99 Songs

99 Songs is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, and co-written and produced by A. R. Rahman, who thus makes his debut in both roles, apart from composing the original score and songs. The film stars debutants Ehan Bhat and Edilsy Vargas in lead roles, alongside Aditya Seal, Lisa Ray and Manisha Koirala among others portray supporting characters.[1] The film is a sensual story about art and self-discovery of a struggling singer who wants to be a successful music composer. This movie will be dubbed and released in Tamil,Telugu, Kannada & Malayalam in the same name. [2]

This article is about the film. For the song by American rock band Toto, see 99 (song).

99 Songs
Festival release poster
Directed byVishwesh Krishnamoorthy
Produced byA. R. Rahman
Screenplay byVishwesh Krishnamoorthy
Story byA. R. Rahman
Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy
Starring
  • Ehan Bhat
  • Edilsy Vargas
Music byA. R. Rahman
CinematographyTanay Satam
James Cowley
Edited byAkshay Mehta
Shreyas Beltangdy
Production
company
Ideal Entertainment
YM Movies
Distributed byJio Studios
Release date
  • 9 October 2019 (2019-10-09) (Busan)
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

This film is the debut directorial of Vishwesh, who worked as an advertisement filmmaker, before Rahman offered him to direct for his production. Vishwesh, also a musician, is well-known for the Mumbai based hardcore band Scribe. The scripting and finalizing process, which began in 2014, continued till four years. The casting process done by Mukesh Chhabra; around 1,000 auditions took place, until the makers finalized Ehan and Edilsy as the lead actors. The cinematography was handled by Tanay Satam and James Cowley, while editing was done by Akshay Mehta and Shreyas Beltangdy.

The world premiere of 99 Songs was held at the 24th Busan International Film Festival which was held at Busan, South Korea, where the film was screened in the Open Cinema category on 9 October 2019.[3][4] The film produced by Ideal Entertainment and YM Movies, with entire rights were bought by Jio Studios.

Cast

Production

Development

In June 2015, under YM Movies, A. R. Rahman had signed advertisement filmmaker director Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy to direct his first feature film. Director Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy is also a musician. He was the vocalist of Mumbai-based hardcore band Scribe.[6] He is known for the TV series Bring on the Night (2012) and The Dewarist (2011). In 2014, the production house was finalizing the draft of the script, this being a music-based film. The film was titled 99 Songs and the makers casting process had begun in Mumbai.[7][8] Overall, the scripting and finalizing process took four years.[7] On casting, the production house wanted a South Indian actor to play the male lead musician who had basic understanding of music too.[7] The supporting cast will have international musicians and actors.[7] The casting of the film has been done by casting director Mukesh Chhabra, and around 1,000 auditions were took place, before the makers finalized debutants Ehan Bhat and Edilsy Vargas, as the lead actors.[9]

In August 2015, it was confirmed that the plot would be musically-laden, with film score by Rahman. However, the film won't be a biopic on him but, it features a journey of a struggling singer, with the problems faced in his quest to be a successful composer, said Rahman in an interview.[7] The cast also includes renowned musicians Ranjit Barot and Rahul Ram. The film would have a love story inclined to art, passion and realizing one's true capabilities.[7] Rahman, who penned the script for the first time in his career, in an interview with Deccan Chronicle stated: "Writing is the nucleus of any project. It is the core vision behind any film! Since my movie is a musical, it needed a really strong script to bring it to life and create an impact."[10]

Production works began after Rahman finished scoring Ashutosh Gowariker's 2016 film Mohenjo Daro.[7]

A. R. Rahman wrote on his Facebook:

"For the past couple of years, we have taken the time necessary to hold around a 1,000 auditions so that we could find the right boy and girl. I think we have found those special people who have brought freshness and talent to the screen"[9]

Ehan Bhat was given piano training at Rahman's KM Music Conservatory in Chennai, India, and sent to Los Angeles for training from acting and success coach Bernard Hiller.[11]

A. R. Rahman said in an interview with Anupama Chopra:

"There are two things could happen. One saying this is going to be a new wave in Hindi cinema or (smile) they will just throw it in my face"[12]

Filming

On 10 March 2017, principal photography had begun, accompanying a first look poster release. The details about lead pair were undeciphered.[13]

Music
Main article: 99 Songs (soundtrack)

The background music and soundtrack for the film was composed by A. R. Rahman. The album which was in production since 2015, consists of 14 original compositions for each language (Hindi, Tamil and Telugu).[14] The lyrics for the original Hindi version were penned by Navneet Virk, Abhay Jodhpurkar, Dilshaad Shabbbir Shaikh, Raftaar, Munna Shaukat, while the lyrics for the Tamil version were penned by Madhan Karky and Thamarai, and Telugu version was penned by Anantha Sriram.

99 Songs, became the first Indian soundtrack album to be released in Dolby Atmos Technology.[15] The theme song from the film titled "The Oracle" was released on 14 February, coinciding with the Valentine's Day. The singles – the male and female versions of "Jwalamukhi", "Teri Nazar", was released on was released on 20 and 26 February 13 March respectively. The full soundtrack was released by Sony Music India on 20 March 2020.[16]

Marketing

A. R. Rahman revealed the first look of the film in his Ahmedabad concert on 17 December 2017, and also announced that the film is scheduled to release in 2018. Few more posters featuring Ehan and Edilsy was released on 17 October 2018.

On 27 April 2019, the lead actor of the film Ehan Bhat joined A. R. Rahman on Star Plus reality show The Voice, who performed on stage.[17] Rahman also introduced Ehan on the first stage of Zee Cine Awards Tamil, held in Chennai.

The official trailer was launched on 18 February 2020, and unanimously received applause from viewers, praising the visual effects and background score, making it as musically and visually stunning.[18]

Release

A.R. Rahman announced that 99 Songs would release on 21 June 2019 on the occasion of World Music Day, but the date was postponed as the post-production team was still working on VFX.[19] This film is scheduled to release in three languages, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The international sales rights for the film was acquired by Jio Studios.[20]

It was premiered at the 24th Busan International Film Festival, held at Busan, South Korea, where the film's screening took place at the Open Cinema category on 9 October 2019.[3][4][21]

References
  1. Joshi, Priya (28 July 2015). "AR Rahman interview: The Mozart of Madras". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  2. Chatterjee, Suprateek (5 August 2015). "AR Rahman Has Turned Scriptwriter For His Home Production '99 Songs'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  3. "99 songs: AR Rahman's musical drama to be screened at Busan International Film Festival on 9 October- Entertainment News". Firstpost. 26 September 2019.
  4. "AR Rahman's maiden production venture '99 Songs' to premiere at Busan film festival". The Times of India. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  5. "Raazi actor Ashwath Bhatt: Kashmiris are doing well in the industry; genes help – Mumbai Mirror -". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  6. "Scribe Vocalist Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy Leaves The Band -". 11 November 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  7. Iyer, Samyukta (5 August 2015). "RAHMAN SCRIPTS A FILM ABOUT A SINGER". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  8. Sengupta, Soumita (20 June 2015). "AR Rahman's Next 99 Songs". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  9. "After 1000 auditions, AR Rahman has found the leads for 99 Songs". The Indian Express. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  10. Subramanian, Anupama (11 March 2016). "AR Rahman got his script ideas on a plane!". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  11. Frater, Naman Ramachandran,Patrick; Ramachandran, Naman; Frater, Patrick (8 October 2019). "Busan: Oscar-Winning Composer A.R. Rahman Sings '99 Songs'". Variety. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  12. Chopra, Anupama (6 August 2018). "Trust The Artist And Leave. Don't Tell Them What To Do: AR Rahman".
  13. Parande, Shweta (9 March 2016). "99 Songs: A R Rahman releases first poster of his first feature film, and it's beautiful!". India.com. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  14. "99 Songs: AR Rahman To Present 15 Original Compositions". NDTV.com. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  15. India-West, R. M. VIJAYAKAR/Special to. "A.R. Rahman is First Indian to Create Music Album in Dolby Atmos". India West. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  16. "99 Songs marks the 23rd year of the AR Rahman-Sony Music India association". Everything Experiential. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  17. Baddhan, Raj. "BizAsia | Media, Entertainment, Showbiz, Brit, Events and Music".
  18. Seta, Keyur. "99 Songs trailer: AR Rahman's debut as writer-producer is musically and visually stunning". Cinestaan. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  19. Rahman, A.R. [@arrahman] (12 June 2019). "#99SongsTheMovie Announcement! @YM_Movies @offjiostudios @JioCinema @idealentinc #99Songs" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. Menon, Priya (24 September 2019). "Beyond Mozart of Madras: AR Rahman to soon debut as director, producer and writer". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  21. Pandya, Sonal. "Roam Rome Mein, 99 Songs, Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare to have world premiere at Busan". Cinestaan. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
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