Raj- Things have been pretty hectic at work for the past one week and it got me thinking if I should get a PC for home so that I can keep blogging and read all the blogs even if there’s too much work. But the dilemma is that I’m not sure if I should buy a desktop or a laptop. Desktop is cheaper but is big n bulky and if I move, I’ll have to take care of it. Laptop is costlier, doesn’t really serve any purpose cos I don’t have to travel much but its lightweight and I do want to own one eventually. I don’t know what to do.
- I wanted to see King Kong tomorrow but it looks like I’ll have to come to office tomorrow. I’ll somehow find away to watch it.
- My previous post was linked by someone on a yahoo group of AR Rahman Fans and my blog has been experiencing unusually high traffic since then.
Archive for December, 2005
A R Rahman’s much awaited album, Rang De Basanti, is finally out and I decided to let you know what I think of it. I must warn you though that I am a huge fan of Rahman and hence the review might be a little biased.
- Ik Onkar: ARR can always be trusted with religious songs and this is a perfect example. He doesn’t meddle too much with it and hence the album starts off beautifully.
- Rang De Basanti: Daler Mehendi is still around? Who knew? Anyways, in spite of being a Punjabi song, it doesn’t sound like a typical Punjabi song and that’s what’s great about it. The song has a great beat to it. Daler sounds different from his usual self (which is a relief) and Chitra has been wisely used to add a unique flavor to it. A great title song that efficiently conveys the mood of the film. 8.5/10
- Paathshala: A peppy song with great youth centric lyrics and great music. ARR has used new voices for the song and it helps. Naresh Iyer and Mohammad Aslam give a young n fresh feel to it. The only bad thing about the song is that it is picturized on a 40-year-old Aamir Khan trying to pass off as being in his early twenties. 9/10
- Tu Bin Bataye: A slow, romantic song (the only romantic song in the album). Sadly it’s just an average song with a strong typical ARR stamp on it. Madhushree sounds sweet, perhaps too sweet. She should try a little less honey laden sometime. Naresh Iyer is good. 7/10
- Khalbali: Probably the weakest song of the album, it has an Arabic tune and even Arabic vocals. ARR sings himself with Nasim and Aslam. Starts off slow but gets better towards the end. It’s a situational song and will (hopefully) make more sense in the movie. 6/10
- Khoon Chala: A slow but fantastic song. I just found out that Mohit Chauhan who has sung this song brilliantly is actually the lead singer of Silk Route. No wonder then. The orchestration is commendable too. But what really give the song an edge are the lyrics. Easily, my favorite track of the album. 9.5/10
- Paathshala (Be A Rebel): A slightly modified version of Paathshala, it somehow reminds me of the song “Dating” from Boys. I guess Blaaze is the common link. A great song, nevertheless. I like this version more than the first one. 9/10
- Luka Chuppi: A rather strange song between a mother and a son. Once again, great lyrics and good music. ARR sings himself, this time with Lata Mangeshkar, who is great as usual. The tabla is sure to make you like the song. 8/10
- Lalkaar: Its wrong to call it a song. It’s more like Aamir Khan reciting a verse accompanied by chorus. It’s obviously a situational song. 7/10
- Roobaroo: An easy going, mid tempo, upbeat song. A great way to end the album. Its sung well by Naresh Iyer with help from ARR. 8/10
In totality, it’s a great album and even the not-so-good songs are better than your average Himesh Reshammiya and Anu Malik songs so it is a must buy for ARR fans/ non-fans alike.
Overall Rating: 8/10
Update (Friday, 16th December): It been two and a half days since I wrote the review and after repeated listening (with continuous looping), “Rang De Basanti” has become a favorite with the standout line being “Dheemi aanch pe tu zara ishq chadaa”. “Roobaroo” too. Love the line “Dhuan chhata, khula gagan mera”. But the most favorite is still “Khoon Chala”.
I went to the Airtel shop on Cunningham Road on Sunday and only 2 of the 7-8 desks had representatives. One of the two was talking on the phone so I went to the other one. Now, this girl was chewing something. I told her that I wanted to migrate from prepaid to postpaid. She told me to come the next day. I was not happy with her response so I asked if she could at least give me some info. Now she opened her mouth to answer me but then …she started choking on whatever she was eating and she suddenly got up and started coughing. I was standing still all this while thinking if I should do something. After she gained control a few seconds later, she looked at me with her watery eyes and said, “Sorry, Sir”. I smiled. (I didn’t know what else to do!) She told me that the guy who manages migrations hadn’t come which is why I must come the next day. Not in a state to trouble her more, I said thanks and got out of the shop.
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A female colleague of mine came back from a trip to Goa (her hometown) yesterday and I being a gadget freak noticed almost instantly that she had a new cell phone. So I’m checking out her phone and then I landed up in the videos folder. I asked her if it was okay if I saw the videos. She told me to go ahead. And guess what the first video had in it. It was her dancing away on some song. But what was funny was that it was apparently taken without her knowledge and showed her backside. It was absolutely hilarious. I kept watching it for sometime, trying my best to hide the laughter but I gave in soon and then she figured it out and took the phone away from me. This kept me smiling the whole day.
It’s been a while since I last told you some unknown facts about me, so here are a couple of more things about me.
- I am a left-hander. I write, eat, hold the phone and basically do everything with my left hand.
- I do not dance. People often ask me to dance and I say no. I don’t like passing off moving my hands and legs at irregular intervals as dancing. I don’t mind dancing if it’s choreographed but otherwise, it’s a no. I have danced in front of a large audience on few occasions but most of the times it was choreographed and when I danced during my ragging session in my office, I had already prepared a choreographed piece and the result, people actually thought I was a good dancer. I always think about joining a dance class but since never do it bcos of lack of company.
- I’ve never seen real snow or snowfall in my life. Even though I used to live close to hilly areas, I never went there. I hope I get a chance to see snowfall soon.
- I‘ve never been to a beach or seashore either. Guess I’m not much of a traveler. But Chennai is only six hours away, so who knows, I might just go there sometime.
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