Songs and musician credits at the end.
This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.
When I saw the title Aila Re I feared for a brief moment that Sanjay Leela Bhansali had also given into the remix trend. Thankfully this one turned out to have no connection with the Anu Malik song from Jung. Well, I say no connection, but the heavy folk percussion that the song rides on is quite similar to the one used in the latter. A coincidence, I am inclined to believe, as this song is more in line with the dance songs Bhansali himself has created in the past – Tattad Tattad, Malhari etc. And that familiarity is the song’s primary drawback even as it scores high on the exuberance scale; Vishal Dadlani’s vocals being a key contributor. The way the song takes off in the antara invoked a random recall of Tak Dhina Dhin from Sujoy Ghosh’s Aladdin, incidentally a song co-composed by Dadlani! Folk-inspired songs in a Bhansali soundtrack are never a surprise – Malaal has two more of those (I quite like the fact that SLB’s folk-influence is always drawn from non-Punjabi ones, given that there is a massive under-representation in Bollywood of other areas in comparison, over the past few years) – both from Maharashtra and even partly written in Marathi, reflected also in the titles. The more engaging listen and more imaginative among the two, and indeed among the three songs, is Udhal Ho (interestingly the word udhal is pronounced a bit differently from the way it has been spelt). The light-hearted romantic song is set to a vibrant backdrop underlined interestingly by an aarti style percussion base – a factor that is leveraged well for a brief bit in the second interlude when the chorus takes on a mock mantra of sorts. Prashant Ingole’s lines incorporate multiple Marathi phrases, including traditional folk refrains like phu bai phu. Even the tune played on the bulbul tarang appears to be a traditional one – you would also recognise it from yeh uska style hoenga.. hothon pe naa dil mein haan hoenga (another Anu Malik connection, incidentally!).
Rashid Khan’s bulbul tarang skills find more prominent use in Aai Shapat that seems structured more along the lines of Marathi banjo songs. The song itself is not that impressive however, and I did not find the singer Rutvik Talashilkar (who is also guitarist for the song) particularly suited for this. The title song sees one of Bhansali’s regular fixtures – both as singer and arranger/producer – Shail Hada behind the mic. The composer clearly loves employing Hada in pensive songs, and for good reason too since the man produces a quality rendition here. The song feels a tad monotonous after a bit though, despite its under-three-minute duration. As is often the case, SLB gives his best song here to Shreya Ghoshal. Katthai Katthai is written by A M Turaz alongside Ingole, and carries a charming, and a very interesting melody – interesting especially for its pitching vis-à-vis the prelude (especially Tapas Roy’s mandolin). And Shreya too is in fabulous form delivering this one, handling the pitch variations in the second verse et al with consummate ease. The two remaining songs of the album come from other composers – both very much from the Bhansali stable though, Shail Hada and Shreyas Puranik. Hada’s song Zara Suno is a very likeable melodic piece sung well by Aanandi Joshi, and Rutvik Talvashilkar who sounds a lot more at home with this song. It is Puranik’s Naad Khula (yet again, the khula isn’t pronounced the way it is spelled) that is my favourite from the album though – an absolutely delectable melody that the composer himself delivers in style. The folksy edge in the tune is beautifully accentuated by the rhythm, and Tejas Vinchurkar’s flute in the interlude.
For a movie that is the remake of a film that had a critically acclaimed soundtrack (7G Rainbow Colony; fun fact: Shreya Ghoshal was a singer in that soundtrack too!), Malaal’s soundtrack holds up quite well on its own.
Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5
Top Recos: Naad Khula, Katthai Katthai, Udhal Ho, Zara Suno
(Thanks a lot to Rujul for the help with clarifying some of the Marathi aspects)
Musician Credits
SONG: AILA RE
MUSIC: SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI
SINGER: VISHAL DADLANI,SHREYAS PURANIK
LYRICS: PRASHANT INGOLE
MUSIC PRODUCER: JACKIE VANJARI
MIXED AND MASTERED BY RAHUL SHARMA @AMV STUDIO
MUSIC ASSITANTS SHREYAS PURANIK,RAJA PANDIT
ASST ENGINEER SAMIR DHARAP
SONG: UDHAL HO
MUSIC SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI
SINGER ADARSH SHINDE
LYRICS PRASHANT INGOLE
MUSIC PRODUCER JACKIE VANJARI
RECORDED,MIXED AND MASTERED RAHUL M SHARMA @AMV STUDIO
MUSIC ASSITANTS SHREYAS PURANIK,SHAIL HADA,RAJA PANDIT
BULBUL TARANG (BANJO) RASHID KHAN
LIVE RHYTHM AND PERCUSSIONS PRASHANT SONAGRA&ISHTEYAK KHAN, PRATYAKSH RAJBHATT, MAHESH PARIHAR
ASST ENGINEER SAMIR DHARAP
SONG: NAAD KHULA
MUSIC SHREYAS PURANIK
SINGER SHREYAS PURANIK
LYRICS PRASHANT INGOLE
MUSIC PRODUCER HARSHIT CHAUHAN
MIXED AND MASTERED RAHUL SHARMA @AMV STUDIO
RHYTHM AND PERCUSSIONS PRASHANT SONAGRA & MAYANK SHANKAR
FLUTE TEJAS VINCHURKAR
STROKES TAPAS ROY
MUSIC ASSITANT JAY MEHTA
ASST ENGINEER SAMIR DHARAP
SONG: AAI SHAPPAT
MUSIC SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI
SINGER RUTVIK TALASHILKAR
LYRICS PRASHANT INGOLE
MUSIC PRODUCER SHAIL HADA
MIXED AND MASTERED RAHUL SHARMA @AMV STUDIO
MUSIC ASSITANTS SHREYAS PURANIK,SHAIL HADA
DHOLKI & DHOLAK SANJEEV SEN
ASST ENGINEER SAMIR DHARAP
GUITARS & STROKES RUTVIK TALASHILKAR
TABLA SANJEEV SEN
SONG: KATHAI KATHAI
MUSIC SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI
SINGER SHREYA GHOSHAL
LYRICS A.M.TURAZ, PRASHANT INGOLE
MUSIC PRODUCER JACKIE VANJARI
ADDITIONAL MUSIC PRODUCTION HARSHIT CHAUHAN
MIXED AND MASTERED RAHUL SHARMA @AMV STUDIO
MUSIC ASSISTANTS SHREYAS PURANIK, RAJA PANDIT
DHOLAK PRASHANT SOANGRA
STROKES TAPAS ROY
FLUTE PARAS NATH
ASST ENGINEER SAMIR DHARAP
SONG: ZARA SUNO
MUSIC SHAIL HADA
MALE SINGER RUTVIK TALASHILKAR ANANDI
FEMALE SINGER AANANDI JOSHI
LYRICS VIMAL KASHYAP
MUSIC PRODUCED & ARRANGED BY SHAIL HADA
MIXED AND MASTERED RAHUL SHARMA @AMV STUDIO
GUITARS & STROKES SHOMU SEAL
ASST ENGINEER SAMIR DHARAP
SONG: EK MALAAL
MUSIC SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI
SINGER SHAIL HADA
LYRICS PRASHANT INGOLE
MUSIC PRODUCED & ARRANGED BY SHAIL HADA
RECORDED,MIXED AND MASTERED RAHUL SHARMA @AMV STUDIO
ASST ENGINEER SAMIR DHARAP
