The American all girl pop group Pussycat Dolls have released a remixed version of A R Rahman’s hit song Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire for which he was awarded the Oscar for the best song. Sung by the vocalist of the band, Nicole Scherzinger, the remix contains the original instrumentation and tune of the song as is, while adding some English lyrics which roughly translate to the basic idea conveyed in the actual Hindi lyrics. The remix, titled Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny), took about a month to complete and was slated to release immediately after the Oscars, whether Jai Ho won the Oscar or not.
While this is not Rahman’s first foray into the US pop world, with his previous attempts – Pray For Me Brother and Bombay Dreams – not tasting much success, it needs to be seen how this remix will fair. By all probabilities this should be a big hit considering the kind of ripple that Rahman has created in the US through his Oscar win last week.
Below is the actual Jai Ho video as it appears in Slumdog Millionaire, with the audio replaced by the Pussycat Dolls version.

Apart from controversies, one other thing that has been consistent in Anurag Kashyap movies is their good music. But coming so soon after the phenomenal success of Dev D, I was apprehensive whether this soundtrack would really be able to match up to that. My fears were allayed as I started listening to the tracks, and here is what I found.

Beedo

The first song of the album has Rekha Bharadwaj belt out a folksy song bearing the elements of a mujra. With some excellent songs in movies like Omkara, Laga Chunari Mein Daag and Dilli 6, Rekha Bharadwaj has kind of evolved to become an ultimate authority in rendering folk songs, as Sunidhi Chauhan is with item numbers! The sarangi has had a superb effect on the proceedings. The chorus gives excellent backing, especially towards the end of the song.

Duniya

Piyush Mishra goes on to prove that his multiple facets encompass singing as well, as he gets behind the microphone to eulogize the memorable Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye from Pyaasa with a philosophical song. The instumentation keeps increasing progressively with the song. The voice of Piyush Mishra sounds unconventional in the delivery style in many places but that doesn’t take any credit off the song.

Aarambh

An out-and-out battle song, the song makes allusions to the battle of Kurukshetra. And due to this theme, the lyrics are all Sanskritised Hindi. The strong voice of Piyush Mishra does perfect justice to the song. The instrumentation does a great job of bringing the war-background, conchs, trumpets, bells et al. Wonder why Piyush Mishra chose to slightly dampen the effect by bringing in an unconventional whistling of the song for a brief moment towards the close of the song, before reverting back to battle mode.

Sheher

A song with dark overtones, again marked by some powerful lyrics. The lyrics by Swanand Kirkire especially gain importance in this song as there are long sequences in the song where there is absolutely zero instrumentation while Piyush Mishra and Swanand Kirkire go about their aggressive description of the city night. There are glimpses of Gulzar-esque unconventionality in the lines with use of English words like lamp post. I am wondering what the wind instrument (from the sound I am assuming it is a wind instrument) used at the start of the song is. If my knowledge is correct the same instrument was used by A R Rahman as well in the song Jiya Se Jiya in his album Connections.

Raat Ke Musafir

Indian Ocean vocalist Rahul Ram ( I am assuming it is the Indian Ocean vocalist as they have previously been associated with Anurag Kashyap composing the music for Black Friday) joins the party with a softer song having only an acoustic guitar for accompaniment. And in the quietness lies the beauty of the song. Piyush Mishra returns to his philosophical mode with the lyrics. Rahul Ram however is seen to use excessive force on some words (which is usual style in Indian Ocean songs too for that matter) which I felt was not quite required, at least in this context. But if you ignore that, a brilliant song.

Aisi Sazaa

Since her debut in 2007, Shilpa Rao has been growing in stature with every song she performs, and Aisi Sazaa happens to be yet another of those milestones. A touching song marked by its sparse instrumentation, and of course the beautiful vocals. She tones down her usually lively style to portray the emotions conveyed by the song. Piyush has done well to include the sound of rains in between, complete with the sounds of thunder.

Ranaji

Vishal Bharadwaj is in for a lot of competition in the folk song arena with Piyush (the composer) establishes his prowess in folk music with Ranaji. Bolstered inevitably by Rekha Bharadwaj’s brilliant vocals, Ranaji continues from where Beedo left off. The song seems to be the story of some US-returned guy, the changes in his mannerisms et al. In the process Piyush the lyricist takes a lot of digs at the USA, talking about the September 11 attacks (Jaise Door Des Ke Tower Mein Ghus Jaaye Aeroplane), the Iraq invasion (Jaise Sare Aam Iraq Mein Jaake Jam Gaye Uncle Sam), Afghanistan and so on. An entertaining song on the whole.

Yaara Maula

Awesome song to end the album with!! Piyush declares that he is not just about conventional music alone, with this song that starts with silent instrumentation, suddenly switching gears to a rock mode in between and then again fading out into silence towards the end. The vocals by Rahul Ram and Aushim have been superb and this one almost cements my assumption that this is indeed Rahul Ram of Indian Ocean. On the same note, I wonder if this Aushim is in fact Asheem Chakravarthy, the other vocalist (cum-tablist) of Indian Ocean. Hopefully I will get my doubts clarified in a few days.

A fitting tribute to the legendary lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi. A swashbuckling music directorial debut from Piyush Mishra. And Anurag Kashyap reassertains the fact that he ensures the best music in his albums. And it has been a real treat to have another great album from him even before the effects of DevD have quite settled down. Looking forward to his next album!!

Music Director: Piyush Mishra

Lyrics: Piyush Mishra, Swanand Kirkire

Aarambh
Piyush Mishra, Chorus

Aarambh hai prachand
Bolein mastakon ke jhund
Aaj jung ki ghadi ki tum guhaar do
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Sikandar is a suspense thriller starring Parzan Dastur, Ayesha Kapur, Madhavan and Sanjay Suri slated for release on March 27. The music composition has been divided among Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Justin-Uday and Sandesh Shandilya and lyrics also follow suit, being written by Prasoon Joshi, Neelesh Misra and Kumaar. Here is Music Aloud’s verdict on the album.

Dhoop Ka Sikka

Starting off on a nursery rhyme-ish note from Anusha Mani, this is a typical song from the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy arsenal. It contains elements of rock music, classical music etc in it and does remind one of their older tunes in places. A pleasant and refreshing song nevertheless. Apart from Anusha Mani the song also has Shankar Mahadevan on the vocals, who adds to the beauty of the song by throwing in some of his sargam in the second interlude. Anusha Mani had earlier sung Lazy Lamhe in Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic for the same composers.

Gulon Mein

This song pays tribute to the eminent Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The lyrics are taken from an old Urdu poem written by him, which has been used in ghazals by legends like Mehdi Hassan and Runa Laila in the past. The composers Justin Yesudas and Uday Kumar have done a splendid job of adapting the ghazal song to create a totally new tune that is heard in the serene version of the song. These guys have got real talent, and I hope they make it big in Bollywood for their sake. If you want more instances of what this duo is capable of, I recommend to you Koi Na Jaane from Hijack. It was rather unfortunate that the song never got the credits that it should have. Coming back to this song however, the rendition style of Mohit Chauhan bears slight resemblance to his Tum Se Hi from Jab We Met.
While Justin-Uday create a soothing tune out of Gulon Mein, Sandesh Shandilya goes the other way to create a slightly peppier version of the same song, with a totally different tune. And he aptly chooses KK to lend voice to this song. Sandesh Shandilya is another unfortunate man who never really got his due in Bollywood in spite of some unforgettable tunes like Bhaage Re Mann in Chameli, Piya Basanti Re etc.

Aarzoo

This is a traditional song sung without any accompaniments by a boy named Mehrajuddin from Aru in Jammu & Kashmir.

Allah Hoo

A sufi song sung by Yash Narvekar and Hrishikesh Kamerkar, and composed by Justin-Uday again. The song starts off on an unimpressive note but gets better as it progresses. The singers have done a good job, but the chants of Allah Allah appearing intermittently in the background could have been tuned in a better manner. Barring that and the first stanza, the song is a good listen.

Mauzaraat

The starting stanza of this song reminded me a bit of Dhol Bajne Laga from Viraasat. Sung by Shilpa Rao, this song is the least impressive of the four songs from the composer duo in the album.

Chaal Apni

A beautiful song, the fourth from Justin-Uday and sung by Hamsika Iyer and Hrishikesh Kamerkar. Hamsika Iyer if you remember is the same singer who sang Chanda Re in Eklavya. The instrumentation of the song gives a folksy feel to it, and reminds one of songs like Koyal Si Teri Boli from Beta, except that this one has a more Southie touch to it.

To sum up, Sikandar gives the listener his money’s worth. With three out of their four songs turning out well, hopefully this will be the big break for Justin Yesudas and Uday Kumar who have the potential to gain a place among the top music directors of Bollywood.

A no-brainer comedy flick with three heroes and three heroines. Music composed by a mediocre music director who has so far failed to make his mark in Bollywood, except as the brother of famed music director Anu Malik. Clearly not a combo that would have you running to the music store to get hold of the music album. So it was not with big expectations that I started listening to Kisse Pyaar Karoon. And I should say the album did live upto my expectations, or should I say lack of expectations! Presenting to you Music Aloud’s review of Kisse Pyaar Karoon.

Kisse Pyaar Karoon
The title song starts with some guy speaking English in a horrendous made-up accent and following that is five minutes of wasted time. Shaan delivers the song exuberantly but he is unfortunately fighting for a lost cause. The song is made up of the usual stereotyped disco beats and the tune fails to make any impact at all. The lyrics don’t help much either. The remix has a female voice as well, which I believe is of Sunidhi. The remix sees the inexplicable inclusion of some orgasmic voices in between, for God knows what reason!!

Bechain Saansein
This item number is a much better work when compared to the first song. However, this song heavily reminds one of the song Beedi Jalaile from Omkara, more so because this song is again sung by Sunidhi. The Aahoon Aahoon part, especially, bears an unmistakable resemblance. The start of the song also sounds similar in tune to a humming done by Sunidhi at the start of Ankhiyon Se Gal Kar Gayi in the movie Shaadi Se Pehle. Sonu Nigam joins Sunidhi in this song.

Sanam Sanam
The starting instrumentation sequence sounds vaguely similar to the starting sequence of Dr. Alban’s Its My Life. Ironically, that is one of the better things to mention about this song as Dabboo Malik splashes icy water over the little hope that might have been raised after listening to the previous song. Yet another waste of Shaan’s voice, and this time he is not alone as Shreya Ghoshal is added to the list!

Bechain Ho Kar
The sinusoidal wave that is this album continues with another decent-sounding song. Reminding one of the early 90s and late 80s Bollywood songs, this song is rendered by ex-Indian Idol runner up Rahul Vaidya with Shreya Ghoshal. It is rather unfortunate that people with such immense talent like Rahul Vaidya haven’t got a good break in Bollywood as yet. He has sung in only a handful of movies, and about those songs the lesser said the better it would be! I couldn’t fathom the logic behind Dabboo Malik trying to spoil his own good work with some smattering of totally unnecessary English and other gibberish in between. But the song somehow survives the attempt, thankfully.

Jahaan Tak Yeh Meri Nazar
Shaan and Shreya Ghoshal return with another peppy number. This is the best of the three songs Shaan gets to sing in this album. The instrumentation has also been good enough.

On the whole, an average album. Considering that this is a comedy film, songs obviously would not have a lot of importance in the movie, and hence Dabboo Malik is justified to an extent. But close to eight years in the industry as music director without even a single memorable hit is not the way to go. If Dabboo continues to belt out such average or less-than-average songs, it won’t be long before he fades out into oblivion. Though his brother could possibly cushion his fall (as he probably has been doing till now), there are limits to even what he could do!

Director: Zoya Akhtar

Producers: Farhan Akhtar

Ritesh Sidhwani

Zoya Akhtar

Music Directors: Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani,Loy Mendonsa

Lyricist: Javed Akhtar

Label: Big Music

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On April 14, people of Trivandrum will get one of their best New Year gifts ever as they will bear witness to Rahman’s first official concert after his epic Oscar win. The show is being conducted in association with Global Kerala Initiative, a non-profit social organization. The amount raised from the event shall go towards rehabilitation of AIDS-afflicted children. As per reports, Rahman is going to Trivandrum with a team of 107 which shall include Indian and foreign artistes.

The concert shall be conducted simultaneously at three different venues -  Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium, Central Stadium and Nishagandhi Auditorium – with Rahman performing at one of the venues while other members of his team shall be entertaining the audience at the other two places. The other Oscar winner, Resul Pookutty, who hails from Kerala shall be felicitated at the function. This show shall also mark the beginning of Rahman’s next world tour.

The nominations for the 54th Annual Filmfare awards were announced last week. We list here the nominees for the various categories under the music section. Not much surprises this time in any of the categories unlike last year when Taare Zameen Par, in spite of all those heart-rending tracks, did not feature in any of the music categories except lyrics. Though I did expect Javed Ali to feature in the male playback singers list for any of his works in either Jodhaa Akbar or Ghajini or Yuvvraaj. And I simply fail to understand the logic behind the choice of  a song like Dance Pe Chance for the Best female playback singer category over a sublime rendition of Mann Mohana by Bela Shende in Jodhaa Akbar. I am assuming that Amit Trivedi’s Dev D is going to be counted in next year’s Filmfares. Otherwise it would be criminal to choose Race, which contains  two lifted tracks, over Dev D! With Rahman notching up three out of six nominations in the Best Music Director category a hardcore Rahman fan should have no reason to complain, but I would have preferred Yuvvraaj to be on that list with its eclectic mix of songs a la Taal. Nevertheless, here is the list of nominees.

Best Playback Singer (Male)

Farhan Akhtar – Socha Hai - Rock On!!
KK – Khuda Jaane - Bachna Ae Haseeno
KK – Zara Si Dil Mein - Jannat
Rashid Ali – Kabhi Kabhi Aditi - Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na
Sonu Nigam – In Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein - Jodhaa Akbar
Sukhwinder Singh – Haule Haule - Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

Best Playback Singer (Female)

Alka Yagnik – Tu Muskura - Yuvvraaj
Neha Bhasin – Kuch Khaas Hai - Fashion
Shilpa Rao – Khuda Jaane - Bachna Ae Haseeno
Shreya Ghoshal – Teri Ore - Singh is Kinng
Shruti Pathak – Mar jaawaan - Fashion
Sunidhi Chuhan – Dance Pe Chance - Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

Best Music Director

A R Rahman – Ghajini
A R Rahman – Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na
A R Rahman – Jodhaa Akbar
Pritam – Race
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy – Rock On!!
Vishal-Shekhar – Dostana

Best Lyricist

Abbas Tyrewala – Kabhi Kabhi Aditi - Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na
Gulzar – Tu Meri Dost Hai - Yuvvraaj
Jaideep Sahni – Haule Haule - Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
Javed Akhtar – Jashn-e-Bahara - Jodhaa Akbar
Javed Akhtar – Socha Hai - Rock On!!
Prasoon Joshi – Guzarish - Ghajini

With two consecutive Filmfare awards under their belt, lets wait for March 1 to see if Rahman and Prasoon Joshi score a hat-trick at Filmfare this time.

Connections was an album that Rahman composed for Nokia Xpress music devices and was released in the fag end of December 2008. The album consists of nine compositions transgressing diverse genres like Punjabi folk, Rajasthani folk, Tamil Thirukkural verses, Carnatic, fusion, devotional etc. Here we have provided the audio links for all the nine tracks of the album. At the end there is also the video of Jiya Se Jiya directed by Kanika Myer of Bharatbala Productions. The video gives the message of unity by showcasing the now famous “Free Hugs” campaign. Though this album wouldn’t rate as the best of Rahman, there are some really brilliant tracks in it. The songs have been listed according to our recommended order of listening. To the songs then!!

Mann Chandre

Mylapore Blues

Mosquito

Himalaya

Kural

Jiya Se Jiya

Silent Invocation A

Silent Invocation B

Silent Invocation C

Jiya Se Jiya video

Director:Jehangir Surti

Producer: Viki Rajani

Music directors: Pritam Chakraborthy, Gourav Dasgupta

Lyrics: Sheershak Anand, Irshad Kamil, Syed Gulrez, Prashant Pandey

Label: Eros Music
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