“FIR SE UDH CHALA”
The cover starts with this song which has a pahari feel to it. A typical song of a dreamer , whose journey seems to have taken off & hence the youthful vigourous expression of the flutters of the heart. The lyrics has some nice poetic allusion to nature, however, nothing extraordinary is carved out of it as the song turns out to be a typically routine stuff in the end. With AR Rehman as the music director, this one falls flat. Wonder why Saada Haq is not the first one in the album!
The next one in the queue “JO BHI MAIN”, starts with plain guitar rifts & with the feel of a live concert. The refrain ”ya ya ya” opens the soft rock with beautiful lines ‘jo bhi mai kehna chahoon, barbad karein alfaz mere” – an artist’s nemeis, a challenge artistes often experience to translate their thoughts in words to the tee. A soft rock no. That one might want to listen to in leisurely pace & the song would definitely leave an impression. Substantially, at par; however, musically, we might have wanted more from AR. Mohit Chauhan, who is the voice of Ranbir does his best here; no doubt about that.
“KATIYA KARUN” is the next in the queue. It is with this song that the composers must have tried to catch the pulse of the masses who prefer a run of the mill song sans any experimentation & loves familiar turfs. Rehman makes it simpler without his signature touches here & there. The folksy song fades even before it could touch a chord or two. As expected. With 14 songs in the album, we can still hope of something great yet to come.
“KUN FAYA KUN” follows next. A typical Sufiana song, with excerpts borrowed from the Islam. Rehman comes to his own here, which is heartening. We hear Rehman after some time & with his group of singers. The song will be popular with the followers of this genre of music & who are especially rehman-iac.
Mohit Chauhan matches vocals with another singer in the song “SHAHER MEIN” that is as raunchy as it can be & is superfluous in the context. A rhetoric by now hangs in the air – Does this album really required 14 nos, few of them can be done without? Not sure what purpose this song might have served in this context. Same could be said for “HAWAA HAWAA” – A western classical composition that could or could not have suited the context & probes further whether the hype around this album is justifiable.
“AUR HO” is a sad number with some depressing beats that starts slowly & then takes high pace before settling into a consistent tune. The lyrics betrayed the gloom in the backdrop & is a potentially good no. A typical sad song, where the versatility of the music director reflects exceedingly as much as it reflects Mohit Chauhan’s credible voice.
‘TUM KO” sung by Kavita Krishnamurhty after a long hiatus is the number that one has been looking for. The song stands out in it’s classical base arrangement, in it’s expression of pathos & in it’s syrupy rendition of Kavita K’s voice. She hasn’t lost her old magical touch & brings out the ecstasy & the pangs of a lover like no one else. The outing later becomes a seamless mix of ravishing words & a mix of bollywood soft music & classical chords. We can still expect some more good numbers from here.
“TUM HO” by Mohit Chauhan steals the show for me. An out & out romantic version of TUM KO, which is difficult to decipher in one go. Rehman’s brilliance in the arrangement & style of the two songs makes them so unlike each other, until someone listens to the songs more than once. Couple it with Mohit Chauhan’s hauntingly sugar coated voice & you have a winner. This is the first time, with conviction one can say the pair of Mohit_AR should work more often. Not that Mohit was doing bad earlier; he was dazzling, but this song stamps the agreement.
“SAADA HAQ” which has become an youth Anthem & has already gargantuan fan following everywhere c omes in the end surprisingly. A chartbuster that has gained an all time high & is the ultimate sufi-rock no of the film. Loud music & some bold upright lyrics has bursted in the consciousness of the youth & would only galvanize them towards crusade for righteousness.
“NAADAN PARINDAY” another favourite of mine is a situational item that calls home to the person who’s lost his way amid the blurbs of spotlight & appears to be dazed. AR starts it in the veritable way he could & Mohit Chauhan comes in later. Listen to his rendition of “kaaga re kaaga re” – sufi rendition of a couplet, sang by numerous singers in numerous ways. This is refresing & unexpected turn that Mohit brings in here.
Overall, the album is overhyped & hence, it should do well. The movies music boasts of Rehman, with a full fledged album after years, Mohit’s silken voice & Ranbir as the Rockstar with some promising nos, some melody interspersed with some commonplace numbers should be making good fortune. The albums should fly off the shelves, if the movie does even better. The more, the merrier.
My favourites – Naadan parinde, Tum ho, TUm ko, Saada haq, Jo Bhi Mai(not in this order).
Indrajit Ghoshal.
18-10-11
