Rockstar Songs Review (2011, A R Rahman, Mohit Chauhan)

Rockstar starts with Mohit Chauhan singing Phir se ud chala. The song, that starts with a relatively light mood and gets a breezy effect from Mohit, like the words of the song, gets remixy by the end, actually a nice experiment that will catch on slowly. One very interesting part of the song, though, was the background vocals in the beginning and end.

Jo bhi main kehna chahoon, barbaad karen alfaaz mere. Frankly, I am a fan of this one line written by Irshad Kamil. And then A R Rahman in an experimental mood, composing like there is someone actually singing at a concert. And Mohit Chauhan singing that. I don’t think there was anything more required, but still, the song has a lovely video as an add-on. Seems I wrote a lot just praising the song, but guess it’s worth that. Do listen.

Katiya Karoon. Dangerous words. Rocking

music. And superb vocals by Harshdeep. If she has managed to be not famous even after Rang De Basanti, this time Rahman is definitely gonna make her known. DO listen.

is once again Rahman at his regular divine stuff. I sometimes wonder how Rahman is so easily able to create such wonderful songs in the same segment, one after the other, and all of them equally great. Yes, good is a small word here.

The next, Sheher mein, is a Very exceptional number, where one person tells how to sing, that is what to do, followed by lines, followed by Ranbir that is Mohit singing them again. While Karthick sings the song as a regular singer, Mohit takes every line in a stylish mood and you just enjoy the difference.

Hawa hawa, featuring Rahman’s Foreign language gang with Mohit Chauhan, has an Arabian touch in its music and arrangements, while Mohit again sings with some more experimentation. Wondering how much of experiment is going to be there with his voice in just one album. Not a quick catch, may be interesting with a video though, as the song has some interesting words with a conversational style.

Aur HO, the next song, that begins with Alma Ferovic’s voice, is the first true rock number of the album. Even though the background of the song is quite light in most of the song and has a very familiar Rahman touch, but Mohit’s voice gets incredibly high in some places, like an all new rockstar. Do listen for a nice glimpse of that old Rahman.

Rahman and Mohit’s O Naadan Parindey, which is already a lovely composition in itself, has got a LOT of experimentation done by Rahman in background and foreground, and unless you listen to the song a few times you’ll find a song a little difficult to follow. But whatever you do or do not, make sure you listen to Kaaga re kaaga re part sung by Mohit. Lovely, no, Very lovely one.

When I heard the 30 second preview of Kavita Krishnamurthy Subramaniam’s Tumko pa hi liya, I thought of it as a very regular song, and was wondering if Rahman should have given it to Madhushree to making it a little more interesting.

I was wrong.

Rahman makes a lovely slow number with a nice, light Indian-Western fusion with a lot of Tabla, while Kavita just sings the slow, long melody in the foreground. A song that will take some hours to get on, and a lot, lot more to get off.

Next to next after tum ko, comes tum ho, almost the same tune sung by Mohit Chauhan, with all different style and arrangements, so much so that it’s difficult to guess its the same song if you’re listening to both for the first time. Mohit sings the song much more beautifully, but not taking much away from Kavita’s version as what she sings is again equally different.

Tango for Taj, the three minute instrumental, is a common, but nice, and to some extent engaging track that one would actually like to dance on. While Dichtomy of Fame, based on Shehnai and guitars, is one instrumental piece in long time I really liked, even though I don’t think I have much of an ear for instrumental pieces.

The last track, The Meeting Place, is rendition of a single sentence by Ranbir, based on Rumi’s poem. All I have to say is that if they had not given this one, people probably would ask for it after watching the movie.

And if you are wondering where is Sadda Haq, it’s between Kavita’s Tum ko, and Mohit’s Tum ho, but had decided to avoid until the end. Have still to play it.

Orianthi. Superb guitars from the first second.

Besides that, I don’t know much about Sadda Haq aithe rakh. The song is completely anthem-ish. And it gives you a high like it should, even though the best part of the song is already listened by almost everyone, tens of times in my case. The song is expected to do well everywhere, including country, overseas, in Punjab and out of it (talking of the language), on youtube, and probably even on your website if you put it there. You can listen to it while exercising, or getting ready for an exam. If you’re going for some protest, it’s a must have, be it social, political, or emotional. In short, Sadda Haq aithe rakh is a song for many seasons. And you can probably buy the CD for this song alone.

Enough said.

Emraan Hashmi: JANNAT's soundtrack, a classic!

JANNAT is all set to release on 16th May. Now that would be the time when IPL would be nearing its peak of excitement which would only make this Mukesh Bhatt film (which deals with the world of match fixing and betting) even more contemporary.
Before that, there is quite some heat building up for the steady progress of the film's music as well, as evidenced by the constant escalation that JANNAT is seeing on the music charts. After creating quite some excitement over the month gone by, JANNAT has managed to pick on lead and has finally upstaged RACE which has been doing quite well for more than two months.
The track �Judaai' has caught on well and by the time JANNAT would arrive at theaters, one can expect this Pritam soundtrack to hit the #1 spot, which is currently occupying #1 slot.
So why does TASHAN not seem to be the ultimate challenge for JANNAT anymore?
Well, the matter of the fact is that ever since its theatrical release, TASHAN is facing brick bats from all over which are definitely going to work adversely for this innovative album by Vishal-Shekhar. The composer duo has certainly come up with some of the most original music in a Bollywood flick but since the film is facing quite some heat, it is bound to impact the music popularity as well.
Coming back to JANNAT, now all what the music company and the film's makers have to ensure is to keep the momentum on for the album's promotion. After a slow start, as of now, things have started moving in the right direction. Now it's a matter of sustaining the heat lest JANNAT looses its track before the film's release.
Ever so confident about the music of JANNAT, Emraan Hashmi says, "JANNAT is one such soundtrack which would go down as a classic. If you thought that the music of GANGSTER and AWARAPAN were great, then JANNAT is simply phenomenal. It is out of this world."

Krazzy 4

Music Director: Rajesh Roshan

Singers: Neeraj Sridhar, Kailash Kher, Soumya Raoh, Sunidhi Chauhan, Kirti Sagathia, Jimmy Moses, Bhavin Dhanak, Vishal Dadlani, Labh Janjua, Sudesh Bhonsle, Ankita Sachdev, Rahul Vaidya
Ratings: **

Rakesh Roshan has roped in Jaideep Sen to direct his home production 'Krazzy 4', but hasn't changed the music composer.

As usual brother Rajesh Roshan composes tunes for this film. He has churned out some fantastic compositions in the past, but does not impress with this one.

'Dekhta hai tu kya,' rendered by Sunidhi Chauhan and Kirti Sagathia, is a typical rusty, folk Bollywood number.

While there have been a few such numbers that have found fans in the audience, yet one can see no such signs in 'Dekhta...' Javed Akhtar has written the rather average lyrics for the tracks.

'Ik rupiya' is not really a sensational song as there is hardly anything musical about it.

Being more of a situational number, this piece has been sung by an array of singers, including Labh Janjua, Bhavin Dhanak, Jimmy Moses, Kirti Sagathia, Sudesh Bhonsle and Rahul Vaidya. The number, penned by Javed Akhtar again, can be conveniently skipped.

The National Anthem, 'Jan Gan Man', gets a slot in the album. Ankita Sachdev lends her voice and as much as the song evokes patriotism in listeners, it has nothing new to offer.

The title track, 'Krazzy 4', which was filmed on Shah Rukh Khan, is an item number with all the contemporary Bollywood instruments. The music is as conventional as it can get. While musically, the song isn't much of an achievement, the audiences are likely to enjoy it.

'Break free' bears a resemblance to the title track. The singers and the lyricist are the same and even the composition sounds similar. While the lyrics might have been altered here and there, differentiating between the two is a hard task.

'O re lakad' surprises the same way as 'Dekhta hai tu kya'. It has a rusty touch to it. The song has been sung by Soumya Raoh, Kailash Kher and Neeraj Sridhar, who make an interesting trio but the song isn't much fun as a whole.

Listening to the entire soundtrack of 'Krazzy 4' could turn out to be a little boring or uninteresting. Even though one gets to hear Rajesh Roshan's composition after a hiatus, he doesn't innovate or offer variations in his regular style.

The songs are purely situational and would probably seem better on screen.

Taare Zameen Par- Music Review

The music launch of Taare Zameen Par, which has the distinction of being actor Aamir Khan's debut directorial venture, has been rather low-key. The film, which is about a dyslexic child, is not expected to be your normal, run-of-the-mill Hindi film. This one promises to be different. On first hearing the music album of this movie, one is struck by the same sense of novelty. The music of the film, composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, surely among the best in the music business today, has an inherent innocence and whimsical sweetness about it. It is bound to tug at your heart at places. With Prasoon Joshi penning the lyrics for the songs, one can expect a true feast for the ears.

The album opens with the title number Taare Zameen Par sung by Shankar Mahadevan. The song has been sung superbly by Shankar, who imparts a softness and tenderness to the number, highlighting its poetical quality. He is ably supported by Bugs Bhargava, Dominique Cerejo and Vivinenne Pocha. This number has an enchanting quality to it and it is bound to have you completely hooked. What makes this a difficult song to sing for the singer is the fact that there is hardly any supporting. Thus, the entire emphasis is on the voice alone. Shankar comes up tops even here along with Vivinenne, Bugs and Dominique. This one is really straight from the heart.

The Kholo Kholo number, which is next in line, continues the melodious legacy. Sung by Raman Mahadevan, this is a fast-paced, guitar backed number. There is a high energy level to this song and Joshi's lyrics provide the perfect mood for this infectiously joyful song. The song has a soft rock feel to it and the singer does full justice to the number.

The next song has actor-director Aamir Khan and singer Shaan get together for a number called Bum Bum Bole. It is a fun song, which gently persuades you to come out and spread your wings. It begins with Aamir spouting some gibberish in high speed before Shaan takes over. The song seems quite situational and one would really enjoy the song along with the film. On its own, it does not have a strong enough impact.

Vishal Dadlani makes his entry in this album with the number Jame Raho. This too is a very situational number which talks about the different kind of children. There is an air of merriment about it as it goes ahead describing the different kinds of children. What really work for this song are its lyrics, and the manner in which the lyricist describes the obedient child or the dreamer. Joshi's use of the language, his whimsical manner of describing emotions and people, especially in this song, remind one of Gulzar.

Ma, the sentimental number in the album is sung once again by Shankar Mahadevan, with vocals that tug at the heart. Joshi well captures the fears and anxieties of a little child sent away from home. The emotional core is just right. This song too creates a kind of magic, and it's based purely on the vocal prowess of the singer. Again, a number which owes its moving quality to the voice and not the accompaniments which are bare.

Bheja Kam is sung by some ten singers-- Shankar Mahadevan, Bugs Bhargava, Shankar Sachdev, Raaj Gopal Iyer, Ravi Khanwilker, Loy Mendonsa, Amole Gupte, Kiran Rao, Aamir Khan and Ram Madhvani. It is less of a song and more of a spoof on the kind of scolding that children get on getting low marks. The song itself begins with a scolding – 'Why can't you?'The ten singers pitch in with a line or two and bring out the plight of a child. The song even has words which go like, 'idiot, duffer', and more on the same note as the hapless child is bombarded with questions and rebukes. Sounds a tad familiar at times, if one dares to tread down memory lane.

Mera Jahaan, has been written by Amole Gupte and the music has been composed by Shailendra Barve. Singers Auriel Cordo and Ananya Wadkar set the ball rolling with their rendition of the English portion, followed by Adnan Sami. The song gives us a peek into the perfect world that a child craves for, borne out of his imagination and needs.

The album culminates with Ishaan's theme, an instrumental piece. A piano composition, the piece seems to trace the emotional graph of a child, with a serene beginning, followed by some energetic movement and then it composes itself again and goes back to its smooth and serene beginnings.

The best about this impressive album is the fact that it is untarnished. The composers, the lyricist, the director and producer have given us an album which is true to the film. Each of the songs has a definite place and reason to be there in the scheme of things.

Everything is as it should be. Also the composers and lyricist have done a superb job of staying honest to the genre without going overboard. For instance, the sweetness in the songs is not alloyed with saccharine, but genuine. The sentimental bits too, do not go overboard. It could not have been very easy, because there no given formulas that the composers could have followed for this album. Rarely has so much meticulous attention been given to a subject who deals with children. Taare Zameen Par's musical soundtrack should definitely strike a chord with the child hidden inside all of us.