Coke Studio @ MTV

In the great ocean of Indian music,Bollywood willfully plays the role of the great white shark,devouring anything else in its way to remain the king of the sea. With Coke Studio@MTV,MTV is now trying to give the other dwellers of the ocean a fighting chance to swim and capture audience’s attention.

While the Pakistani version of the show has been much lauded and discussed,the Indian version began with mixed reviews from music aficionados. The show,which tries to blend in all the different folk sounds of India that was gradually drowned out by Bollywood music,began with R D Burman’s Hindi number O maajhi re by Saurav Moni and Shaan. The slow,deep and mellifluous voice of Moni was evenly tempered by Shaan’s familiar voice in the song. One imagined that the long,salubrious end was the way the songs on the show would pan out.

However,the very next composition,Yaar basainda,sung by Tochi Raina and Mathangi Rajashekhar,sounded minor alarm bells. The Punjabi folk music and the accompanying vocals struggled to match together cohesively and the end result of the song was at best,mixed. Two songs by two well-known singers salvaged the show in the jugalbandi immediately after. Shankar Mahadevan teamed up with Assamese singer Khogen Gogoi and sang Tip top and Me dolkar with near-perfect synchronisation.

The show really began only when singer Chinna Ponnu began singing Tamil song Velathai. For the first time,the music began to create an effect and when Kailash Kher,who has voluntarily stayed on the fringes of Bollywood playback singing so far,started singing his own Sufi lines with the Tamil singer,there was real magic. It was difficult to imagine how the show would reach the crescendo matched by these two soulful singers.

Predictably,Sunidhi Chauhan and Mousam Gogoi singing Bichhua and KK and Sabri brothers reciting Chadhta suraj seemed like the show was being stretched unnecessarily. Also,while the show’s no host formula works well to create the mood,a little more description of the folk songs will help audiences understand and appreciate the diversity of the songs on offer. The show’s technical department also needs to check for voice-music coordination,especially when songs are sung on a high pitch. The idea to bring together singers from different areas and get them to sing a popular number hitherto limited to their own area is unique and one hopes MTV will not try and aggressively chase TRPs for a show as niche as Coke Studio@MTV.

Comparisons with the Pakistani version of the show will only rise in the coming weeks,especially with performers like the Wadali brothers expected to take centre-stage very soon. The show has taken a positive first step and allowed music fans to glimpse into the vast pool of music inherent to the country. Here’s hoping the white shark stays away from this one for as long as possible.

Verdict: ****

Music lovers rejoice.