Rehman Again: Yuvvraaj, music review

Composing music is surely not an easy task. But when it comes to AR Rehman's music, even reviewing becomes difficult. After the amount of effort put in by Rehman, even a listener has to put in some effort and time to get the real taste of music. And now that I feel I have got some idea of Yuvvraaj's music, here is my review.


The album starts with 'Tu meri dost hai'. Yet another song on friendship of a guy and a girl, surely reminds one of Kabhi Kabhi Aditi of Jaane tu ya jaane na. But the song is quite different and goes higher in notes and deeper in meaning as the words come from Gulzar's pen.

The song has voices of Benny Dayal and Shreya Ghoshal, while Rehman also comes in between for a few lines sung very smoothly with Shreya.

The second song, Shano Shano can again remind you of Pappu can't dance for a few seconds in the start, but the two songs don't have much in common except that both are foot tapping dance numbers by Rehman. An interesting thing is that even after being a dance number, Shano Shano is a slow song as far as pace is concerned, but one is sure to enjoy it after a little time.

I guess the music of Shano Shano is going to be liked people a lot in sometime as I myself didn't like for the first time but it's something that gets into one's mind slowly. The music of the song is experimental as usual. Especially the music of lines 'Ud ke to dekho, oonchi udari, mit jayegi hasraten saari saari saari' brings in some wonderful heights in notes. Check it out when you listen to the song.

The third song 'Muskura Muskura' by Alka is a not-so-Rehman-specific song but may remind one of Tu bin bataye of Rang de Basanti. Still, the song is more like a normal love song of Jatin-Lalit and Nadeem-Shravan genre. The music of the song is fine and music of tu meri dost hai playing in the background gives added effects. A negative point of the song is 'mooskura' of Alka which becomes very clear as she speaks 'mooskura' once and 'muskura' the other time in adjacent lines. Benny's high pitched entries in between are additives for the song. Overall, a not-so-special song which should just work fine.

Now get ready for a Rehman treat, presented by Sonu Nigam and more. My advice, do not try to get into the meaning of the song for the first time, just enjoy the voices, the sounds, the music. This song comes straight out of Rehman's song factory where he makes things nobody else makes. I don't know what you might think of while listening to this song, but whatever you think of, it's a song which can be felt. Sonu Nigam also deserves credit for giving his wonderful voice in his old uninhibited style.

The next song is going to remind you of Hariharan. 'Zindagi Zindagi' is a typical slow song that just goes with Subhash Ghai's movies, and reminds one of Yaadein and Taal. Actually the song is sung by Srinivas, a person with the same voice as Hariharan. (remember the kaisi hai ye rut song from Dil Chahta Hai? It's the same guy)

The next song, a seven and half minute long Dil ka Rishta, is hardly a song. At least don't expect some song that you can be singing after listening twice. To be true, it's more of pure music, probably running in the background in the movie. But it's again something that can be felt. At the same time, if you go deep into the song and listen to the lyrics, the song has got some wonderful lines from Sampoorna Singh Gulzar.

AR Rehman surely is a person who keeps on doing different things. Manmohani morey is yet another example. Vijay Prakash this absolutely wonderful thing that runs only for 3 minutes and 12 seconds. (WHY?) To me, it seems to be a classical song put on a fast track or with added music in the background. But whatever it is, the song is a feast in itself even though it has few lines and a small running length.

The album ends with a remix of Shano Shano. It's a small remix that is just two and half minutes long. Actually I couldn't find many changes in the remix version of the song and it ended before I could find something substantial.

And then, the first song starts again. :)

Well, jokes apart, Yuvvraaj is an album where we can find the old Rehman in a number of songs. Talking numerically, at least three songs are going to be wonderful, namely Tu meri dost hai, Manmohani, and Zindagi Zindagi. But I guess most of the songs have good potential in them and I feel ALL the songs of the movie are going to be hit in their own time. From me, it's a must buy album as in long term its surely not going to disappoint you.

Dostana (music review)

There are a few things I am feeling since I got the music of Dostana in my hand.

1. Vishal Shekhar rock. If they have someone ahead of them, it's only Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
2. Association of good people always brings great result. Be it Vishal Dadlani singing for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy or Shankar singing for Vishal-Shekhar.

In short, Dostana is a quite good album. Almost all the songs of the movie are at least so good that you can find yourself humming them in a week or two. Though, a few aren't going to take that long.

The first song Jaane Kyun, which has nothing to do with the 'Jaane Kyun' of Dil Chahta Hai or even its type, the soft romantic, is just a fine song with okay lyrics and good music. Though I feel the song should have been named as 'I'll be all right'.

The next song 'My desi girl' starts with a bang, and is also a surprise as the voice that we listen is unmistakably that of Shankar Mahadevan. It seems like Shankar returns a favor after Jhoom Barabar Jhoom where he got a song sung by Vishal. The song, as it's clear by the very first lines, is going to be a hit. The song is almost the same type as 'pretty woman'. In the mid of song, Sunidhi also joins the song, and gives a fine rendition to her lines maintaining the pace.

The next song is a complete shock-and-awe for the first time as we listen to our own, Indian crazy frog singing 'Munda saada Doli Chadh Gaya Band Baj Gaya'. The song is a punjabi song with a lot of masti attached to it. The first line 'Maa da Laadla Bigad Gaya' itself explains the mood of the song. The crazy frog keeps on coming in for his lines at times, adding more to the song. Yet another hit, not so much for Saleem's voice, but for the frog's.

The third song, Shut up and bounce is a song that will take some time to get to your tounge, but is sure to reach there in some time. There are very less chances you'll like it in the first time, but Karan Johar will make you listen. And probably in months, if not weeks, you can find yourself dance to the song in some party. That's from my experience with 'It's the time to disco' and after listening to Dostana for three-four days.

Now some serious business. Amanat Ali is finally here. Actually I once took a wild guess and thought it could be him. Because this wonderful voice was sure to reach bollywood. It belongs there. Fifth track 'Khabar Nahi' is absolutely wonderful. You may like it in first listening or love it after some listenings, but the song is sure to touch you. Vishal's rendering of 'Mere Maula Maula' in the song is wonderful too.

The last song is 'Kuch Kam' sung by Shaan. A soft romantic love song with touching lyrics and slow music. In short a typical Shaan song. :)

The lyrics of song are quite good and lovers of slow-soft touchy-feely songs will love the song instantly. Though the lyrics are a bit on the sad side, it's not very clear until you listen to it carefully.

In short, Dostana is quite good an album and if you are out of Rock On!! and want something different now, just go for it. Look for Desi Girl, Maa da Laadla, Khabar Nahi and Kuch Kam. With four good songs in the album, I hope you won't be at least disappointed.