To start with, writing a review for AR Rahman's work (ARR from hereon) is difficult; as ARR's work grows on slowly and there is no certainty at what time his music will bring us to come to a decision. Also the term 'grow' is solely to the individual choice. One would love to impose the songs by hearing it again and again consciously, the other would find a particular song intriguing and would love to hear it again. I belong to the second definition.
Reviewing a ARR- Gulzar- Mani Ratnam is as challenging as reviewing any classy art form. But in order to review Raavan particularly I would like to take you back to the past work in which these three genius were involved. Firstly Dil Se, am still speechless, it's still a cult classic by these three in their creative journey. The songs are immortal especially 'Ae Ajnabi', 'Satrangi Re' and 'Jiya Jale'. Then 'Guru' happened which was a disappointment altogether, only 'Ae Hairathey' and 'Barso Re' worked for me. With Raavan's music released, expectations are sky-high but at the same time a suspicious wave slides out whether too many cooks may spoil the broth. But with Raavan's music it isn't, it lies in between Dil Se and Guru i.e. Nothing spectacular but not below average either.
The album starts with Beera song, WOW what a song, it has all the weird percussion arrangements, very aggressive and the good thing is that, ARR keeps it short. The impact is all over and I feel it's a perfect start for this album.
The second song 'Behane De' sung by Kaarthik and M Irfan, this is one of my best grown songs from this album. What a composition, it gives a faint similarity to 'Satrangi Re' but as the lyrics say I was flown with the song. This would be my pick from the album. It took some considerable repeated hearing but eventually it's now a masterpiece.
This is followed by 'Thok De killi', again an aggressive socio-political song sung by Sukhwinder Singh. It is a fast number with all the ingredients in place to make it peppier. The song gets more interesting when pipe melody (at duration 1:28 minutes) is played after the first stanza. ARR generates more pace in the last bit, the words are spot on and gives a sneak idea about what the song would be. Awaiting the visuals eagerly for this song.
The next song 'Ranjha Ranjha' is a sweet romantic song, I felt Rekha Bharadwaj's singing does not gel well with such type of songs. It would have been better if Shreya Ghoshal or Madhusree were opted for this one. Jaaved Ali is commendable. Nothing much to talk about this song, moving ahead.
'Khili Re' a soft melodious song. This song is the only one song from the album where the melody overshadows the percussion. A slow growing song, well sung by Reena Bharadwaj. This song would my second favorite from this album.
The last song 'Kata Kata' is one hell of bachelor party song. What energy has been oozed out for this song. Awesome chorus synchronization, funny lyrics, well use of percussion and the loudest song of this album. Ila Arun and Sapna Awasthi are aptly used for this song.
To sum up, ARR portrays his versatility by composing songs of varied culture and more importantly coming out with flying musical colors. Although Raavan is not an instant clicker for a listener like me, but with time it might or has find it's place. Having said that ARR had come with a stellar Delhi 6 to which Raavan holds no major comparison, but still keeping the varied plot in mind for Delhi6 and Raavan, let's hope the music for Raavan will not disappear quickly after the visual release. Definitely it's better than Guru, you can trust me for that :) Give it a try!
Rating: 3/5
Reviewing a ARR- Gulzar- Mani Ratnam is as challenging as reviewing any classy art form. But in order to review Raavan particularly I would like to take you back to the past work in which these three genius were involved. Firstly Dil Se, am still speechless, it's still a cult classic by these three in their creative journey. The songs are immortal especially 'Ae Ajnabi', 'Satrangi Re' and 'Jiya Jale'. Then 'Guru' happened which was a disappointment altogether, only 'Ae Hairathey' and 'Barso Re' worked for me. With Raavan's music released, expectations are sky-high but at the same time a suspicious wave slides out whether too many cooks may spoil the broth. But with Raavan's music it isn't, it lies in between Dil Se and Guru i.e. Nothing spectacular but not below average either.
The album starts with Beera song, WOW what a song, it has all the weird percussion arrangements, very aggressive and the good thing is that, ARR keeps it short. The impact is all over and I feel it's a perfect start for this album.
The second song 'Behane De' sung by Kaarthik and M Irfan, this is one of my best grown songs from this album. What a composition, it gives a faint similarity to 'Satrangi Re' but as the lyrics say I was flown with the song. This would be my pick from the album. It took some considerable repeated hearing but eventually it's now a masterpiece.
This is followed by 'Thok De killi', again an aggressive socio-political song sung by Sukhwinder Singh. It is a fast number with all the ingredients in place to make it peppier. The song gets more interesting when pipe melody (at duration 1:28 minutes) is played after the first stanza. ARR generates more pace in the last bit, the words are spot on and gives a sneak idea about what the song would be. Awaiting the visuals eagerly for this song.
The next song 'Ranjha Ranjha' is a sweet romantic song, I felt Rekha Bharadwaj's singing does not gel well with such type of songs. It would have been better if Shreya Ghoshal or Madhusree were opted for this one. Jaaved Ali is commendable. Nothing much to talk about this song, moving ahead.
'Khili Re' a soft melodious song. This song is the only one song from the album where the melody overshadows the percussion. A slow growing song, well sung by Reena Bharadwaj. This song would my second favorite from this album.
The last song 'Kata Kata' is one hell of bachelor party song. What energy has been oozed out for this song. Awesome chorus synchronization, funny lyrics, well use of percussion and the loudest song of this album. Ila Arun and Sapna Awasthi are aptly used for this song.
To sum up, ARR portrays his versatility by composing songs of varied culture and more importantly coming out with flying musical colors. Although Raavan is not an instant clicker for a listener like me, but with time it might or has find it's place. Having said that ARR had come with a stellar Delhi 6 to which Raavan holds no major comparison, but still keeping the varied plot in mind for Delhi6 and Raavan, let's hope the music for Raavan will not disappear quickly after the visual release. Definitely it's better than Guru, you can trust me for that :) Give it a try!
Rating: 3/5
