This is wonderful... " Song for the soul and Song for the feet". Thanks Gopal
On Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 7:34 AM, Gopal Srinivasan <[email protected]>wrote: > > > His master's voice > A.R. Rahman deserves all the awards he has been getting for Slumdog > Millionaire. But he has > done better work before. Here are a few of his soundtracks that the Oscar > jury should lend > their ears to first. > > Roja (1992): The big breakthrough album that instantly created waves across > the nation. But > what it did more importantly was having Mani Ratnam switch to Rahman from > Illayaraja. The two > would go on to do some of the best film music produced in the country. From > Chhoti si asha to > Roja jaaneman, the film was a bravura feat from a 25-year-old genius. No > wonder Roja was > featured on Time magazine's 10 best soundtracks of all time. > > Song for the feet: Rukmani rukmani > > Song for the soul: Yeh haseen vaadiyan > > Thiruda Thiruda (1993): One of Rahman's few Tamil soundtracks that got > heard in Mumbai and the > rest of India, thanks to MTV, which couldn't have enough of Thee thee and > Chandralekha. The > other wonders were the buddy song Kannum kannum, the immensely chatty > Veerapandi kottayile and, > of course, the brilliant Raasathi, where Rahman uses only voices and a > choir in the background > to create the desired effect. > > Song for the feet: Chandralekha > > Song for the soul: Raasathi > > Bombay (1995): The Rahman-Ratnam magic continued with this film, where > Rahman recorded his > first of the many translated soundtracks, where the tunes remained the same > and the Tamil > lyrics were converted into Hindi. From the intimate Kehna hi kya to the > chaotic Kuchi kuchi > rakamma, Rahman showed his versatility yet again and by picking Remo for > Hamma hamma, he > stressed again — after Baba Sehgal and Shweta Shetty in Rukmani rukmani — > that he was not > afraid to experiment. The masterpiece of the album was arguably the Bombay > theme. > > Song for the feet: Hamma hamma > > Song for the soul: Tu hi re > > Dil Se (1998): Yet another Mani Ratnam film. Yet another gem of a > soundtrack from Rahman. While > Chhaiyya chhaiyya initially overshadowed every other song in the > soundtrack, one possibly > couldn't keep songs like Jiya jale and Satrangi re under wraps for too > long. With Jiya jale, > Rahman first showed his keenness to give Lata Mangeshkar a reason to sing > again. Chhaiyya > chhaiyya, of course, also saw the advent of singer Sukhwinder Singh, who > would become Rahman's > constant collaborator. One listen and you don't need to be a genius to > figure out why Spike Lee > used the song in Inside Man. > > Song for the feet: Chhaiyya chhaiyya > > Song for the soul: Ae ajnabee > > 1947 Earth (1998): One of Rahman's most underrated soundtracks, this one > was period yet very > contemporary, slow yet very moving. While the kite-flying song Rut aa gayee > re was the instant > hit, the quaint cycle song Dheemi dheemi grew with every hearing. The other > gems in this Deepa > Mehta film — the harmonium-driven Banno rani and the smouldering paean of > pain Raat ki dal dal. > > Song for the feet: Rut aa gayee re > > Song for the soul: Dheemi dheemi > > Zubeidaa (2001): Shyam Benegal's first film without composer Vanraj Bhatia > had Rahman producing > one of his best works. Whether it was the chirpy gypsy song Main albeli or > the pristine love > song Hai na or the moody Mehendi hai rachnewali or the liberating Dheeme > dheeme, this was a > must-listen collection. But what took the cake and the entire confectionery > was Lata > Mangeshkar's So gaye hain with the grand symphony structure. > > Song for the ear: Dheeme dheeme > > Song for the soul: So gaye hain > > Saathiya (2002): Shaad Ali's remake of Mani Ratnam's Alaipayuthey not only > had the same shots > and the same cut points, it had the same soundtrack, it's just that > Gulzar's lyrics took the > Hindi album to Level Next. While Sonu Nigam shone in the title song, Adnan > Sami made his entry > into Rahman territory with the breezy Aye udi udi. The hidden gems? Chupke > se and Naina > milaike. > > Song for the ear: Oh humdum suniyo re > > Song for the soul: Saathiya saathiya > > Yuva (2004): If Thiruda Thiruda was a trailer of what Rahman could do to a > youthful soundtrack, > Yuva was the full picture. While the two Vivek-Kareena songs Fanaa and > Khuda hafiz used trance > and jazz to the hilt, the Abhishek-Rani songs Kabhi neem neem and Dol dol > had a very rustic > lilt to them while the Ajay-Esha numbers Badal and Dhakka laga buka rode > high on percussion. > The film didn't deliver but the soundtrack was wow! > > Song for the feet: Fanaa > > Song for the soul: Kabhi neem neem > > Swades (2004): Ashutosh Gowariker helped Rahman be heard in the West with > Lagaan and the two > stuck together for more great work. Swades was another Rahman masterpiece > starting with the > stirring title song, the spiritual Yun hi chala chal, the joyous Yeh tara > woh tara, and the > bouncy Saawariya. > > Song for the feet: Yeh tara woh tara > > Song for the soul: Yeh jo des hai tera > > Rang De Basanti (2006): With new partner in rhyme Prasoon Joshi, Rahman got > super-chatty with > RDB. From Khalbali to Masti ki pathshala, it all sounded like a gang of > guys having a lot of > fun. The title track used Punjabi robustness to the full while Mohit > Chauhan's Khoon chala left > us shaken and stirred. Plus the veteran Lata Mangeshkar's Lukachupi and the > newcomer Naresh > Iyer's Rubaroo. > > Song for the feet: Masti ki pathshala > > Songs for the soul: Rubaroo, Lukachupi, Khoon chala > > Jodhaa Akbar (2008): Could Rahman do a Naushad was the question? Well he > perhaps went one step > further with a soundtrack which was both tour de force and yet very tender. > From the > sword-hitting-sword beats of Azeemo shah shahenshah to the uplifting Khwaja > mere khwaja to the > simmered In lamhon ki daman mein to the dulcet Jashn-e-baharaa, it was an > incredible musical > trip. > > Song for the ear: Jashn-e-baharaa > > Song for the soul: Khwaja mere khwaja > > Jaane Tu... Yaa Jaane Na (2008): After a slew of period films, Rahman sunk > his teeth into the > Jaane Tu... score, peppering it with peppy songs like Pappu can't dance > saala, Nazrein milana > and, of course, Kabhi kabhi Aditi. The title track sung by Rahman himself > again sees the > composer go big with jazz and how! > > Song for the feet: Pappu can't dance saala > > Song for the soul: Kahin toh > > The magic continues... > > Well, the Academy and the rest of the awards honchos hopefully would tune > in to this one for > their consideration next year, because Rahman's latest OST — Rakeysh > Mehra's Delhi-6 is one of > his best till date and that's counting the other soundtracks on these > pages. From Masakkali to > Dil gira dafatan to Maula mere maula to Genda phool, this is clearly one of > the crests of > Rahman's career. And Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan enters Rahman's world with > Bhor bhaye... > > > -- regards, Vithur
