2009: Band Baj Gaya Music Ka
PrintCo-written by Tushar Shukla and Amanda Sodhi.
Okay, so there were about 150 + OSTs released in 2009 and maybe 1-2 dozen private albums, too. We ended up going through the list and realized just a handful of OSTs and private albums had enough replay value…Sach mei…Band baj gaya music kaa iss saal.
But we find it funny at times. No, not the years passing by, that is rather sad in fact when we think of it, but when we try to chronicle the different releases in an year and are professionally or ‘passion’ately obligated to define it as good or bad, which actually might be a tough thing to do. Anyways, getting back to the scores, we grew tremendously fond of Delhi-6, Dev D, Slumdog Millionnaire, Blue, Gulaal, Kaminey to start. Few scores match them, for reasons for all to see. Then there were what we call ‘cinematic reinforcements’ which truly made us put our money on scores that initially sound a tad strange, but do have that mystery to them. Then there were albums with guilt pleasure songs. Then a few rather popular tracks which didn’t go down well with us. And so on…
Here are some quick observations—
a) a cutback, overall, of the number of “actual” songs in an OST (we’re not counting remixes and unplugged versions)
b) pretty much every OST has dreadful remixes or multiple versions of the same song with different singers
c) most OSTs this year just had 1 wannabe “hit” song to help with promos, and the rest of the compositions are trash
d) continued trend of using a title song
e) OSTs such as Tum Mile and London Dreams with no female singers
f) Hard Kaur is beginning to get on our nerves 
g) We’re predicting RDB, Xulfi, Mohit Chauhan, Master Salim, Shruti Pathak, Shilpa Rao and Jaaved Ali and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will get more songs in 2010 since they got a lot of appreciation in 2009
h) Sunidhi Chauhan and Kay Kay’s songs decreased A LOT this year
i) Some pleasant private albums did come out this year, though
Shilpa Rao
j) Amartya Rahut, Sohail Sen show a lot of promise as music composers. The real revelation, though, is Amit Trivedi. You guys can’t get over Dev D’s songs? Well, neither can we
k) Piyush Mishra’s angst filled lyrics in Gulaal really stood out as far as lyrics go in 2009
l) Rekha Bhardwaj has branched out—she worked with Rahman, Reshammiya, Piyush Mishra and Sajid-Wajid this year, in addition to Bhardwaj.
m) Mohit Chauhan can actually sound happy, aka “Masakkali”
n) Tulsi Kumar needs to stop sounding like an asthmatic patient while singing. She always sounds so out of breath.
Mohit Chauhan
Okay, now that the gyaan baanto part of our write-up is over, dhan tanan!, we bring you our list of OST and album recommendations for 2009. Yeah, yeah, most of them aren’t really that path breaking, but oh well, at least we tried to be optimistic when making this list.
In NO particular order—
Aao Wish Karein
Xulfi’s Kuch Aisa and Reh Jaane Do are beautiful compositions with extremely thoughtful lyrics. While Kuch Aisaa is a sweet, upbeat song, Reh Jaane Do captures the feelings of melancholy and heart-break rather well.
Hasnaa yehi hai toh, ronaa kyaa hotaa hai?
Paanaa yehi hai toh, khonaa kyaa hotaa hai?
Milnaa yehi hai toh, bichhaddnaa kyaa hotaa hai?
Jeenaa yehi hai toh, marnaa kyaa hotaa hai?
In khwaabon ko, in aankhon mein reh jaane do…
Gham bhi khushi ko yeh chup ke se kehtaa hai,
Jaanaa yunhi thaa toh, aanaa kyun hotaa hai?
S-E-L
London Dreams
“Laakh takke daa ishq hai yaaron!” lol. Really, really enjoyed this OST very much. Absolutely cannot get over Tapkey Masti—listening to this song just cheers you up big time. “Gham ki aisi taisi kar, aaj jhoom le kas kar ke…zindaggi aayegi khud hi mattak ke jab tu jhoomegaa baal jhatak ke” Fun poetry going on there. Khwaab Jo, Shola Shola and Jashnn Hai bring back memories of Sapno Se Bhare Naina…songs anyone with a heart that contains dreams can relate to. Shola Shola is full of rich imagery: “dil ki angeethi…naarangi sholo…” Yaari Bina is also beautiful—Prasoon Joshi is simply awesome.
Yeh duniyaa jab le ke taraazu teraa tol ke bhaav bataaye, yaar kahe aa seene se lag jaa duniyaa bhaadd mei jaaye…o kache gudd si yaari, meethe paai se pyaari…toh aa jaa jashnn manaa le yaara ve, yaar ko gale lagaa le…yaaraa yaari binaa hai besuri meri zindaggi…mere mausamo mein titliyon ko chhodde woh….mere aansoonon ko motiyon si shaan bakshe woh…meri baansuri mein aake saansein jodde woh…
There were some interesting lines in rest of the songs too—
akhiyon wich saddak banaa le, duniyaa teri mehmaan hai. Tu dil kaa mahal sajaa le, yeh dil baddaa hai, nageene jaddaa hai, toh jashnn manaao mere dil mein jaam uthaao, iss mehfil mein zakhm baant lo, dard chhaant lo, gham ko pees lo, khushi chaat lo, nafrat ki iss zindaggi mein naa koyi dattaa.
dil mei langar khol de, jo aaye mehemaan, do din ki hai zindaggi, le le lambi taal
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
jo tujhe jagaaye, neendein teri uddaaye, khwaab hai sachaa wohi. Neendon mein jo aaye, jisse tu bhool jaaye, khwaab woh sachaa nahin. Khwaab ko raag de, neend ko aag de.
sar pe kafan tere agar meherbaan har dagar. khwaabon pe yakeen toh jaag abhi zindaggi
Didn’t care much for Mann Ko Ati Bhaave.
Tushar: This was truly the unapologetically melodious and ridiculously loud masala score of the year, closely followed by WANTED. Only this one had some flashes of quality, mostly between the songs. On a serious note (no, I am not referring to you, Mr. Shah), BARSON YAARON was fun for its sense of bass and a wild mythological finale(on second thoughts, I was referring to you, Mr. Shah). KHANABADOSH was the gay trip of the year (what with the ‘london dreams! Punch with an exclamation). TAPKEY MASTI was the wild man in the khet for no reason. KHWAB JO was good old quality fusion. Oops, that’s a little too much for LONDON DREAMS. He he.
What’s Your Raashee?
Tushar: Another film that surprised me. the songs were a task in the film, but the album was an honest effort that had tracks of all genres humanly(read Gujju) possible. It is another matter that they all worked to different results when associated with the respective stories in the film. Like a MAANOONGA MAANOONGA would get on your nerves(may be it was meant to), while most of the others(JAO NA, BIKHRI BIKHRI, PYAARI PYAARI) would go with the flow, while some others would rise above it(KOI JAANE NA). But my pick, in terms of the film connection, was SAU JANAM. That was the point where the film said Fuck the logic and Doordarshan mood and let’s have some fun. Though I strongly suspected if it was planned, but I had my fun with all the Khandala and the fake muchhi doing the necessary. SU CHHE wasn’t bad either keeping the loud mood in mind. The title track was very well used in the film for recap of all the fuck that was going on with a million PCs(Priyanka Chopras) and one poor Harman Baweja(faltu mein too much criticized for one of the most honest acts of the year). Ok, it is pretty evident by now I like this film and score, so ya you got me, and everything.
Amanda: Sohail Sen makes an impressive debut as a Bollywood music director. Some easy on the ears, simple, romantic compositions such as Jaao Naa, Pyaari Pyaari and Aa Le Chal…and even Salone Kyaa
Amit Trivedi
Dev D
We’ve already gone lattoo over the music. Read this and this
Gulaal
Yeah, we’ve also drooled over Gulaal’s music, too. Review is here.
Sikandar, Gulaal, Aloo Chaat
Amanda’s already covered these
YMI, Aagey Se Right
Already written about here.
Kaminey You can read our thoughts here and here
Another cinematic reinforcement. Mudi mudi, for all its annoying avatars, came out a breezy loop-friendly track. The title track, on the other hand, took the downward route.
Wanted
Ishq Vishq, Jalwaa, Le Le and Love Me were EXTREMELY fun! THE “tapori” OST of the year
AR Rahman
DELHI 6
Yeah, so Rahman really is one of our favorites. Hey, at least we aren’t denying it! Brownie points for honesty Already wrote about it here and here
Speaking of Rahman, we also loved his—
Slumdog Millionaire:
Yeah, we’ve heard better Rahman compositions in the past, but this one is also nice to add to the collection. From Mausam & Escape’s urgency, O Saya’s playfulness, to the optimistic Jai Ho, seductive Ringa Ringa and dark Riots, there are a lot of captivating compositions here. Kudos to Rahman for coming out with this OST in just a few weeks.
Tushar: A reviewer’s nightmare. Who the fuck wants to berate JAI HO in his right senses. I grew to like the track more on a recent Bombay trip. A weird OST though, the tracks are for a specific mood. My pick was MAUSAM AND ESCAPE, followed by the romantic theme—I’ve had countless night rides with this score though, most of them for rightfully no or little reason.
Couples Retreat
Tushar: SAJNA was up there. NANA is fun while going on a date. KURU KURU KAN(Afro Nisha(!!)) was Rahman telling us he can also have his trips on our and Hollywood’s money(and a whole freaking lots of it!). Some more typical tracks made this a nicely ambient score. BTW, pretty please release the OSTs in India oh me lords.
Amanda: Only Kailash Kher’s Salvadore and Undress were worth listening to.
Passage
A score as deep as the scientific and spiritual theories of Shekhar Kapur. Jokes apart, take out one odd night out of your pointless many nights and put these 5 tracks on a loop. And go to sleep. Ye shall find the light that leadeth thee to the passage…
4 mesmerizing instrumental pieces—Atmosphere and Opening which uses the sarangi to evoke pathos, Tango which is full of fury, and the upbeat, dramatic Waltz—and 1 beautiful opera (Aria).
Blue
Tushar: Now this is what I am talking about! The party track of the year (BULLOOO!), Rahman going B Grade in his own glorious grand way, and what great results! I somehow convinced myself NOT to review this one, I still might give in to the temptation any coming year, before the apocalypse of course. My pick was YAAR MILA THA, Udit ji in full masti mode well accompanied by Madhushree, followed by Rashid ‘better side of boyband singing’ Ali’s BHOOLA TUJHE. A track which for all the weird reasons made me take the film seriously for 3 minutes. And pray what was the interpretation, man falls in love with the hidden treasure in the sea his father gave his life for but the sea would drown their fates in a climax that never happened. Right. Blue was the fun misfire of the year. So much so that they forgot to shoot half the songs in all the bikini-sharks-man-tits-kabir bedi’s weird beard-akshay-ghatiya-kylie-meen-log-trip. Beat that. Chiggy Wiggie. Here. I said it.
Amanda: Already shared my thoughts about Blue here.
Connections
Review is here.
Rahman reminds us that music doesn’t always have to have lyrics…music is its own language. Okay, end of bhashan
Kailash Kher also came out with some soothing, soulful compositions this year in the form of two albums:
Kailasa Chaandan Mei
Tushar’s review
Amanda’s review
and
Two more cool albums came out in ’09:
Shivamani’s Mahaleela
and
Tu Hi Mere Rab Ki Tarah Hai—
Amanda: Haan, most people absolutely hated this album by Mithoon Sharma, but oh well, everyone has different tastes when it comes to music and films! Personally, I really like listening to Mithoon singing, and I found the lyrics to most of the songs very deep…Kuch Dard is an intense, pyaar mei udaasi type song, with beautiful use of the clarinet, piano, and lovely lines—
“Kuch dard mujhe tu sehne de, andar se zindaa rehne de, aankhein banjar ho jaayengi, kuch ashq mere tu behne de…Honton pe hansi, ankhon mein nami, bheegi si hai mere dil ki zameen, sab kuch haasil hai aaj magar, mitti hi nahin kyun teri kami? Neendon mei sahi, khwaabon mein sahi, baahon mei teri so lene de…”
Har Jagah Mein is an absolutely soulful sufiyana andaaz song…“Har jagaah mei tu samaayaa hai, Har dishaa mei tu numaayaa hai. Subahaa mei meri shaam mei teraa zikr hai teraa saayaa hai, meraa haath jo tu thaam le phir jahaan kaa karnaa hai kyaa?…Tu roshani, tu hi chandni, tu hi pedd hai, tu hi chaaon bhi…tu hi raastaa, tu hi hai safar, jahaan pohanchnaa hai woh gaaon bhi…”
My favorite song from the album is Kshitij Taarey and Mithoon Sharma’s duet—Tuu Hai. The echoes of their voice in the background is really captivating.
“Hai yaadon ki pheli baahon mein tu, Hai raahon pe jaati nigaahon mein tu…Hai moddon mei tu, jagaahon mei tu, hai ghir kar chaddi ghataaon mein tu…jo aandhi si hai hawaaon mein tu, jo mann mei chale alaavon mein tu…” Amen.
And here is one big list of OSTs with 1-3 nice songs worth a mention:
a) Luck By Chance–Sapno Se Bhare Nainaa really captures the emotions of a dreamer. A song, we’re sure most everyone can totally relate to at some point.
b) 13 B—Aasmaan Odh Kar brings together Chitra’s interesting voice and Neelesh Misra’s beautiful poetry. O Sexy Mama…all right, it’s a guilty pleasure, lol.
Tushar: AASMAAN ODH KE and BADE SE SHEHAR MEIN were fun but the real stand-out was O SEXY MAMA. I must have enjoyed it like 5-6 times through the year, but I can clearly recall all those timely distinctly.
c) Morning Walk—Shreya Ghoshal’s extremely sweet voice works wonders in Dholna. Truly a touching song.
d) Tum Mile— A clear intentioned bunch of songs, Javed Ali is just superb, absolutely superb in Tu Hi Haqeeqat. This is one of the MOST romantic tracks in 2009, followed by Dil Gira Dafatan (Delhi-6). Sayeed Qadri pens down such maahaa-romantic lyrics—
Tu hi haqeeqat, khwaab tu,
Dariyaa tu hi, pyaas tu,
Tu hi dil ki beqaraari,
Tu sukoon, tu sukoon.
Jaaon main ab jab jis jagaah,
Paoon main tujh ko uss jagaah,
Saath ho ke naa ho tu hai rubaru, rubaru.
Tu humsafar, tu humkadam, tu humnawaah meraa.
Aa tujhe in baahon mein bhar ke,
Aur bhi kar loon main kareeb,
Tu judaa ho toh lage hai,
Aataa jaataa har pal ajeeb.
Iss jahaan mein hai aur naa hogaa,
Mujh saa koi bhi khush naseeb,
Tu ne mujh ko dil diyaa hai,
Main hoon tere sab se kareeb.
Touch ho gaye, by god!
BTW can’t resist pointing out this REALLY funny Tum Mile review (Yes, it’s loaded with spoilers).
Pritam
e) Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani—Why is this OST mentioned here? Don’t tell us ki “Tu Jaane Naa!” Both the Atif and Kailasa versions are gorgeous.
Tushar: This is the film I was waiting to hate, and the songs I chewed and spat them out. Until one day I saw the film and fell in love with it. TU JAANE NA. I have to give it to Atif. The Kailash Kher version has its days and moments too. I would say it is one of the top 5 romantic tracks of the year. PREM KI NAIYYA was THE repeat-romantic-fun-track of the year no doubt. Immense repeat value. I don’t care how bad Neeraj Shridhar sounds in other Pritam tracks but this one was their best to come. AA JAA MERI TAMANNA was also fun due to the linear high scale singing, now a stable of JAVED ‘high iscale’ ALI.
f) 3 Idiots—overall, a disappointing OST. The only saving grace is the playful Zoobie Doobie which brings together Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal, two very talented singers.
g) Wake Up Sid—Amit Trivdei gives SEL a run for their money by coming out with Iktara, which also made people take notice of Kavita Seth.
h) Radio—Himesh Reshammiya does it again. Simple, hummable compositions, easy on the ears: Mann Ka Radio, Ladoo Motichur Waale and Zindagi Jaise Ek Radio.
Tushar: Discovery of the year. Ek ke baad ek dhuaandaar gaane. PIYA JAISE LAADOO was as close as Himesh Bhai got to tearjerkers. MAN KA RADIO was something true to his signature goofy but straight faced style. DAMADJI had another signature romantic-melodramatic interlude. SHAAM HO CHALI HAI and JAANEMAN stand amongst the few truly mellow-romantic tracks of the year, with no strings attached. I could never write the review as I could never decide what to title it..Himesh Bhai on Radio, Radio Himesss, Himesh 98.6, Himesss Bhai ke Sadabahaar Taraane, Tujhko Aakash ki Vaani ka hai aasraa etc.
i) Ruslaan—Master Salim gives a lovely rendition of Maulaa—now this is what’s really called a Sufi “rock” number.
j) Love Aaj Kal—okay, nothing that marvelous, but can’t deny Ahun Ahun and Twist were initially catchy compositions. Aaj Din Chaddeyaa still has replay value courtesy of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
k) Chal Chalein—Hariharan, who is greatly missed in the music-scene, does an awesome job of singing Gup Chup Shaam Thi and Tum Bhi Dhoondnaa. Even Sadhna Sargam’s Jhoom Jhoom So Jaa is pretty.
l) 8 X 10 Tasveer—Haafiz Khudaa—ONLY for Mohit Chauhan, lol!
m) Kal Kissne Dekha—Bin Tere and Tere Bina, one romantic, one classical, both are very well-made compositions.
n) Quick Gun Murugan—hmm, not really any extra-ordinary songs, but deserves a mention for the variety of sounds offered. Well, this was one of those ‘Film of the year’ for Tushar. Enough said about it and the OST.
o) Luck—Khudaayaa Ve has some meaningful lyrics and Azmaa and Lagaa Le really cash in on the energetic feel song concept.
p) Jashnn—Main Chalaa and Dard-e-Tanhaai are definitely memorable, melancholic soft-rock songs with some well-written lyrics—
Tanhaa, tanhaa main yun phiraa,
Apno mei reh kar akelaa,
Aisaa ghiraa naa uth sakaa,
Main chalaa, main chalaa, main chalaa…
Phoolon ki yeh shaakhein hain kaanton se saji,
Mitne se naa mitegi dil ki yeh bebasi,
Jo hum pe guzari hai beete tum pe kabhi,
Tum ko bhi yaad aaye beeti baatein sabhi.
Mushkil hai khushiyon se gham kaa milnaa yahaan…
Oh and one more song which REALLY caught my attention this year—Jal’s Kaash Yeh Pal…
Kismat kaa sab khel hai,
Milnaa thaa hum ne kabhi…
Haathon ki lakeeron mein,
Likhaa thaa shaayad sabhi…
Vishal Shekhar
q) Aladin
Tushar: This was a cinematic reinforcement. I gave this score a fair chance for love of Home Delivery. Easy on ear groovy tracks and cheesy lyrics and all that hip-hop. And I liked the film as well, for reasons best concealed in my password-protected magic lamp, so I often kept going back to the tracks. O RE SAAWARIYA was an upped-chhed-chhaad track with good ol’ Amit Ji style of singing fun, with some infectious aalaaps and interludes. I also enjoyed the tricky and wicked(oh they mean the same!, never mind, haven’t done a review for long for synonymous dysfunction shows) BIJURIYA. No one else could have done it that tastefully other than Baba. Then the title track, Tak dhina din(a true Shankar track) and the climax track(Bachke Bachke)all were nicely regressive.
Amanda: Temporary musical RIP of the V-S duo with Aladin.
Tushar- Would like to end the year with this nicely mellow track from Rocket Singh(brilliant film!)- Pankho ko, for it’s straitlaced honesty and pleasant lack of all the zing that comes with Salim-Sulaiman tracks(think KURBAAN!).
Bas ji…saal bhar mei itne hi gaane theek-thaak they…
Kahaaaaaaaaaaaan chali gayi hai, saaaali khushi?
Happy 2010 guys!
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Rahul Dholakia
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Varma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Sachin Kundalkar
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Great work guys….
Happy listening in 2010….
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Thanks man.
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Thanks, Varun
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Oh my, what a collection, almost all my favs here…great analysis guys…
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Thanks Indraneel.
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Thanks, Indraneel. Any songs you really enjoyed in 2009 that we didn’t mention?
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Poor post !! put me off !!
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Thanks Ajay Ji. We could have done worse.
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lol. poor comment !! put me off !! hehe, i’m just kidding, take it easy
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How can you forget Jab We Met….one of the best albums of the decade.
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Hi Vineet. This write-up is just about Hindi OSTs/albums released in 2009, not the entire decade. But, yes, JWM is a wonderful OST…
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Oh sorry, I had some dandruff issues on my head, Come again?
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for me music wise 2009 was divided in two halves…the first half belonged to Emotional Atyachar and the second half to Dhan te nan
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Before this nobody talked about the music of London Dreams except Tushar, that too in comments about how much he liked the music. It was wonderful.
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incidentally I am watching the film now, pile of crap as expected but music still rocks.
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Jahan- I distinctly remember mentioning my liking for the soundtrack of Tum Mile and London Dreams in one of the comments on the music review of APKGK by Saurabh and I once again reiterate the same now.
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Oh! Must have missed it. I remember about Tushar’s because he mentioned it 2-3 times in comments. I once got annoyed and gave him thumbs down (sorry).
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nice. so lots of people did like LD’s songs. most music reviews were pretty harsh.
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nice post… had to come out from someone like Amanda and Tushar…
btw, long time Amanda ji….
I thought Wake Up Sid deserved a bit more space in hea, n yea although we’re just discussin abt the OST’s, i’d still congratulate Amit Trivedi for a wonderful background score… Ve Malang Iktara is awesome…
Tum Mile had such lovely ballads, after many days we gotta listen to such romantic songs in an Bollywood OST… didn’t at all sound like Pritam to me in the starting…
Salim-Sulaiman had a good year I guess, the best from them being Khudaya Ve and Pankho ko, both sung by Salim, and both are awesome…
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nice to hear from you, Shoaib!
haha, WUS toh kyaa, we could have easily written paragraphs on each OST and song mentioned here, but that would be one hell of a longer post
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good stuff tushar, nice to see you posting back!
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yo man, naye saal mein kuch naya!
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Nice… some how I missed post on A.R rehman’s connection but i got to know about that from this post… Mann chandre from connections is one of the beautiful song I hear this year, it has certain devine connection with it… Both Sharadha Pandit and our Sukhi are awesome in it..too good…
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Yup, Connections is a real gem.
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Someone commented on another post here that “Jai ho” was an “ordinary song.”
I wouldn’t blame him for thinking so. This is a quality I’ve noticed with ALL of Rahman’s songs and compositions, that after the initial euphoria dies down, you won’t feel like going back and listening to them again.
As proof of this, I’m sure most of you loved the music of Delhi-6 when it first came out, and maybe some of you even thought it was pathbreaking, but how many of you still listen to those songs?
This law of diminishing returns may be true for other composers’ songs also, but I have found that this is especially true for Rahman’s compositions.
A senior Tamil music critic has called the effect that Rahman’s music has on people as a temporary intoxication, and that his songs don’t have that evergreen quality that we associate with the compositions of other great music directors.
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my views are totally inverse of what has been written… to me Rahman songs have always taken sometime to sink in, get used to and be liked, after that I can hear those songs forever…. I still hear Dilli 6 in my car, and so do I hear a lot of his other compostions… of course not each of them is a gem, can hear Jeans even once now, but that’s with everybody who has a wide canvas of work…
funily the other day I was hearing Mum-Bhai, Abby (ae sanam mere) and then a few of our indi pop songs from the times of Euphoria, Silk Route, Tanha Dil, I just felt these songs have become timeless to be enjoyed… and the same time i was thinking of film music, and again, the first few songs that came to my mind were all ARR…….
…. one day i’d be a senior ‘critic’, so my views put in here today can be echoed on that day
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typo “can’T hear Jeans even once now, but that’s with everybody who has a wide canvas of work… “
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My “initial euphoria” time-period is obviously inclusive of the time it takes for a Rahman song to sink in and be liked by us (this “sinking in time” is a phenomenon I’m sure most of us have experienced with Rahman songs). It is also inclusive of the ‘n’ number of times we listen to the song after we realise that we like it.
What I’m talking about is what we feel about the song at the (n+1)th listening and thereafter.
I was stunned by the unique sounds and variety that Rahman presented in Genda Phool, Kaala Bandar, Arziyaan, Masakali, Rehna Tu, Dil Gira Girfatan, and even Bhor Bhaye. But this was only during the “initial euphoria” period when I would keep my computer on (didn’t have a portable player then) for nights on end just for the sake of listening and relistening to the songs on earphones.
But now I don’t feel like listening to any of the above songs. And even if I do, it is only because I don’t have a better choice.
And I’ve felt this about each and every Rahman song, except maybe Roja.
So, PS, perhaps some day when you are a senior critic, you would be irritated no-end by the talk of the beauty of Rahman’s compositions, and maybe that day I’ll show you this page and tell you, “See, I told you.”
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dunno reikes… but for sure even on a n+1th attempt I still can hear Dil Se Meenaxi, and so many more of his bollywood flicks, apart from his tamil ones like Iruvar, they have never gone down on the scale…. though this is not to say that the 2 of us should have the same opinion…. as much as I never liked Rangeela, the movie or the songs… and I had a ’sick of rahman’ phase quite some years back as well… but for sure, when I am a senior ‘critic’ .. whenever… my expereince while being a novice in itself makes sure that I ‘d stick to whatever he’s composed till now…
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This observation is kind of odd for me…I always felt the opposite…How many people listed to the hugely popular 90’s songs like Pardesi Pardesi or Ashiqi now?…But a lot of people still listens to Roja or Bombay…I do…I in fact enjoy his earlier works more than the new ones…
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People still listen to Ashiqui and Pardesi Pardesi. It depends upon where you are. Go to some urban centre, you’ll find people listening to new songs and of course your Bombay, Dil Se etc., go to hinterlands, you’ll find people still listening to Aashiqui, PTKYA, Raja Hindustani, Dilwale etc. even in cities you sit in a auto or to a pan-shop you may still get to hear these songs.
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hinterlands for Aashiqui n PTKYA? arre yaar, they are heard even in the main land cities… BTW Dilwale? seriously?? “kitna haseen chehra, kitni pyari aankhen…” ?
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Yup yaar once in a while i get to hear them too.
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Maybe you like his old songs because YOU are new to them? Maybe when you have listened to them enough number of times you will find them only as good as his new ones?
Aashiqui, BTW, isn’t such a bad listen.
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youtube views of Pehla Nasha-1528438,Nazar Ke Samne-574971,bin tere sanam-964331
interestingly ARR songs Roja Janeman highest with -563530
seems like youtube generation is not too keen on ARR’s old songs..
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youtube views-Pehla Nasha-159700,nazar ke samne-595000,bin tere sanam-986000
Roja Janeman-567000..seems like youtube generation is not too keen on ARR’s old songs..
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yes, i’m STILL listening to D-6’s songs. not only D-6, i still regularly listen to connections, rangeela, doli saja ke rakhnaa, roja, bombay, dil hi dil mein, takshak, taal, ada, meenaxi…yeah, you’ve got the point. but, of course, just because I and oh about hundreds of thousands of people all over the world still listen to and cherish his OSTs doesn’t mean you also have to enjoy them
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and no his old songs are not new to me!
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Boy you have some bad taste in music..lol.
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Glad to see Aladin on the list, though at the bottom nevertheless..I am in love with “you may be” – immense repeat value on my list..Vishal and Shekhar both have had some serious fun behind the microphone with this one…And I love “barso yaaron” from London Dreams too, faaltoo movie, but SEL rock – as always!
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Seems like the “temporary intoxication” I was talking about has become a habit with you and now you can’t do without your frequent ‘highs’.
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Watch ‘ The Hangover’.
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lol, either that or the “temporary” intoxication isn’t all that “temporary” but is instead eternal.
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Very well written article… kudos to you. My pick of the year has to be Himesh – not coz’ i am a big fan or anything of that sort…but for the sheer change in style…from the insanely nasal twangs to Mann ka radio…very unpredictable and welcome change.. SEL, etc stuck to their usual comfort zone..
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Thanks Sophocles. True that.
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thanks for sharing your thoughts, Sophocles.
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nice analysis. though think you may have missed something.D-6 is an amzaing album. and apart from its msuic its lyrcial gems are unmatched. Arziyaan- darrare darrae hai mathe pe maula…. maskalli… dil gird daftan… genda phool kala bandar, .. the poetry and its range of emotions. spirituaity surrender, flight of spirit, pure romamnce,folk and satire, makes it a treasured one for its haunting deep lyrics. what a mesmirizing range this lyrcisit prasoon joshi has . think it deserved a special mention .its landmark work. ( guess as a fan of his work am a little peeved as just saw that delhi 6 lyricis have no nomination in screen awards list. sad.)
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Kunaal, we did NOT forget to touch upon D-6’s lyrics. Please read the two reviews of D-6 we have linked to, and you will realize a lot of time has been spent discussing the OST’s lyrics
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