Phir Mile Sur mera tumhara: not a patch on the original :(

First off, the original video was all about unity-in-diversity. Hence, the multiple states, the song in multiple languages, the representatives of each state. In this video, there is only diversity; where is the unity? Where is the blend? The entire 17 minutes video is so long-drawn, it’s not funny! Also, we are unable to distinguish between various parts of India, which was the USP of the original. Here it’s more like a Bollywood song, at scenic locations, where each location seems not too different from the other. Also, the entire sequence is so badly edited, new offshoots of the song keep popping up randomly (Sonu Nigam, Shiamak, for e.g.)

The original was one you could hum and sing along. Here, I am not sure where one part ends and the other begins, and more so, I am not sure why the video goes on endlessly. Hey, even if it had to be an ode to Bollywood, piggy-backing on past melodies, it could have been done better.

Now, about the 68 personalities, there are at least 10 from Bollywood! Where are the authors, the politicians, the sportspersons (and, not the measly 1 minute sequence at the end, does not count!!!). No MS Dhoni, Sachin??? Sania Mirza? The Olympic winners??? Leander Paes?

Where are the Business magnates? India of today is known for her industry and IT-enterprise. Where is Mr. Narayanamoorthy? Azim Premji? Ratan Tata? Imagine a shot of a Premji or Tata zooming through the streets of our IT-parks! And another shot of them doing a lot for charity! That would have been a scene-stealer.

Also, they should have stuck to the original concept of the same lyrics is multiple languages, gets the message across simplistically. Here we have only the Hindi version (promoting Bollywood, Zoom, is it?) a zillion times.

Now, if Shahid was there, why not Farhan? Why not Javed Akhtar/ Gulzar? Are we doing away with the old in the modern India? Why separate frames for every Bollywood star?? Were they not OK to pose together in a single frame? Why not Sushmita who represents motherhood a lot more than Priyanka?

I understand making money and catering to egos of film stars, but what has Karan Johar done to deserve footage in the video? At best, this is a music video by Zoom; Alas! The original copyrights should never have been sold!