Rahman¡¯s Music, Aishwarya's Magic & A Soulful Story - Taal Has A Permanent Space In Our Hearts

¡°Neeche ishq hai oopar rab hai, In donon ke beech mein sab hai¡±

Taal, the beat of passion is not just a film, it¡¯s an emotion. A story of star-crossed lovers and a third wheel to spice things up, this movie was conventional in the Hindi movie making business sense. What made this movie stand out was its soundtrack. Justifying the title of the film, it won¡¯t be wrong to say that the OST of this movie is one of the most memorable ones in the history of Indian cinema.

21 years on, the jukebox still is a mood-changer for many of us. Music was the hero of this Subhash Ghai directorial.

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Even though Bollywood is home to many musicals, Taal had the right mix of ingredients. Not just us, Subhash Ghai¡¯s showmanship touched people across the globe. So much so that Taal became the first Indian film to make the cut on Variety magazine's Top 20 list.

On its 21st anniversary, let¡¯s take a look at reasons why this cult movie will be an entertaining watch till eternity.

Manavsi - in the era of wedding hashtags, Akshaye Khanna and Aishwarya Rai should get enough credit for unintentionally starting the trend, decades ago!

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Truth be told, when I first saw the film in the 2000s, it did make me cringe a little when Akshaye aka Manav flaunted that orange scarf with the couple name Manasvi printed on it. Even the act of him jumping in the house fire to retrieve that scarf as a way of showcasing his love for Aishwarya aka Mansi was quite uncomfortable to watch but overall, this honest love story was not only believable but it did make us pine for something similar for our own selves.

The simplicity of living in the hills near Chambal and that lifestyle looked like a far-fetched idea at that time but at present, it sure looks like a heavenly dream.

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The movie opened with a stunning view of the hills with Aishwarya stretching and doing yoga in the morning. The open green fields provided a quaint backdrop to the first half of the movie, where several parallels were made between city and country life.

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It was constantly highlighted how pahadon mein rehne wale people were not shrouded by greed. They were clean-hearted and hard-working folks who believed in creating all things artsy and beautiful. The stark contrast between Manav and Mansi was probably the reason why they fell in love with each other.

The best thing about Taal has to be the way it highlighted that artists and creativity are invaluable! In fact, it also indirectly called out the music industry for making big bucks by stomping on a true artist¡¯s legacy

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The one scene in particular that stands out to me from the rest has to be where Anil Kapoor aka Vikrant explained his principles of work. When Tara babu played by Alok Nath and Mansi meet him to seek help for building an illustrious career for Mansi, Vikrant Kapoor had a very practical dialogue which resonated with me much later.

He said that Tara Babu created soul-stirring melodies in the hills and remained financially poor while people like him made big bucks out of their art by using their shrewd business acumen.

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Isn¡¯t that the irony that applies to the real world as well? It¡¯s disheartening to see the real and talented people slaving to make ends meet and the big sharks minting truck loads of money at their expense.

This movie¡¯s real hero was the music! AR Rahman¡¯s best work and Aishwarya Rai¡¯s dance skills were probably the solid pillars that made the movie an eternal piece of art.

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Who knew that good music would become so sparse in the future? At present, originality has taken a back seat and there is hardly been any good Hindi music of late that has struck a chord with us. This is one album that every true-blue music lover keeps going back to because it¡¯s evergreen. Rahman¡¯s magic is immortal and so are the songs of Taal.

From songs like Ishq Bina, Ramta Jogi, Kahin Aag Lage Lag Jaave, Nahi Samne to Taal Se Taal, each and every number was a soulful melody. In fact, the music amplified Aishwarya¡¯s dance to a whole another level.

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Aishwarya was so graceful in the film that it was hard to keep eyes off her. Her dance continues to hypnotise us even today, despite several re-watches.

Trivia: By now, most of us already know that it was with this film that Shahid Kapoor made his first ever appearance on the silver screen as a background dancer because he was a part of the Shiamak Davar troupe.

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The camaraderie between the two boys fighting for Mansi¡¯s love was also a delightful watch for there was no bullying in the name of machismo, overdose of testosterone or unnecessary fight scenes.

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The most underrated thing about this movie is the camaraderie between Anil Kapoor and Akshaye Khanna. The way they were civil about each other¡¯s feelings for Mansi should be appreciated more. There were no fight sequences to show one guy having an upper hand over the other. They respected each other and their love for Mansi. Full marks to Subash Ghai for dealing it with so much maturity and compassion. The way they had an unnamed bond was endearing to watch.

Over two decades have passed but this movie remains fresh in our memories till date. Tell us your favourite moments from the film in the comments section below.