes his father did (signing on any and every film at the peak of stardom). Lucrative roles including Kabir Khan's New York and Jehangir Surti's Aa Dekhe Zara have been declined instantly by this fastidious actor.

Now Ranbir has said no to an obscene amount of money (reportedly close to Rs 2 crore) offered to him to perform live at the 10th IIFA awards in Macau arguing that he wasn't prepared to face a live audience yet.
Let me have enough songs first

According to a close friend, "Ranbir has decided he will go on stage only when he has a proper and solid body of songs to perform to. After his debut in Saawariya, Ranbir was flooded with offers to perform live. He excused himself saying he wasn't ready.

This year again Ranbir has declined all invitations to perform at award events including IIFA saying he isn't ready to go on stage yet."

IIFA director Sabbas Joseph says, "I respect that. If Ranbir feels he is not ready for the stage, that says a lot about him. Hopefully he'll make his stage debut with us next year."

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