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Bollywood singers unite for tsunami benefit

Bollywood’s top 15 singers will come together this weekend to record a benefit song for India’s thousands of tsunami victims. Noted lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar has penned a new song “Zindagi Pukaarti Hai” (Life Beckons), which he said would be recorded in Bombay and performed live at a movie awards function on January 18.

Popular Bollywood music composer brothers Jatin and Lalit, who only use one name each, have composed the music and the recording will take place at their private studio. “The song is about keeping a positive outlook to life and calls on people to help society at large,” Akhtar said. “The sales and distribution details are being finalised and after this the music video and CDs would be released,” he said. All the proceeds would go to tsunami victims and relief work. The number of people officially declared dead or missing in India from the December 26 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis is more than 16,000. Bollywood playback singers Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan, Shaan, Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi Chauhan are among those involved in the planned recording.

“We will work on related projects with other Bollywood artists wherever we feel more funds could be raised,” said Akhtar, who scripted and wrote the lyrics of several Bollywood blockbusters for screen legend Amitabh Bachchan in 1970s-80s. The Indian singers are hoping for the same kind of success as the Hollywood benefit song “We Are The World” produced by Quincy Jones, with pop king Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie writing lyrics. US media reports say the recording of a new song for tsunami victims entitled “We Are The Future”, as a sequel to the 1985 Grammy winner, has been delayed. afp

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