Temperature records have been broken and even some desert-tolerant plants are withering. To make matters worse, there’s been a dry spell of another kind—the Bollywood music kind. Parineeta and Paheli didn’t do much for me, and after watching (trying to, anyway) some of those 1-word-title movies—I can’t keep the names straight even if they are short since the movies all begin to blur quickly. You know the ones I mean—they star these skinny, leggy aggressive females (mostly models) in skimpy clothes and shirtless men (also mostly models) who seem to be under the control of those women. Usually there’s a murder or haunted house or some such fun. Well, the songs in these are about as forgettable as the movies.
Nothing I’ve heard in the past few months makes me want to say ‘ufff.’ Until yesterday, that is. I heard the songs of Mangal Pandey-The Rising yesterday, AR Rahman’s latest release. And, all I can say is…ufff!
I had almost given up on ARR. Especially after Bose-the Forgetten CD, I mean, Hero. I had planned to review the soundtrack here several weeks ago, but in the end, I just couldn’t do it. I tried and tried to like the songs. I listened to it over and over again, thinking it may get better. But I just – didn’t – like – it. Pretty soon there just didn’t seem to be any point in telling anyone about it. What didn’t I like about the music? Just that—the music. There was too much of it. I know ARR is first and foremost a composer, but If I had wanted to listen to nothing but a musical score, well, I wouldn’t have gone with a Bollywood soundtrack, now would I? Where were the songs? The kind that have lyrics, I mean. There’s been a lot of this experimenting in Bollywood lately, creating soundtracks that really are compilations of previously released pop or filmi hits or this “theme” thing. First there was the cacophony in Black. I guess since the movie was about a girl who couldn’t hear or speak, they made the audience suffer. But Bose really goes to the extreme when it comes to themes. There’s the Netaji theme, Emilie theme, U Boat theme, War themes, and few others. I remember when you just had the “Title music” Even ARR initially stuck to maybe one or two instrumentals, like the 'Bombay theme.' But, now 9 or 10 themes on one CD? So, after Bose, I figured ARR had chosen a different path and that was that. Not only did the summer look bleak, the next decade or so did!
Thank god I was wrong.
Definitely, watching Mangal Pandey-The Movie will enhance the listening experience of Mangal Pandey-The CD, but don’t wait for the movie to check it out these songs. The situations of these situational songs are not at all unfamiliar to Bollywood fans—you have Holi, a mujra, a devotional song, a ‘rally the troops’ hymn, a folk song, and an item number.
But just because the formula has been applied, it doesn’t mean this is tried and tried stuff. The more I listen to it, the more I pick up the little things that have always made it such a joy to listen to ARR. A note that seems to come out of nowhere and zing you, the rhythms, and always a new voice.
Throughout the CD, there is also this nostalgic ‘70’s thing going on (1970s, that is, not 18…). I think it’s strongest in ‘Dekho ayi Holi’ and 'Rasiya.' The latter is the aforementioned item number. It reminds me of caves, gypsies and swaying hips à la Helen in 'Mehbooba o mehbooba'. The bass vocals are simply fascinating—they make me want to use words that are not usually part of my vocabulary, like sultry and saunter and –well, more s-words like that.
Much will be made of the mujra Mai vaari vaari. It’s nice to hear Kavita Krishnamurthy again and the music hits the mark. The only part that grates, literally, is the group of back-up singers who sound more like chorus girls in a cabaret. Something went really wrong there.
Kailash Kher, whose voice I raved about after listening to 'Yun hi chala chal raahi' from Swades, is the heart and soul of the three versions of 'Mangal mangal'. I expect these cuts will make more sense when watching the film, but it’s not too hard to figure out the sentiment being expressed.
'Takey takey' is by far my favorite track on the CD. What a fantastic combination of vocals with Sukhwinder (who has come a long way it seems since Chaiyyan chhaiyyan), Kailash Kher and Kartick Das Baul. The rhythms are pure ARR and will have you tapping your toes, if you can sit still through the song, that is. This one definitely tugged at my…er, Ganges Belt heartstrings (as did the Holi song, of course), but this is one song that has ‘universal appeal’ written all over it.
A.R.Rahman, Kailash Kher, Murtaza and Kadir get together for 'Al Maddath Maula.’ I could say that it doesn’t quite match some of his earlier compositions, such as ‘Piya Haji Ali’ fom Fiza or ‘Nur-un-ala’ from Meenaxi. But, I won’t, I’ve been quick to judge some of his qawwalis before and I always regret it. Javed Akhtar’s lyrics, in this song are spot on—
“Maula hoga aur bhi gehra andhera kya
aye mere maula
maula hain is raat ka koi savera kya
aye mere maula
kya kabhi deewan ki zanjeer tutegi
kya kabhi maathe se kalak iske chutegi
qaid se azaad hoga kya junoon ek din
rang layega deewane ka khoon ek din”
The film, starring Aamir Khan, (thank god he’s back too) has, it seems, been chosen as the opening film at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, just in time for India’s Independence Day. The story is set in India, 1857, the year of the Sepoy Mutiny and the first freedom fighter in India’s struggle for independence from British rule, Mangal Pandey. The bar has been set pretty high for this much-anticipated film. If the music is anything to go by, it’s already a hit.
And, you won’t believe this, but that dry spell, it really is over. Tonight the skies opened up with booming claps of thunder and big, fat raindrops. Mangal mangal mangal ho….
Director: Ketan Mehta
Producers: Bobby Bedi, Deepa Sahi
Music: AR Rahman
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Cast: Aamir Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Toby Stephens, Amisha Patel
Singers: Kailash Kher, Kavitha Krishnamurthy, Reena Bharadwaj, Aamir Khan, Udit Narayan, Madhushree, Srinivas, Chinmaye, Richa Sharma, Bonnie Chakraborty, Sukhwinder Singh, Kartick Das Baul, A R Rahman, Murtaza, Kadir
www.risingthefilm.com