"Chaar Kadam" (English: Four Steps) is a romantic
Hindi song from the
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
film, ''
PK''. Composed by
Shantanu Moitra
Shantanu Moitra (born 22 January 1968) is an Indian score composer, musician and pianist who has composed songs for the Hindi film industry, and is most known for his scores in the films '' Parineeta'' (2005), ''Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'' (200 ...
, the song is sung by
Shaan and
Shreya Ghoshal
Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awar ...
, with lyrics penned by
Swanand Kirkire
Swanand Kirkire (Marathi: स्वानंद किरकिरे) (born 29 April 1972) is an Indian lyricist, playback singer, writer, assistant director, actor and dialogue writer, both in television with Marathi and Hindi films.
Kirkire wo ...
. The music video of the track features actors
Sushant Singh Rajput
Sushant Singh Rajput (21 January 1986 – 14 June 2020) was an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood, Hindi cinema. He starred in a number of commercially successful Hindi films such as ''M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story'' (2016), ''Kedarn ...
and
Anushka Sharma
Anushka Sharma (; born 1 May 1988) is an Indian actress and former producer who works in Hindi films. She has received several awards, including a Filmfare Award. One of the highest-paid actresses in India as of 2018, she has appeared in '' F ...
. The music is inspired from Ian Hughes - Valse Parisienne. The music is also inspired by Tchaikovsky - Waltz from Sleeping Beauty Op. 66.
Background
On 23 May 2013,
Shaan confirmed through Twitter that he recorded the song for the film ''
PK'' along with
Shreya Ghoshal
Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awar ...
. The song was composed by
Shantanu Moitra
Shantanu Moitra (born 22 January 1968) is an Indian score composer, musician and pianist who has composed songs for the Hindi film industry, and is most known for his scores in the films '' Parineeta'' (2005), ''Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'' (200 ...
, while the lyrics was penned by
Swanand Kirkire
Swanand Kirkire (Marathi: स्वानंद किरकिरे) (born 29 April 1972) is an Indian lyricist, playback singer, writer, assistant director, actor and dialogue writer, both in television with Marathi and Hindi films.
Kirkire wo ...
. The song is based on one of Kirkire's poems.
In an interview, Moitra stated: "It is actually the love song from the album and it is shot exactly the way romantic numbers were shot once upon a time in
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
. The visuals will remind you of ''
Silsila
Silsila ( ar, سِلْسِلَة) is an Arabic word meaning ''chain'', ''link'', ''connection'' often used in various senses of lineage. In particular, it may be translated as "spiritual genealogy" where one Sufi Master transfers his ''khil ...
'', that iconic moment where the camera gently captures the love brewing between
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
and
Rekha
Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 fil ...
. There were no fast camera movement or loud shots. This is one of my favorite tracks from the album".
Rajkumar Hirani
Rajkumar Hirani (born 20 November 1962), also called Raju Hirani, is an Indian filmmaker, director, producer and editor known for his works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several accolades, including three National Film Awards and eleve ...
wanted to shoot this track in a new and unique place.
[ He basically looked for three locations, canal, town hall and cobbled streets of Europe.][ Hence, the crew travelled 3,500 kilometres to search for it before finalising ]Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
in Belgium. Prior to that, the crew looked for other major European cities
This list ranks metropolitan areas in Europe by their population according to three different sources; it includes metropolitan areas that have a population of over 1 million.
Sources
List includes metropolitan areas according only studies of ...
like Paris, Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
and Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
.[ Shooting of the song was completed within two to three days.
The whole song was shot in the Belgian city of Bruges. It was the first Hindi song to be shot in this city.] Talking about the location of the song, Hirani stated, "I was spellbound by the picturesque architecture, landscapes, the strong historical background and clean refreshing environs. I decided that this is just the right place to shoot a part of the movie as it fitted in beautifully with the storyline". The song captures some of the landmark places like the Market Square, Howest Campus, Sint-Jorisstraat, the Beguinage and several streets and canals. The song is choreographed
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
by Stanley D'Costa.
Release and success
The music video of the song was released on 2 November 2014. The video of the music is the fourth song released from the film, after "Tharki Chokro", "Love is Waste of Time" and " Nanga Punga Dost". The audio of the song was officially released on 5 November 2014, through the YouTube channel of T-Series. It was available on music-streaming platforms and for digital download on the same day along with the other tracks from the album.
The song received praise and positive feedback on the pairing of the two actors, Sushant Singh Rajput
Sushant Singh Rajput (21 January 1986 – 14 June 2020) was an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood, Hindi cinema. He starred in a number of commercially successful Hindi films such as ''M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story'' (2016), ''Kedarn ...
and Anushka Sharma
Anushka Sharma (; born 1 May 1988) is an Indian actress and former producer who works in Hindi films. She has received several awards, including a Filmfare Award. One of the highest-paid actresses in India as of 2018, she has appeared in '' F ...
. In an interview, Sharma picked the song as her favourite track from the album.
Critical reception
The song received mixed response from critics. Though reviewers praised the singing of Shaan and Shreya Ghoshal
Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awar ...
, many of them criticised the composition for having a heard-before feel to it. The song seems to draw inspiration from the romantic song "Waltz for a night" by Julie Delpy
Julie Delpy (; born 21 December 1969) is a French-American actress, film director, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. She studied filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has directed, written, and acted in more than 30 films, includi ...
from the movie ''Before Sunset
''Before Sunset'' is a 2004 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, from a story by Linklater and Kim Krizan. The sequel to ''Before Sunrise'' (1995) and the seco ...
''.
Surabhi Redkar from Koimoi
Koimoi is a Bollywood entertainment website providing Bollywood news, box-office reports and film reviews. In January 2021, its Alexa ranking in India was 2530.
Origin
On 23 November 2009, Contest2win.com and Komal Nahta's Faith Entertainment j ...
felt the song "has its own charm and is expected to become popular and high on likeability quotient" and he stated it "is quite sweet to the ears, though there is a clichéd and repetitive tune to it". Devesh Sharma reviewing from ''Filmfare
''Filmfare'' is an Indian English language, English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, r ...
'' stated "Shaan brings all the romance in his voice to belt out a breezy love duet in the able company of Shreya".
Joginder Tuteja from Rediff.com
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
found the song boring and commented "The start sounds dated. It also has a nursery rhyme feel to it, but it's not memorable even after listening to it several times".
Accolades
References
{{authority control
Hindi songs
Hindi film songs
Songs written for films
2014 songs
Shreya Ghoshal songs
Shaan (singer) songs
Songs with music by Shantanu Moitra
Songs with lyrics by Swanand Kirkire