http://passionforcinema.com/ghajini-music-review/
It's time for Rahmaniacs of the world to rejoice: the OST of Ghajini is
finally out! Jodhaa Akbar, Ada, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa, Yuvvraaj, and, now,
Ghajini…2008 has been a blissful year for fans of Allah Rakha Rahman.
Without this musical Godsend's compositions (and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's Rock
On!! and Amit Trivedi's Aamir), 2008 is one of the worst years for the Hindi
music industry. Normally I tend to stay away from reviewing A. R. Rahman's
work. A one-word-rating of "outstanding" doesn't suffice and left
spell-bound at his immense talent, I am usually at a loss for words to
describe his compositions. Nonetheless, below follows a humble and first
attempt to walk you through Rahman's latest gift to music fans all over the
world: Ghajini.
Sonu Nigam welcomes us in Guzarish with his graceful humming, grabbing our
attention instantaneously. Although I never thought I'd ever hear a song in
which Sonu is deprived of words, I'm not going to complain as Javed Ali does
a stellar job with his rendition of this exceedingly romantic number. The
way he extends the "shh" in "baarish" is very enjoyable. And, I like the way
he elevates his voice higher while singing the "i-i-ishhh" part in
"guzarish." The pace of this song and the use of mandolins is excellent.
Kavita Baliga also does a great job of providing operatic vocals. On a side
note, the tune of "tu meri adhoori pyaas pyaas, tu aa gayee mann ko raas
raas, ab toh tu aa jaa paas paas" reminds me of the tune to another Rahman
composition:"hansti rahey tu hansti rahey, hayaa ki laali khilti rahey" from
Saathiyaa. I also admire Prasoon Joshi for breathing meaning into his
lyrics, which most other lyricists seem to be abstaining from these days.
The lines, "Sheeshe ke khwaab leke raaton mein chal rahaa hoon, takraa naa
jaaoon kahin. Aashaa ki lau hai roshan, phir bhi tufaan kaa darr hai, lau
bujh naa jaaye kahin" really leave an impact.
Aye Bachchu is a really fun number and Suzanne sings this song with A LOT of
energy and attitude. I enjoy the way she enunciates each word clearly.
Rahman uses the guitars generously in this number, making you want to break
out dancing immediately. While some people might automatically classify the
lyrics to this song as being mediocre as it involves Hinglish, I think
Prasoon Joshi does a nice job of playfully getting the message across that
one should live life to the fullest: "ab khul ke jeele tu, koi seema naa
border…gungunaalo, muskuraalo, zindagi toh sikhaati hai yehi…lehraalo,
balkhaalo, hum qaidi toh nahin." The word "qaidi" really stands out and is
innovative in the context it is used.
The magical combination of Benny Dayal and Shreya Ghoshal, who were also
heard in Tu hi to meri dost hai from Yuvvraaj, is back again with Kaise
Mujhe. This soft number is very sweet and the disbelief the male protagonist
feels, "Kaisey mujhe tum mil gayeen? Qismat pea aye naa yaqeen. Utar aayee
jheel mein, jaise chaand utartaa hai kabhi" is quite touching. The use of
the sitar is beautiful. Shreya Ghoshal's alaaps have a calming affect.
Clinton Cerego, Neuman Pinto (Phas Gayaa from Aamir), Vivienne Pocha do a
decent job of offering backing vocals. Once again, Prasoon Joshi does a
superb job with the lyrics. We heard the word "gungunaati" used in Tu
Muskuraa ("raat mei chaandini kabhi aise gungunaati hai"), however the
phrase "gungunaati dhoop" is very thoughtful, followed by the question,
"dekhoon tumhey yaa main sunoo?" Another meaningful line from the song worth
special mention is, "badalengi rituen ada, par main rahoongi sada usi tarah
teri baahon mein baahen daalke har lamha, har pal."
Reminding me of Main Aisa Kyon Hoon from Lakshya, Behka is an interesting
composition meshing various styles…hip-hop, jazz, blues, rock. The use of
the saxophone, trumpet, drums sort of reminds me of Jaan Meri from Takshak,
although the overall feel to this composition isn't as energetic and lively
as Jaan Meri. Karthik does a fantastic job getting through all the twists
and turns in this song. While the lyrics to this song aren't
earth-shattering, the use of the words "rounak udaaye" in "guzare jahan sey
woh rounak udaaye" is unusual (in a good way).
After hearing Shreya Ghoshal croon the very romantic Kaise Mujhe, we get to
hear her sing the very light-hearted number, Latoo. The song opens with the
sounds of radio signals and English lyrics are thrown in. Then we suddenly
hear a Spanish guitar. This fast-paced number is so catchy and playful you
can't resist but singing along and dancing carefree. The way Shreya
stretches the word "yaar" is awesome! Out of the 3 faster numbers in Ghajini
(Aye Bachchu, Behka, Latoo), this one is the most enjoyable. Karthik, Tipu,
Bennu, Tanvi, Sakthi Sree Gopal, Anisha and Suvi do a nice job of providing
additional and backing vocals, but it is Shreya who steals the show with her
flawless rendition. The line, "uske aane sey bas jaaye soone soone mann kaa
ilakaa" is innovative. The repetition of the word "yaar" is contagious and
makes you want to sing along.
The last song in the CD is the instrumental version of Kaise Mujhe. The use
of the flute and guitars is soothing and Shreya's delicate alaaps stand out.
The instrumental version is really relaxing.
Guzaarish and Kaise Mujhe will probably appeal the most to listeners. Both
songs are worthy of being in the top 10 romantic numbers of 2008. As far as
the three masti-filled numbers, my guess is that either people will love
those songs or absolutely despise them…as choreographer Ahmed Khan said,
those compositions are a bit "hatke!" Yet, if you listen to them without a
bias (i.e. I-refuse-to-like-anything-commercial-mindset), you'll enjoy them
very much. If you try to compare Ghajini to Rahman's previous works like Dil
Se, Bombay, Dil Hi Dil Mein, Pukaar, Taal, you'll most likely find Ghajini
disappointing. However, if you treat each of Rahman's works separately (and,
I suppose compare it to the utterly pathetic and rubbish OSTs released this
year by other MDs), chances are you'll truly appreciate the music score of
Ghajini. I've heard a lot of comments from others that Ghajini is "too
commercial"…but, can't something that's commercial also be enjoyable? Is a
film or OST that is commercial yet of good quality automatically inferior to
something noncommercial but poorly executed? Or, do we expect everything by
Rahman to have his "oh-this-sounds-like-something-Rahman-created" stamp all
over it, and anything which diverts from that style we label as
commercial/conventional, mediocre (i.e. JTYJN), and not up to the mark?
Anyway, bring on the next Rahman OST soon…sabhi Rahmaniacs ki yehi hai
guzarish [image: :)]
Special thanks to Tushar Shukla for encouraging me to write this music
review and for all his inputs!
Warm Regards
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vinayak
