Rockstar Soundtrack: Rocking All Over!!

The music of Imtiaz Ali's film Rockstar is turning out to be phenomenal with 5-6 songs already striking the right chords among the listeners. “Saadda Haq” has become most popular and now being hailed as a “Youth Anthem” of the year. On the second day of music release this album reaches on top in world's biggest online music download store iTunes in category of "Top World Soundtracks" (Source: Wikipedia). Most importantly, Oscar winner A. R. Rahman comes back with a bang defying the recent and to an extent some unfair criticism. Remember the common-wealth games music score! Apart from that the soundtrack of Blue, Jhootha Hi Sahi and Raavan did not really create enough buzz to meet the huge expectations unlike his previous scores. I had recently read an article in Hindu that had brought forward these points and wondered how important the release of Superheavy and Rockstar could be for the musical genius even though he did not seem perturbed with what was happening around.

I feel that self-actualized individuals like A R Rahman have reached a phase where they remain aware of what’s happening and do not really take failures to their heart or success to their heads. Yet, we must realize that apart from being a musician/artist, he also plays his part commercially as far as business of music creation is concerned. Obviously, it is impossible to please all the people all the time. We also have to understand that an artist or a sportsperson for that matter cannot be in pink of their spirits eternally so a period of lull is almost inevitable. It happens to all of us in our daily lives. However, a genius like A R Rahman still turns up with something which at least stands out irrespective of its popularity. And as Prasoon Joshi rightly pointed out at GIMA awards ceremony: Mr. Rahman always follows his heart and does not really keep a target audience in mind while creating music. That is why he is regarded as one of the Indian pioneers in the global music scenario.

Now coming back to the music of Rockstar; I must say that a film soundtrack looks promising to this extent after a long time. Not a single track from this album appears to be weak and it apparently has been the most played album on my I-pod for quite some time now. I have almost devoured its music since I bought the audio CD. A much noticeable aspect is the collaboration between A R Rahman and Mohit Chauhan which is at its vintage best and the fans cannot seem to have enough of it. We did notice those sparks in their earlier tracks like Khoon Chala (RDB) and Masakkali (Delhi-6). Didn’t we? No wonder, Mohit Chauhan has sung 9 out of 14 tracks in the album that have been very ably complimented by some finest acting by Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri. Imtiaz Ali seems to have exploited their best out of them. Mr. Ali himself would be fond of Mohit Chauhan for his earlier Chartbusters in movies Jab We Met (Tumse Hi) and Love Aajkal (Ye Dooriyan). Irshad Kamil yet again proves why he has become one of the most sought after lyricist for Hindi Film music. The lyrics are carefully crafted leave a lasting impression. This soundtrack is bound to become a benchmark of future music creations as it promises to give a new dimension to the contemporary Hindi Film Music. Come 11th of November and all of these put together may very well be on the path of creating a History. I shall try and briefly write about each of the tracks:

1)    Phir Se Ud Chala (Mohit Chauhan): You are transcended to a different world while listening to it. It’s a song of a wandering heart that has flown into the realm of unknown only to encounter some strange moments. It is essentially a Mohit Chauhan track which is philosophical and yet magical. Great lyrics meet intelligent singing. It clearly is one of the top numbers and very well justifies it being chosen as track 1.

2)    Jo Bhi Main (Mohit Chauhan): It was the first track to be released for the promos which connected instantly with the Audience. I was present at the India Today Youth Summit where this track was initially launched by none other than Ranbir Kapoor himself. He chose to let the audio/video speak of itself rather than saying anything in praise of what was going to be unveiled the very next moment. We were in for a treat. They played the video featuring Ranbir on the stage amidst huge crowd and Guitar beats. Mohit Chauhan’s voice took over suddenly. The following few moments were magical. It was just the right beginning for the musical campaign. The song is a great ambassador of the movie and gives a voice to dilemma of many for all of us at times face expression roadblocks. Overall a beautiful track based on Guitar and live audience feel.

3)    Katiya Karun (Harshdeep Kaur, Additional Vocals—Sapna Awasthi): The song begins with Ting ling ling and promises to be a number full of fun and yet having a pleasant and hummable tune. Apparently, the songs would be immensely popular among girls. A lovely track!

4)    Kun Faya Kun (A. R. Rahman, Javed Ali and Mohit Chauhan): This is an out of the world track which appears to be in the league of Maula Maula from Delhi-6 and sung in Qawwali style. It is a devotional track on the existence (Kun Faya Kun: Be, and it is) and transports you to the world of divinity. I love the way Harmonium has been used in it and the entry of Guitar strings followed by Mohit Chauhan’s rendering gives it another dimension all together. Pure Bliss!

5)    Sheher Mein (Mohit Chauhan and Karthik): This is a situational and an interesting track. It’ll make you laugh and at the same time has a endearing tune that has been very cleverly composed. Mohit Chauhan brings back the memory of Massakkali while scaling to the same height in the familiar pitch and ending it with a laugh. Karthik does his part very well. Truly! kya tune hai…aur lyrics to dhoom macha dega UP, Bihar mein! J

6)    Hawaa Hawaa (Mohit Chauhan, Additional Vocals—Viviane Chaix, Tanvi Shah, Suvi Suresh, Shalini. Choral vocal arrangement by Clinton Cerejo): This is very meticulously arranged track in which the instruments like Voilin, Mandolin, Dulcimer and Saarangi have been used with great precision along with usual Guitars and great drumming by virtuoso Ranjit Barot. Major part of the song belongs to Mohit Chauhan’s genre while he experiments with his voice giving it a new dimension in some places. A distinct and brilliant number!

7)    Aur Ho (Mohit Chauhan, Alma Ferovic): This is an emotionally intense track sighting helplessness and longing on the protagonist’s part. According to the script, the song describes the connection and the chemistry between Heer and Jordan. There’s some hidden force pulling them towards each other and the desire becomes irresistible. The song expresses all of this in its own hue and passion.

8)    Tango for Taj: It’s a situational theme music that’s beautifully done.

9)    Tum Ko (Kavita Subramaniam): It’s the female version of “Tum Ho” with great use of Tabla and Kavita Subramaniam makes a comeback of sorts with a soulful rendering of “Tum Ko Paa Hi Liya”. It somehow also reminds me of “Ishq Bina Ishq Bina” sung by her in the movie Taal. Perhaps contains the same soul but distinct and tender in its own way. Pours down the heart of someone who’s deeply in love.

10)  The Dichotomy of Fame (Feat Balesh on Shehnai and Kabuli on Guitars): I simply love this instrumental piece. It’s extremely melodious and contains a “Jugalbandi” of sorts (Shehnai and Guitar). Simply awesome!

11)  Nadan Parinde (A. R. Rahman, Mohit Chauhan): Maestro himself and Mohit Chauhan combines to create magic in what would one of the climax tracks. Imtiaz Ali appears to be a great admirer of Rumi’s philosophy. He shares some of the lines in the album booklet and this song reflects the philosophy of homecoming i.e., turning towards what you love immensely. A rocking number with maestro effect!

12)  Tum Ho (Mohit Chauhan, Suzanne D’Mello): This is undoubtedly the most romantic number of the movie. Not only that, it is the most romantic track of the year 2011 in my opinion. I just cannot seem to have enough of it. While Mohit Chauhan sings it from his heart and comes up with amazing feel what suprises me the most is the background vocal of Suzzanne. It becomes an inseparable part of the song and truly adds to be beauty of song. Extremely Sensible and Serene!

13)  Saada Haq (Mohit Chauhan, Feat Orianthi on Guitars): The Rockstar comes up full throttle to claim what belongs to him. It has already become a rage even climbing to number one in some of the countdowns. Orianthi is a female guitarist from Australia. Michael Jackson was so impressed by her that he recruited her for “This is it” concert that could not happen due to sudden demise of the musical great. However, Orianthi justifies her talent with the way she’s strummed the Guitar in this song. This is a gem of a track and the most rocking one. A perfect “Youth Anthem”.

14)  Meeting Place: A couple of lines rendered by Ranbir Kapoor based on a poem by Rumi.

To sum it up, all I want to say is that I would not be surprised if the album sweeps the musical awards. Mr. A. R. Rahman will remain calm and unaffected while being grateful as always to continue on his journey of what he does the best-- making music from his heart sans any premonition. This is why he is greatness personified. 

It’s a must buy album. Please grab your copy at the earliest and extend your hand to kill piracy. We will do our bit to reward this soundtrack or any other good piece of work by owning our copy and discouraging piracy. The more we become aware the more hopeful and happy the artists will be to be able to churn out really enthralling stuffs. It would be a win-win situation.

Happy listening!