Strategic sound effects

MUSIC: The secret to India's most expensive non-film music video.

In Mumbai, there's a whisper doing the rounds of sound studios. Entertainment industry insiders are talking about "India's most expensive music video". In an industry where the typical non-film music video budget ranges from a few lakh to Rs 15 lakh, adfilm makers "" and husband-wife duo "" Madhu Sarkar and Ajit Kuriakose have spent a staggering Rs 70 lakh on a video, in partnership with Showtime Events India. Some Rs 45 lakh was spent on the sets alone, and Rs 25 lakh on production and post-production work.

Of course, music is a business of betting on talent. The song is composed by Abhishek Ray, sung by Shreya Ghosal, choreographed by Fatima Khanum, and shot by the duo with Binod Pradhan as cinematographer and Nitin Desai as set designer.

But Rs 70 lakh? Isn't that a bit too big for a non-film music video? It is. But just as cinema song-n-dance sequences serve as advertisements for films (and as value-additives for the long-term), this video too has a special purpose.

"It is a precursor to our real big plan, and that's why it had to be treated on a grand scale," explains Kuriakose, somewhat cryptically.

"Big plan"? What he has in mind is a big theatrical production, a grand musical "" for the world audience.

Scripted by him, directed by his wife (also the sister of Pradeep Sarkar of Parineeta fame) and produced by their company Storyteller in alliance with Showtime, the musical is based on the Kamasutra and set in 360 BC. The budget would be in the Rs 18-20 crore range, and "the idea is to take this musical to London".

Claims Khanam, flipping open her laptop to give us a sneak preview of the music video: "It will be the first musical created in India especially for an international audience." It is, needless to add, an eclectic composition.

Khanam has blended jazz and the 'chow' dance form from China, for example. "We have also included a dance form that makes use of swords."

The other songs in the musical have been sung by several other singers, including Sonu Nigam and Udit Narayan. "We are in talks with at least three big music companies and are hoping to release the album by the end of this month," confirms Kuriakose.

But when does the musical hit the theatre? "Our agency in London is already working on that front, and I really don't want to speak too much too soon," says Kuriakose. Meanwhile, he has earmaked a budget of Rs 7-8 crore for the musical to be staged in five Indian cities including New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.