RahMania – the Versatility of the Maestro – IV

Alright, this blog entry has been long pending and so I’m back after a big long break. It’s half past midnight now and I don’t feel like sleeping so I am just gonna sit down here to finish what I had started a couple of weeks back. This is the final of the installments of my take on Rahman’s soft romantic numbers and here we will focus on the songs in the post 2004 era. The reason I have separated this era from his earlier music is because during the late 2003 and early 2004, this phoenix rose from his ashes. Rahman was back with the music that this generation appreciated – they were more hip, jazzy and used newer talent.

I will start the discussion with one of my favorite soundtracks – “Yuva”. In this song, Rahman finds a new talent in Sunitha Sarathy, who sounds a tad similar to Sunidhi Chauhan in her rendition of the line Eh Khuda Hafiz. She is accompanied by the extremely talented Lucky Ali. My personal favorite moment in the song is when he adds the piano to accompany Sunitha’s rendition. The song flows smoothly sounding as whispers throughout with peaks at "Anjaana Anjaani" as if riding on a high rise wave after a smooth float making the song such an enjoyable experience.

Ae Khuda Hafiz – Yuva

In certain movies Rahman renders a song in his own voice and it almost always turns out to be a chart buster. Rahman, by his own admission in one of his interviews, finds it easier to sing at a higher scale and  difficult in the lower notes. So he chooses to sing those songs that fit his scale and works wonders with it.'Rehna Tu' from Delhi 6 isn't an exception. A wonderful orchestration of voices between Rahman, Benny Dayal and Tanvi gets you addicted to the song with simple beats. Don't miss the instrumental (Flute and strings) part at the penultimate part of the song; they're awesome.

Rehna Tu – Delhi 6

I continue the list with another song where Rahman himself lends his voice and as is always the case, the song is arguably the finest one in the album. Tere Bina from Guru is one haunting melody which possesses the prowess to adhere to the memories of the bollywood music listeners for years to come. Murtaza Khan and Qadir Khan’s ‘dham dara dham dara’ refrains are addictive to the core and purely musical bliss! Reverting to a semi-qawwalli landscape in the backgrounds of this subtly beautiful piece, Rahman impresses tremendously with his vocal prowess, and Chinmayee’s support is honorable, as she serves as a pleasant foil to Rahman’s smooth rendition.

Tere Bina – Guru

The next one is from one of my all time favorite movies ( and I believe it would rank highly in the favorite list of most bollywood movie goers of my generation) – Rang De Basanti.The romantic number 'Tu Bin Bataye' maintains an amazing tempo in entirety with not a note getting wayward at any point of time. There are no ups and downs and has a plain simple melody with a constant flow that works marvelously due to Madhushree's vocals. The Maracas and Tambourine used for the rhythm work wonders. The violins and the saxophone in the background and interlude ornate the simplicity and melody of the song aptly. By the time Naresh Iyer as a male voice is introduced and the song is about to reach its end, you realize many more nuances about the track. A good amount of credit should also go to the amazing lyrics of the song.

Tu Bin Bataye – Rang De Basanti

Stardom comes immediately with the next track, the quite wonderfully composed Tu Meri Dost Hain. The music, starting on a simple note, is eerily soft yet ever so alluring eventually developing into a blissful tune that will undoubtedly mesmerize you upon repeated listening. In particular the melodious cello play just takes the track to another level and the accompanying symphony effects are fabulous as are the dovetailing beats. So harmoniously is each portion of the song woven that it can easily rank as one of Rahman’s most melodious numbers. Benny Dayal (who also sang in Jaane Tu..) who lends his voice as the male lead alongside the maestro himself does an admirable job. But it’s Shreya Ghoshal’s entry midway that forms the icing on the cake.

Tu Meri Dost Hai – Yuvraj

The next song comes from an epic saga – Jodha Akbar and will be the final one on my list of soft and romantic numbers. Since this category needs to have a distinctive element or two, it is Javed Ali’s affluent voice in the song “Jashn-E-Bahara” that does the trick along with the tabla and a Persian string accompaniment which flow smoothly into your ears as if to ease your soul. But it is the flute that takes away all the credits among the instruments.

Jashn-E-Bahara – Jodha Akbar

With this I end my take on the magical soft romantic numbers of Rahman. In the next blog, I will continue my discussion with Rahman’s rhythmic numbers.