http://passionforcinema.com/ranjhaa-ranjhaa-kardi-ve-main-raavan-music-review/
As is always the case with AR Rahman OSTs, was very eagerly awaiting the release of Raavan's music, and finally oh god, finally the moment has arrived! The Mani Ratnam-AR Rahman-Gulzar trio always works magic (Roja, Bombay, Dil Se, Saathiya, Yuva, Guru), so was looking forward to what they had in store for music listeners with their 7th collaborationRaavan. Mustafa Kutoane's tribal vocals at the beginning of Beera (3.15) certainly do a mighty fine job of grabbing your attention, followed by bongos, AR Rahman and Vijay Prakash's vocals and more intense, steady percussion arrangements bringing back memories of Tarzan and The Lion King. Keerthi Sagathia provides adequate vocal backings for a brief period. If you thought Yuvvraaj was a fun ride, then you'll sure enjoy Beera! Tribal sounds, the xylophone, acoustic guitar, rain shaker and percussion arrangements throughout, this is an upbeat track, with a few interesting lines by Gulzar"Beeraa ke dus maathey," "Beeraa ke sau naam," "Janam naa poochaa, Jaat naa pooche, Poocho jo pehchaan beera kaa, Abhimaan hai." The track gets a bit softer at 2.57, ending with percussion sounds. Behene De (6.04) is my favorite composition from Raavan. The vocals by Karthik (Behka from Ghajini) and Mohamed Irfan are captivating, the melody is spell-binding and the lyrics are simply awe-inspiring. String instruments, African drums and percussions, xylophone, triangle followed by strings establish a serene environment, quickly transitioning into a serious mood, the electric guitar building intensity in the background. Gulzar's lyrics remind me of Satrangi Re (Dil Se) the mad, boundless, obsessive, limitless, uncontrollable love Arrey aankh se boond gihraa koi Chingaari kaa tukdaa jalaa koi Umeed ko aag lagaa zaraa Ghan itnaa baras ki galne lagoon Main paani ke upar tarne lagoon Behne de mujhe behne de Behne de ghan ghor ghataa Behne de paani ki taraah Sagar mei jaa ghirnaa hai Behne de nadiyaa ki taraah Shart lagi marr jaane ki Jeenaa hai toh pyaar mein Jaan rakhi hai yaar mein Pattey se tappakti boond ki aawaaz sunaayi di thi Nadiyaan mei tapak aur gum ho jaa Meraa pal pal ang ang bhar diyaa Tune jaan pe junoon saa kar diyaa Meraa hai kyaa jo main haar doon? Jaan teri hai tujh pe vaar doon Doob gaye jo sunaa hai saare tere dere aate hai Dil ke chulu mei bechaare dubki yahaan pe khaate hai Beh jaa, chal todd kinaare ko, Beh jaa, dhar le majhdhaare ko Chingaari udaake raakh se Ek boondh ghiraa ke aankh se Chalne kaa ishaaraa kar gayaa The build up and release of tension throughout the composition leaves you attentive throughoutat 2.45 the strings portion is soothing, replaced by the electric guitar again at 3.28. Techno sounds come in at 4.57 along with operatic, faint vocals. It's nice that AR leaves some room towards the end without any words from 5.15 to 6.04. Thok De Killi(4.58) makes use of Sukhwinder Singh's never-diminishing energy and Am'nico also provides nice vocal accompaniment. The electric guitar, Hey's, and pace of the composition give it a motivational type feel a la Chale Chalo (Lagaan) meets Kaalaa Bandar (Delhi-6). At 4.27 the song suddenly picks up pace BIG TIME, taking a wild turn leaving you breathless ki yeh kyaa hogayaa oye?! The lyrics are sung at such a fast pace it's a bit hart to keep up with, but "thok de killi," "baangadd billi," "mujraa ka nazaraanaa maange," "udaaye khilli," "kis mein dum hai ki suraj bujhaaye," are some phrases which did stand out. Bagpipes are a cool addition. The percussion arrangements and Hey's at 2.30 bear resemblance to Mayya Mayya (Guru). Rekha Bhardwaj, Javed Ali and Anuradha Sriram hilaa ke rakh dete hain with Ranjha Ranjha (5.54). Anuradha's "Yehnnnn" electronic alaap at the beginning with the sound of the wind blowing hooks you to the song from the very start. The electric guitar joins in at .22 followed by Rekha's rustic voice at .28 into the song, later techno sounds, strings, sitar and a host of other instruments thrown in to the eclectic mix. Lyrics are meaningful, my favorite line being, "dil ke sajde mein magar ishq jhuktaa bhi nahin." Ranjhaa Ranjhaa kardi ve main aape ranjhaa hoyi Ranjhaa ranjhaa saddo ni mainu heer naam toh koi Ho Ranjhaa Ranjhaa naa kar Heereh, jag badnaami hoye Patti patti jhar jaave par khushboo chup naa hove Behgunaah pakkadaa gayaa, yaaro Ishq mei jakkadaa gayaa, yaaro Aankh ke dosh mei dil Bewajaah pakadda gayaa Aankh se hati nahi, arrey hati nahi Sote sote boltaa hoon kabhi bolte bolte sotaa hoon Ek baar aake dekhe toh woh bhi Jal jaa jal jaa ishq mei jal jaa jale saa kundan haaye Jalti raakh lagaaye maathe lage toh chandan hoye Waqt kataa bhi nahi, waqt ruktaa bhi nahi Dil hai sajde mei magar ishq jhuktaa bhi nahin Binaa tere saansein kayi khatm naa ho jaaye Sabhi teri yaadein kahi bhasm naa ho jaaye Sulaghte koyle ab bujhnaa mushkil hai Reena Bhardwajthe woman with the soothing, innocent voice in Meenaxi's Yeh Rishtais back with Khili Re (4.11). Now, while Reena's voice does have a calming effect, and the tabla and flute arrangements are awesome, this really slow-paced, semi-classical, devotional, sans any wild percussion arrangements present in the other Raavan compositions, is going to take some time to appreciate. Personally, I'd rather listen to any of the other compositions instead :-) Lyrics are average, with the exception of the following lines: "Haatho se chunnaa re surilaa badan moraa, "Honton pe rakh ke phoonk baansuriyaa." Kata Kata (5.11) is one wild bachelor party song full of chhedd-chaadds bringing together Ila Arun, Sapna Awasthi , Kunal Ganjawalla and supposedly over 500 dancers! There is a madness, wildness and subtle darkness to this playful pre-wedding composition. The bugles at the beginning awaken everyone to an emergency, a crisis, something going amiss followed by drums. What turmoil has arrived, you ask? Ek aur gayaa kaam se bole toh, dulhaa miyaan is getting married! Kataa kataa bechaaraa bakaraa Kataa kataa bechaaraa Manaa le manaa le khair manaa le Aakhri raat kunwaraa Dulhe miyaa dulhe miyaa dand-vand Gaya gayaa ek aur gayaa The composition gets intense at 3.40 and even faster at 3.50 full of Kunaal's mad laughter and Ila's rustic "dhin dhin thaddak dhin." The voices and instruments blend together making the overall sound, not words, of utmost importance. The songs are, indeed, superbly composed, and are for the most part packed with loads and loads of energy and intensity. Four out of the six tracks conjure a tribal setting through the use of chanting and African percussion instruments, yet they are also fused from time to time with strings, the electric guitar, and techno sounds. There is a lot of repetition of a word (Beeraa, Kataa Kataa) or particular phrases (Ranjha Ranjha, Behne De) throughout most of the songs, too, similar to Paa's compositions (i.e. Muddi Muddi). A folk-style composition (Ranjha Ranjha), a pre-wedding song (Kata Kata), a classical track (Khili Re), a Sufi-style gorgeous composition (Behne De), a zesty Punjabi style motivational number (Thok De Killi), and a tribal style track (Beera), Raavan is rich in its variety of songs. Do check it out, and check it out asap!
