RajA 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”.
oye anu malik ko kuch mat kehna. His albums are the highest selling.
@yogi: They might be highest selling but they don’t even come close to rahman’s albums in terms of quality.
I too am a Rahman fan. In fact, he’s the only new age music directors that I like.
I think Khalbali is very good. Having said that, it is a bit difficult to like in first few listenings. Right now I am hooked to the track, particularly the “Ziddi, Ziddi..” bit. Prasoon Joshi’s lyrics are very good throughout. And yes “Khoon Chala..” is top-class.; very well sung by Mohit Chauhan.
yeah, i have basically nothing to add to this conversation. I’m extremely clueless.
[i was looking over your past few entries– you say you’ve never seen snow. On the one hand, i feel sad for you. On the other hand, consider yourself lucky. Its a pain to shovel, makes driving awful, and can get nasty-slippery.]
@sanket: Yeah, he’s the best of the lot.
@anonymous: Yeah, thats classic rahman. Even the songs that sound just okay on first listening grow on you with time.
@becky: He he…no problem, its bollywood.
Snow, like most other things, seems to have its pros n cons nut i still want to experience it.
Hmm, must be a good album if you say.I also like Rahman’s song but he is kind of repetitive, same kind of music everytime.
(Excuse me if I said something blashphemous, I don’t have much idea about Bollywood)
Raju beta, leaving for home. Meet you , ek break ke baad.
Hey btw, wanted to tell you something my name is also Raj. Hah Hah
@greensatya: Well, yes, he can get repetitive at times but if you like his music, thats not such a bad thing. Plus he is at his very best in this album. And no, you do not sound blasphemous at all.
@yogi: Chalo, have a great time at home. Are you gonna bring the car with u?
//Hey btw, wanted to tell you something my name is also Raj.//
Sahi main? Tab to hum humnaam hue
Happy journey *thumbs up sign*
Log on to www.arrahmanfans.com
The largest ARR fan club, for all about Rahman…
Could you tell me exactly which songs sound repititive to you? I’ve been told that ARR’s been getting repititive, but and still to comprehend it? No offense intended. Just wanted to know, so I could understand how he’s repititive.
Sushma,
I saw your post regarding this. Well, I haven’t seen any Hindi movies in past two years so don’t know about his recent releases. I very much assessed this afer Roja, Criminal, Bombay(?),Dil Se, Taal and Vande Mataram.
He is a good music director and if you say he is not repetitive then fair enough. We all have different tastes.
GS,
Criminal is not by Rahman..its by MM Kreem…
Frankly speaking people say he is repeatitive but I have found that only two things repeat in almost all of his music..One is the unique ARR sound…which others have unsuccessfully tried to immitate and the second one is the resounding success of each of his songs.
@shah navas: Thanks. I am a member of the group now and thanks to Gopal Srinivasan for linking to my review on the group.
@sushma: Well, rahman is a genius so he doesnt repeat his tunes in an obvious manner (unlike Himesh Reshammiya who use the exact tune of “Jaanam Tere Liye” (Kurukshetra) in “Sanam Mere Humraaz” (Humraaz).
But he does use familiar tunes at times. Plus, he sometimes reuses his tamil tunes in hindi films (eg. Vishwa Vidhaata, Lakeer). Of course, that does not make him repetitive. I’m a big fan of his and so I never even care to see which song sounds like an older song and i dont listen to most of his tamil songs(n I think people familiar to his tamil songs compain more about repetitiveness). Plus, i can somehow imagine how Rahman’s music might sound repetitive to non-fans.
@greensatya: //I haven’t seen any Hindi movies in past two years
Not too many hindi releases in Finland, i guess
//We all have different tastes.
Which is why you don’t need to defend your views.
@commonfriend: Thanx for correcting satya before i could.
This “repetitive” thing is getting repetitive. Perhaps, people say this because there noting else to say about him. And I don’t particularly mind him using his tunes from old songs; otherwise we wouldn’t have got gems like ‘Kismat se..’ which is very similar to a Love Birds’ song.
@anon: I completely agree. Lets jsut enjoy good music. Its hard to come by these days
Paathshala rocks!
Not sure how the so-called Rahman fans couldnt make out that Khalbali is the best song. Here it few times lying down and closing your eyes. No one else can compose a song like that.
Happy Listening!
@samit: It sure does!
@senthil: Not sure why some people don’t get the fact that different people have different tastes and since most of Rahman’s songs are good, they might have different favorites. Btw, i do like Khalbali more now than i used to when i wrote the review.
Happy listening to you too!!
This below posed by CommonFriend best describes regarding repetitiveness of Rahman also… one pother person said… this repititive talk is getting repititive… also athere is nothing else you could say about rahman… because he is simply AMAZING!
Frankly speaking people say he is repeatitive but I have found that only two things repeat in almost all of his music..One is the unique ARR sound…which others have unsuccessfully tried to immitate and the second one is the resounding success of each of his songs.
Hi Guys I too donno why ppl often say he is repetitive….Iam from Hyd…I listen to Telugu,Hindi and some times Tamil songs…..in any of the languages I never saw (heard) such a versatile music director…(I agree ILAYARAJA and RD Burman Fans may not be happy….Its my opinion that they did not compose such a variety of songs)….he can compose in any genre….moreover anumalik,NS and JL are very repititive….small example is ‘PIYA HAJI ALI’,'NOOR UN ALLAH’ and ALMADATTA (Mangal Pandey)….all have muslim religous tocuch them…they have a completely diff feel…do u guys think ne body else can do that…I can guess the MD if I hear atleast 5-10 secs of any of Anu Maliks,Jatin Lalits or Nadeem Shravans songs…provided they dint lift from ne where else…
The review was good.Rahman is back after ‘the Rising’ disaster.
I liked Roobaroo the most closely followed by Rang de basanti
hey plese give me the chords for the song luca chuppi
if any one having
send it on
neil11may@gmail.com