Slumdog Millionaire has taken the world by storm! Every one I know is talking about it, the opinions are varied but vociferous. Non-desis especially seem to have discovered a primal connection to the film and have elevated the film from an art house run to a sleeper super hit!  The countdown  to the mother of all awards, the Oscars next week is heating up, where Slumdog has been nominated for 10 awards.A.R. Rahman the young composer with an utterly novel approach to music is the recipient of 3 nominations, one for best original score and two for original songs(O say and Jai Ho)

I had the pleasure of seeing the film before listening to the CD.A.R . Rahman works with Gulzar, the lyricist and collaborates with M.I.A to present the score of this film.

The CD begins with “ O Saya”  performed by A.R Rahman himself and M.I.A. The song has a characteristic of A.R’s in that it grows on  you. The beat, indicating the rhythm of moving trains is used to great effect (brings back memories of traveling on local trains in Mumbai),punctuated with the rap lyrics of the British-born Sri Lankan performer M.I.A (Mathangi Arulpragasam). This song  is picturised as kids are running away from the police chasing them on foot. This is one of the songs nominated for the Oscars. It certainly gets points for originality and style.

‘Riots” is a musical  piece that is extremely short with ominous drumbeats and did not leave any impression on me.

 â€œ Mausam and Escape” is a lovely piece with the wonderful notes of the sitar flirting with the guitar. The melody is grand and sweeping . Asad, who plays the sitar demonstrates tremendous fluidity in his playing. The Sitar is king here with some rapid strumming, the guitar plays a supporting role.. This number is superb !

 â€œPaper planes”, the title track of the Grammy nominated album by M I.A is a song with unusual special effects including gunshots and the ka-ching of the cash register. There are 2 versions of the song in the album. They are both excellent, the song sounds better when heard in the context of the film.I thought the articulation of the words could have been improved, but perhaps that’s my desi difficulty in understanding the Anglo accent.

 Ila Arun and  Alka  Yagnik do a reprise of Choli ke peeeche kya hai in “ Ringa Ringa” . It is even in the same raga as choli ke.The only difference is this song is raunchier and Ila Arun sounds hoarser. This song appears in the movie for about a  minute, which is about all it deserves.

 â€œLiquid dance” starts out with some carnatic staccato vocals rendered at top speed by Palakkad Sriram, which segues into a Rangeela-style theme. Madhumita joins in as well. It is an interesting number with computer-modulation of the vocals and some other weird sound effects.

 â€œLatika’s theme /Dreams on Fire” is presented in 2 versions featuring Suzanne. The instrumental version has her humming and is an exquisite piece of music. It is sweet, sad, and poignant and touches one’s heart and soul. A.R. Rahman’s genius is evident in this song, if there is one complaint, it is that the song is too short. Suzanne who has an incredible voice carries the verbal version, Dreams on Fire very well.

 Aaj ki Raat” from the Don remake composed by Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy has been borrowed for this album. The singers, Alisha Chinai, Mahalaxmi Iyer and Sonu Nigam all do a marvelous job and it is worth listening to again.

 The instrumental number “ Millionaire” is the theme song of the show” Who wants to be a Milllionaire” in the movie. It is quite exciting and has an upbeat tempo.

 â€œ Gangsta Blues”: Blaaze and Tanvi Shah belt out this song, with reggae beats and a Caribbean accent. It is a pleasant diversion.

 And now “ Jai Ho”. This is the song most people can place immediately as it is accompanied by a Bollywood-style dance sequence in the movie. The song is like a tornado, it picks you up and throws you around. The music, Sukhvinder Singh’s energetic vocals and the lovely lyrics by Gulzar are all top-notch. Case in point, Zari-wale neele aasmaan ke tale jai ho” and “Chakh le, yeh raat shahad hai chakh le” WOW!! Tanvi Shah with her sultry vocals and Spanish accent and Mahalaxmi Iyer embellish the song. This song makes you want to get up and dance, and according to some of my American friends, that’s exactly what they did! The refrain Jai Ho is a victory cry and a great hook.

Does this song deserve to win the Oscar?? We can all argue about other songs by A.R. Rahman in the course of his career that deserve this honor, but this is here and this is now. This song is certainly a worthy contender for the Oscar and proudly represents his body of work.

 Indians all over the world are eagerly waiting for the Oscars on Feb 22nd and will be rooting for A.R. Rahman, irrespective of whether they did or did not like the movie. We at Lokvani wish Mr. Rahman the very best and hope he continues to create and entertain people for a very long time.

As they say in the movie: D: It is written. Is it for A.R. Rahman? We certainly hope so!!!

 
Meena Sundaram is a cardiologist at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and a student of music.

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