Guru Music: A.R. Rahman
Lyrics: Gulzar Sony/BMG; CD Rs 160
When did you last hear a thumper of a song beginning
with Na na re, na na re, na na re, na na re? Daler Mehndi in Mrityudaata? Now,
hear it in Mani Ratnam’s Guru, in the Barso re number (Shreya Ghoshal, Uday
Mazumdar). The village belle gently and joyously caressing out the words
(Meetha hai, kosa hai,/Baarish ka bosa hai or then Bailon ki ghanti baji,/Aur
taal lage bharne) of Gulzar take you straight to Virasat’s Dhol bajne laga, of
course! The Rahman stamp of authority is there even on the Laxmikant-Pyarelal
style of tabla rhythm in Tere bina
(dedicated by Rahman to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and sung by himself,
Chinmayee and others), especially in the chorus sounding like his
techno slokas! All this, and more, in the Ratnam-Rahman-Gulzar reunion after
Dil Se. Seven in all.
Rahman seems to have become an expert at injecting techno into
religious/anthem kind of stuff as in his trailblazing Vande Mataram or the more
recent Mangala mangala (Mangal Pandey The Rising). And he struts some more of
that stuff here. There is Ek lo ek muft (Bappi Lahiri, Chitra and others), very
folksy-sutradhaarish, with Gulzar suggesting that we could then have two of
each thing, and “loadshedding mein chaand jalaate”!
The rendition, the voices (Maryem Toller, Chinmayee, Keerthi),
the rhythm, the musical arrangements in Mayya mayya are, of course, patent A.R.
Rahman, and you can tell that blindfolded — in a manner of saying. And it’s the
Paisa song (Baazi laga)
by Udit Narayan, Madhushree, Swetha and Bhargavee, which has Gulzar
giving full rein to his forte. Bound to make you think it belongs to
the Bunty Aur Babli genre, as does Ek lo ek muft, and this is the kind of song
Gulzar can also write blindfolded. Check out the brilliance beneath.
Or Gulzar’s other favourite motif — the night — and the
wordplay in Jaage hain der tak hamen/Kuchh der sone do. Like he does while
adjectivising the night in Tere bina beswaadi ratiyaan: Beswaadi!
The
CD pack includes a little booklet which, apart from the sign of the
times —ringtone codes — actually has stills and the lyrics!
Anil Grover
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061222/asp/etc/story_7171843.asp
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