On A Song

Singer Raghav Sachar — famous for playing 32 instruments as well as composing for Kabul Express and One Two Three—has created his own versions of the Vande Mataram. The national song,which AR Rahman turned into a chart climber with the 1997 Maa Tujhe Salaam,gets a ballad makeover by Sachar,28. Sachar’s songs will be part of a CD containing five older renditions of Vande Mataram by different singers,to be released on August 15. “I have created three versions — a purely instrumental number,a second one with my vocals,and a third with Bollywood playback singer Paroma providing the background vocals. All songs are for two-and-a-half minutes and start with a 30 second rendition of flute,saxophone and harmonica,” he says. Sachar,who is also composing for Vikram Bhatt’s Phirr ,began working on the national song more than two weeks ago and is currently shooting the video in Panvel,Maharashtra. The video has a montage of school children carrying the national flag against the picturesque hillside at Panvel. “We pictured the vocals in a studio since we wanted to shoot in a controlled environment where lighting is better,” says Sachar.