Raavan — The musical Demon : Music Review

Needless to say that the expectations are always on a high when names like Rahman , Ratnam and Gulzar come together . The teaser showed some real promise and it did the job of teasing and raising the expectations even higher . The first thing that strikes even before you listen to the music is the Album Cover . This is undoubtedly one of the most scary and horrifying album covers I’ve ever seen for an Indian film . We have seen AB with the shades of negativity in his Yuva character but nobody has ever seen Ash like what has been portrayed on the album cover . To see Ash like this is indeed surprising .

Coming to the music , the soundtrack starts off with the track that teased us – “Beera” . The track has a whole lot of instruments and sounds in it . There are also some lyrics in some foreign language and with Gulzar sir on the board it is very much possible that it is no language at all 🙂 . The 3 minute track does not have much of lyrics and is more like “Guru Bhai Guru Bhai ” from Guru’s background score . This song has more music in it and coupled with the visuals it would look nice on screen with Beera’s character . It would sound great in the movie and also on a good music system . It has some good use of percussion instruments of different types . I wont say that Rahman Sir has done a stupendous job but no doubt integrating so many sounds together is also quite a task and he has done that fabulously here . Its a good one no doubt but a little short than what i was expecting . I was also expecting a more of singing and lyrics in it . But that section is pretty limited and has been done well by Vijay Prakash , Mustafa Kutoane and Keerthi Sagathia . Gulzar sir get no special credit for this one . He would have managed this with not much effort .

There is a Chinese music influence in “Beera” which continues over in the next track “Behene De” . This one again has a whole lot of instruments in it and it keeps changing its nature throughout . Though mostly sombre it does get into a rock mood for certain bits . The lyrics on this one haven’t quite jelled(or gelled) along with the music . I don’t know how many of you would agree with me but this one felt like a typical Rahman track . For a 6 minute long track it does get a bit repetitive and if used at its length in the film would make it a bit slow . But maybe along with a proper situation in the film the song may turn out well . The composition didn’t really fascinate me and i wasn’t that impressed as such . The lyrics are good and even the vocals by Karthik are good .

The soundtrack gets back to the “paathshala” and “kala bandar” mood and comes “Thok de Killi” . I’ve heard this phrase mostly from Navjot Singh Siddhu’s mouth in his typical Siddhuism , never thought that Gulzar sir would actually churn out a song out of it 🙂 . This one also keeps changing for its length and gets pacy towards the end suddenly . This track is definitely film oriented and won’t really make that much sense without it as such . The lyrics are nice and have a deeper meaning which is a little hard to comprehend . Sukhwinder sings in his typical style and does good .

Rahman and Rekha Bhardwaj did magic with “Genda Phool” but the magic doesn’t repeat itself again in “Raanjha Raanjha” . This one felt like a very basic track to me . Honestly speaking nothing really worked for me in this track . Rekha’s voice is special and she needs special tracks only . Still , she does a good job along with Javed Ali . Overall , its an average track for me with nothing much to offer .

Next comes “Khili Re” from Reena Bharadwaj (not Rekha) . Though the composition on this one has a bit of Jodhaa Akbar hangover in between but due to vocals it does sound fresh and is of the better tracks on the album . Its a nice slow soulful track and Reena sounds really sweet in it . Gulzar sir has also done a great job on this one and probably his best on the soundtrack . Overall its a nice simple track with Reena showing a lot of promise .

The last track on the album is “Kata Kata” which has a folk song sort of nature to it . There is nothing much to comment about this song . Its a mish mash of whole lot of instruments and different vocals . This one didn’t really impress me that much either but i am certainly looking forward to the situation where this song would be used in the film . Its kinda loud and in the theaters the loudness would increase even more .

Overall this album falls below expectations and it now depends on the way the music has been used in the film . I am hoping that the music does not hinder the film and adds to it in some way . As a standalone album it does not have that much to offer . Rahman sir has done a good job with mixing a whole bunch of instruments but the compositions are a lackluster affair . Its very strange but for the very first time Gulzar sir had very little to offer in this album . Beera and Khili Re are my pick from the album . Rest all are on the same level . After Blue , this one is again a weak album from ARR and the Rahmaniacs would certainly be a bit disappointed . I know its a very early view and someone can say that I’ve not let the music grow on me . But the Blue music has still not grown on me and I don’t see that happening for this album too . I was really looking forward to this album and now i am thinking whats next . The Kites album also didn’t impress me that much apart from a few tracks . Lets hope so both the films make up for the music and turn out well .

Oye Lingo, Lingo Oye!

Bollywood has always been blamed for carrying certain stereotypes in its films, characters and has been alleged to be far from reality. One of these stereotypes is the language that is usually associated with a character that belongs to a certain religion or locality. The best examples being that of a Punjabi or a South Indian whose accents are usually the topic of mockery in our films. A Punjabi has to say “Balle Balle”, a Mallu has to say “Aiyyo” and a Bengali has to say “Bhalo” etc.! Most films had a supporting character which usually had a dense ethnicity added just for the sake of making a mockery. The lingo used was a shortcut to catch audience attention and give them pleasure.  

Oft-used in our films is the Mumbaiyya lingo, usually associated with the goons, uneducated or the lower middle class which forms a huge part of the working class in Mumbai. The language of the real Mumbai is what is usually taken up by several film makers to give the characters a raw feel.  The most recent example is that of Lafangey Parindey. In the film most characters speak a language which directly relates with their characters. The Mumbaiyaa lingo that most of the characters use forms an integral part of the film and is not there just for the sake of it .

Many films in past like Ghulam, Rangeela, Ram-Lakhan, etc., where protagonists have used the Mumbaiyaa lingo, have immediately struck a chord with the average Indian cinemagoer. Almost all main-stream actors have played a typical Mumbaiyaa loafer, be it Anil Kapoor , Jackie Shroff, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgan or even the macho, mostly metrosexual  Salman Khan, who played a tapori to the hilt in Judwaa . 

Over the years, however, the archetypal caricature-based characters have lost significance and now we have films like Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye, which have a very strong sense of authenticity and culture in the Punjabi elements showcased in the film. Also, films like Omkara and Gangaajal have showcased the rustic and raw dialect spoken in the areas for the sake of authenticity. New age directors are moving away from a mockery of regional languages and accents and using them in complete realism to add the the weightage of the script. Directors like Vishal Bhardwaj are even ready to put Hindi subtitles so that audience can understand the dialogues which sometimes get difficult to comprehend. 

One of the encouraging signs is the hiring of language experts by film makers to be accurate and technically correct. As a result even a Bengali like Pradeep Sarkar is able to pull off a good Mumbaiyaa film like Lafangey Parindey, being as authentic as possible. Speaking in true Mumbaiyaa bhasha “apan ko lag rela hai ki ye film wale shaahne ho gaye hai …” and let’s hope they remain “shahne” and remove the cultural and lingual stereotypes completely from this canvas of diversity!