And then there's that other cult, led by the curly-haired maestro from Chennai. It's been a characteristically strong year for AR Rahman, what with hits like Jodhaa Akbar [Images] and his youngest-sounding soundtrack in ages, the delightfully collegiate Jaane Tu [Images]... Ya Jaane Na. There have also been albums like Ada and the soundtrack to Yuvvraaj [Images], which, while disappointing by Rahman's usually stellar standards, has still managed to rake in the default plaudits.
He's currently in the news for his work on Slumdog Millionaire, the Danny Boyle film primed to be this year's Oscar favourite, and the soundtrack to the Mumbai-based film will hit stores the same day Ghajini swaggers onto the screen. And what a gloriously radical soundtrack Ghajini has. The maestro is clearly having fun with the songs, and finds a magical middle-ground between utterly commercial and completely ad-hoc. Most of the tracks switch song-styles (heck, even genres!) a couple of times, and there are a couple of tracks where you can picture the composer's glee as he tosses more ingredients, with sublime sporadicity, into the mix. This is Rahman in mad-scientist mode, and it's very difficult to stay unaffected by the sheer, heady enthusiasm packed into every second of this soundtrack. http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/22forget-the-ghajini-inspired-tag.htm
