Delhi 6 — Music Review

The new year has begun and the person for whom the year has brought a lot in its beginning only is A.R. Rahman . Riding high on his Golden Globe Success his new album , Delhi 6 , is all set to win hearts of the people all over again . As a true Rahman fan I am very happy on his golden globe success and I am sure he is all set for an academy award and following that would be even more success and who knows Speilberg who now has a contract with the Ambani’s Big Pictures would opt to work with him instead of his all time favourite John Williams for a change . I am not in any ways comparing the two legends , John is John and Rahman is Rahman .

Off late , I was a little disappointed with Rahman’s recent work i.e. Ghajini and Yuvvraaj . Though they got popular but were not complete albums in my view and I was beginning to believe that maybe Rahman is losing his touch a bit due to the overwork that he has done last year with 5 albums releasing in a year and 1 film score that won him the Golden Globe . But thank God , He is back with this album and beginning the year literally on a high Note .

Delhi 6 has been Directed by the Rang De Basanti fame Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and the lyrics on this one are also by the lyricist Prasoon Joshi . Prasoon didn’t do a good job in Ghajini apart from few songs . Talking of this album , I would like to make it pretty much clear that it is more of a “film” soundtrack and would look fabulous in the film along with the story . When I rated Yuvvraj a little less people argued with me saying that it is very different and deserves to be rated higher . For me Different is not always necessarily a Good Different . Why I say so ? Because on the contrary Delhi 6 it is not only different but also great being different .

This soundtrack is very unusual in the sense that it has been entirely made keeping the film in mind and hasn’t paid any attention to commercial success . And usually when this is done the album not only succeeds but also becomes a very integral part of the film . Listening to the songs from the album I could almost imagine the film in my mind and though I first listened to the songs at 1 o clock in night so I wont say that the songs made my day , I would rather say the Songs made my night . One thing I promise to you guys the film is going to be very different as it is the case with Rakeysh’s film and maybe this time also you would walk back home with a nice entertaining lesson like you might have in Rang De Basanti .

Enough about the film , lets talk about the songs . The soundtrack opens with the song that is catching popularity like fire , Masakalli . The song who don’t know is based on the white Kabutar (Dove sounds so boring) that you see in the promos . Masakalli is the name of Kabutar and after more than a decade we have a song on Kabutar , last one being Kabutar Ja Ja in Maine Pyaar Kiya . The vocals are by Mohit Chauhan of Jab We Met fame .  One talented singer , would go a long way . The music and lyrics are great but it is the style of singing that stands out . What fun did Mohit have while singing the song and the fun kinda comes on to the listener . The song is a real treat and has Rahman in his Genius impeccable style . Prasoon also does a great job and I am sure it won’t have been an easy task writing a song on a Kabootar . Overall , its a great teamwork on this one and the track that would win hearts every where . Sonam is also looking like a ‘dove’ only in the song in her white Punjabi dress . And like me lot of guys would have already fallen in love with her . She better get ready to handle a huge fan following once the film releases .

Next comes “Arziyan” by Jaaved Ali and Kailash Kher . This one is a devotional track of the league of “Khwaja Mere Khwaja” and is a really nice composition . The lyrics and music both are really good on this one and Prasoon and Rahman together have done a great job . This time the vocals are by Jaaved Ali and Kailash Kher and they do a great job together . “Allah Ka Banda”-Kailash Kher does a great job along with Jaaved Ali . This song is the perfect one for portraying the Jaama Masjid on-screen . A long one but certainly among the best on the album .

The title track “Delhi 6″ is more of a RAP song by Blaaze, Benny Dayal, Vivinenne, Tanvi and Claire . Together they do a great job and give it a very different feel . This one sounds a little like “Cypress Hill” songs and would sound really good in the film . For a change we have song based on “Delhi” and not on Mumbai . Strangely there have been so many great artists in Bollywood that are from Delhi still very few have tried to capture the city in the film . People have also got a little bored with Mumbai so this film would be a nice welcoming change and I being neither a mumbaikar or delhiwaala can get a taste of the cities in films only . The song talks about the city and its people .

Then comes “Rehna Tu” which is a nice song that has a western feel to it . It has been sung in the style of an English song by Rahman himself . This track is very different and Rahman has dealt with it in a very nice manner . But I felt that the track was a little weak in some parts in between and it felt a little inspired from Rahman’s own work in past . Still , it is very much a different track and the lyrics are also good by Prasoon . The track would work in the film and probably among the listeners too . This one is a nice long soft romantic track which has really nice music towards the end .

“Hey Kaala Bandar” which comes next is a little commercial in nature . This one has some weird English and Hindi lyrics mixed together that remind us of the “Paathshala” from Rang De Basanti . Paathshala was a huge hit and it did have much more entertaining lyrics than this one . This one has nice music but the lyrics are not as catchy and entertaining as they were in “Masti Ki Pathshala” . Though it is not as good as that one but it is certainly better than “Shano Shano” of Yuvvraj . But I felt it had some of the shades of the music from Yuvvraj in some parts . If you also felt the same then please leave a comment .Under the whacky lyrics lies a social comment that you would have to decipher .

Next comes a very very different track “Dil Gira Daftan” by Ash King . This song has some really nice music and Rahman has done a great job . The music on this one could very well be used in the background score . I would love to have the original track of the song without the Vocals . The vocals on this one are by Ash King and he does a fine job and has been backed up really well by Chinmayee . The lyrics are great and quite different . Prasoon Joshi does a good job on this one also . He has very nicely used the word “Daffatan” and for urdu impaired people like me it is an Urdu word for “Suddenly” . Rahman is again in his truest element and does a great job again . Musicwise it is one of Rahman’s best in recent past .

After these , the soundtrack takes a turn towards completely Indian Tracks , the first being “Genda Phool” which is a folk track but Rahman has given it an all new dimension with his music . His new age music matches well with the folk track and makes it much more entertaining . Its a folk track with some authentic folk lyrics and is not a Bollywood version of folk song . Rekha Bharadwaj does a great job on this one and she has that Desi Indian voice that makes the song sound great . Remember Rekha or not , she sung that song “Namak isk ka ” in Omkara . She has been given nice company in chorus by Shraddha and Sujata .

Then comes a completely classical rendition in the form of “Bhor Bhayi” . The song is entirely a classical rendition and quite refreshing , taking us back to our roots . This is what Indian classical music is all about and if you like classical music then only this song is for you . For a music lover like me anything classical like this is always a treat . And among the female singers in the industry who is better than Shreya for classical songs . A very pleasing song and would again look fabulous in the film . The track begins with Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan singing in his impeccable style and later Shreya joins him .Based on a morning Raag, Gujri Todi , music wise a really nice Indian classical rendition with the use of Tabla and Harmonium .

Last song on the album is an Aarti – “Tumre Bhavan Mein” which is a nice devotional track . Such tracks are a rarity in a bollywood soundtrack and after the “Mann Mohana” of Jodha Akbar this is another devotional track in the same league . Its nice to see Rekha Bharadwaj on a soundtrack other than his Husband’s and she has been given great company by Kishori Gowariker and Shraddha Pandit . Together they sing it in a nice folksy way and don’t sing it like professional singers giving it a more authentic feel .

The soundtrack ends with a small couplet ,Noor, which has been given vocals by the baritone king Amitabh Bachchan himself and he like always makes sure that when he speaks you better listen to it . The couplet or nazm is a really nice one and probably carries the central message of the film of communal harmony so listen to it carefully .

Overall , its a great soundtrack and has many different genres of music in it . Ten completely original songs with no remixes is one more pleasant thing in the album . Rahman starts the year with a bang and is back in his true element . Rakeysh also needs to be applauded for this album since he brought out the best from both Rahman and Prasoon . It has everything from an Arti to a Sufiana track and from a nazm to a RAP track . It has completely Indian classical “Bhor Bhayi” on one hand and it also has a “Kaala Kaala Bandar” on the other . “Genda Phool ” gives it a folk touch whereas “Dil Gira Daffatan” gives it a western feel . And the icing on the cake is “Masakalli” which does not belong to any genre and is still a brilliant track .This soundtrack , unlike the past few ones of Rahman would Grow on you even more after repeated listenings . And as SRK said at the golden globes , I would also say “Way to go Rahman” and I would like to add to it “Way to go Prasoon and Way to go Rakeysh ” .

Album Rating : Four and Half out of Five Stars ; for the variety offered . Great start to 2009 .

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