I picked up this CD a couple of months ago after seeing a picture of the somewhat elusive A.R Rahman splashed on the back cover. I know very little of the movie except that it is expected to be released at the end of the year and is directed by Tanvir Ahmad.
 
A.R Rahman introduces the album as a musical journey, with lyrics by Nusrat Badr and Raqueeb Alam.

The first number” Ishq Ada” is sung by Rahman’s newest find Rashid Ali, who did such a spectacular job in “ Jaane tu ya jaane na” The song feels somewhat strange but it sort of grows on you. It has a bluesy feel with a  60’ lilt to it  like some  Raj Kapoor numbers. It seems somewhat lost in 2008. I would love to see the situation it has been pictured in.Rashid Ali is good but doesn’t match his impact in “Jaane tu..”

“Hawa Sun hawa” is pure A.R. Rahman, all guns blazing. From the caressing vocals of Sonu Nigam to the beautiful lilt of Alka Yagnik, this song has lovely lyrics, is sweetly romantic and is a treat. The flute solo in the song is a masterpiece. Instant gratification!

Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik return in “ Gumsum”. Initially the song seems ordinary and mundane so I heard it a bunch of times. The problem is in the antara (paragraph) that is extremely ordinary and has echoes of his previous work. The gumsum part has an unusual tilt to it, but the antara drags the song down.

“Gulfisha” is all about the human voice as a fine-tuned instrument, the voice is left, right and center in this number. Sonu Nigam and Vivianne Choix lead into the song with a bang. Sunidhi enters with her powerful voice and sweeps the song forward. This is an excellent song with excellent harmony and superb singing by all the performers.

A.R. Rahman makes his expected entry with “ Meherbaan”,  a slow contemplative romantic number. The lyrics are awesome” Tu hai nadiya, main hoon sangam, Tu naya saal main pehla mausam”. For best results, sit in a dimly lit room and listen to this number. A.R. Rahman does complete justice to this song; it is amazing how one person can have such talents. There is an instrumental version with Guitar played by Sanjeev Thomas that is great as well.

“ Tu mera Hai” features Chitra , Sukhvinder Singh and Naresh Iyer. This song slips into your consciousness despite a fairly simple structure and pedestrian lyrics. It is a nice song for easy listening. Chitra’s voice refreshes and Sukhvinder is powerful as usual.

Udit Narayan in “ Hai Dard”. Somehow the song didn’t do anything for me.

“ Ishq ada” makes an appearance again with a female voice, Parul Mishra. This version is infinitely better. Parul is an excellent singer and has a distinctive voice making the song her own. The musical arrangement is different for this number, resulting in a completely different feel to this version. Excellent!

Alka Yagnik and Jayachandran literally belt it out in “Milo wahan wahan”. It is a poignant number with dramatic musical flourishes. Nice song!

All in all, though this album doesn’t have the edginess and freshness of “ Jaane tu”, it is definitely worth listening to with its laid back attitude and a few surprise twists. “ Hawa sun hawa”, “ Gulfisha” and “ Meherbaan” are worth the price of the CD. Happy listening!


Meena Sundaram is a cardiologist by profession but an artist by choice. She  is working on a play on the life of Mirabai, titled Mirabai-the musical. The play will be performed by young actors (7-15) and features live music. The show will be held November 22nd at 5 PM at Joseph P Keefe Technical School in Framingham.

A number of talented children, singers, musicians and production team members are volunteering their time and talents to this event.
All proceeds from the play are to benefit Udavum Karangal.
Please check out www.myhelpinghands.org. to obtain more information, buy tickets or make a donation to helping hands.

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