http://bloggingultimatum.blogspot.com/2008/01/jodha-akbar-music-review.html Saturday, January 19, 2008 Jodha Akbar Music Review<http://bloggingultimatum.blogspot.com/2008/01/jodha-akbar-music-review.html> <http://bp2.blogger.com/_11S022XpuaQ/R5Jf1MKeTtI/AAAAAAAABco/BBXIiUVXUo8/s1600-h/jod8s.jpg>
With Lagaan and Swades to their credit, Ashutosh Gowrikar and A.R.Rahmanunite for Jodha Akbar. I am not a big fan of Ashutosh or Hrithik or Aishwarya but I know what to expect musically with A.R.R scoring the music. Typically my expectations are higher with Rahman's movies and satisfaction is much higher. With no further ado, I want to review the music: - Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah: We have heard this in the movie trailers and promos. This song glorifies Akbar to the zenith. The song has a terrific start with trumpets and battle drums with chorus vocals. Has A.R.Rahman's stamp right from the beginning. A very good mix of classical music, battle drums, tabla, and bass make it an extremely catch song right from the first listening. The part where you hear the lady vocals or "chan chana chana" is brilliant. This song takes you right back to the Mughal era with the right music and lyrics. I love this song ! Instant chart buster ! Wikipedia says that it was sung by Mohammed Aslam and Bonny Chakravarti. Relatively new singers I suppose but they have done a great job ! - Jashn-E-Bahaara: This is yet another song we have seen in the trailers. Sung by Javed Ali, this is a very soothing romantic number. This song comes gives a very fresh feeling. The lyrics are very captivating, very pure Hindi with few urdu words. From the mood and lyrics of the song, it looks like a background song picturised on Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai. Superb song ! - In Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein: Sung by Sonu Nigam and one of A.R.Rahman's favorite Madhushree, it is a slow moving song with melancholy. Sonu and the chorus singers dominate this song with occasional orchestra now and then. This song in my opinion is an attempt to mix contemporary and historical music. The outcome is a success. This song is one of a kind which definitely requires repeated listening. If you don't find this song catchy at first, keep listening and you'd love it. - Khwaja Mere Khwaja: Here comes the song I was waiting for. A qawwali sung by ARR himself, what more can you ask for ? Knowing his choosy selection of the songs he renders, I had super high expectations from this song as well. I can visualize this song rendered in front of Akbar during/after battle. This song is very slow paced and still qualifies to be called a qawwali. Rahman renders the song and also the chorus/background vocals. Brilliant composition ! - Mann Mohana: I had zero expectations from this song rendered by Bela Shende. Her voice resemebles Shreya Ghosal and might match Aiyshwarya rai on screen. This is the least favorite of my songs in this album. Seems like a situational song about temporary separation of lovers. - Jashn-E-Bahaara (Instrumental): In most of the movies, instrumentals are introduced to increase the length on the audio tapes or CDs. For movies where music is scored by A.R.Rahman, instrumentals are a treat and Jashn-E-Bahaara instrumental is yet another proof. An excellent flute instrumental fused with some light background beats. It is very soulful. Do not miss it ! - Khwaja Mere Khwaja (Instrumental): How do you compose instrumentals for a song like Khwaja Mere Khwaja ? Only ARR can do that. The beauty of this instrumental is you can't guess what the original song sounds like from the instrumental. The song and the instrumental are so different. Violin dominates the instrumental and it is a master piece. I love this album. It's a musical treat for one and all. I am positive both the "masses" and "critics" will love this album. I've loved most of ARR's work and some of them after repeated hearing. But with Jodha Akbar, it was appreciated at first listening. I totally recommend listening to all songs in this album. It's a sure shot chart-buster.
