Whether it’s his music or his films, Vishal Bhardwaj is known for his trademark originality. Even when he adapts from a known source, he gives credit to the the original, which inspires his work.
Earlier, he has credited his intensely dramatic Maqbool (2003) and Omkara (2006) to William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Othello respectively. So it came as a surprise to know that a song from his forthcoming movie 7 Khoon Maaf, Darling... has strains of a Russian tune, Kalinka...
We contacted the composer-filmmaker, but he didn’t reply to our text messages. However, a source associated with Bhardwaj confirmed that Darling... is inspired from the Russian Red Army choir. He further explained, “It’s also one of the most notable folk songs of Russia and fits perfectly for the portions in which Priyanka Chopra’s Susanna marries a Russian character, Vronsky, essayed by Aleksandr Dyachenko.”
Our informer adds that the way the song is used in the promo of the film, makes it sound inspired. But it actually is an adaptation. Vishal even got four singers from Russia to record it. He says, “Due credit has been given to the original Russian song in the movie and album.”
Bhardwaj, who has given credit for 7 Khoon Maaf to Ruskin Bond’s Susanna’s Seven Husbands, previously credited a Kenyan guy, Cajetan Boy, for the story idea of Kaminey (2009). He had picked up the idea from the writer while conducting a workshop with Mira Nair in Uganda. “But since Cajetan Boy couldn’t develop the story, Vishal bought it from him for $4,000 and gave him due credit in the movie,” concludes our source.
