The Making
Bharat Bala and Kanika had been working together on various projects such as Vande Mataram (1996, 1998) and Desh Ka Salaam (1999) when they realised that there was not a single popular rendering of the Indian National Anthem. They thus decided to re-create the National Anthem in a year 2000 version, something that should be 'inspiring for young people to listen to.'
Bharat Bala Productions roped in A R Rahman to produce the music and 60 artistes were taken to Ladakh in North India to film the video for the instrumental version of the video. The final instrumental was a 40-piece string section along with Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Vikku Vinayakram and other instrumental maestros of Indian classical music. Most of the performances included two generations of maestros - fathers and sons. In Kanika’s words, "It was a huge musical unification... this anthem has so much of soul."
It is also notable that during the filming of the anthem with the Ladakh Scouts, there were about 500 jawans who fought during the Kargil war. The producers hoisted a huge flag about 40 feet long for the video in their honour.
Thota Tharini, an artist based out of Madras painted what is now the Vande Mataram logo for the video.
Read more about this topic: Jana Gana Mana Video
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