Music Review - Rang De Basanti

Rang De Basanti: Rahman is slowly getting back to his grove, after his abysmal music in "The Rising". That was a total letdown, this one seems much better - but just like the other songs of Rahman, one will start to have a liking only after multiple listenings. But in this movie there are some instant catch-ons, for instance, "Paatshala", a peppy song sung by Aslam and Naresh Iyer. The other version of this song (Paatshala - Be a Rebel) features Blaaze along with the other two. Blaaze is considered the Indian version of the famed, Shaggy. He actually is featured in a lot of college/hip-hop kind of songs in the recent Rahman movies (plus other MDs as well).

"Rang De Basanti" is another interesting song which has a peppy-westernized-punju feel to it. It's sung by Daler Mahendi and the South-Indian singer Chitra (I had been to one of Daler's concerts in Madras and the host of that show was Javed Jaffrey. That's when I knew first-hand about the talents of Javed Jaffrey...he was able to keep the crowd in complete control with his jokes and anecdotes. In that he mentioned that Daler Mahendi should be called Dollar Mahendi - that was when Daler was at his peak).

For some reason, there's a lot of craze for middle-eastern music in the recent times, and this movie does have a track to cover that area as well. "Khalbali" sung by Aslam, Nacim and the Guruji Rahman himself. The best thing that I like about Rahman's music is his extreme talent in using the right voices for a song. Like other MDs (read as Anu Malik) he doesnt sing a song unless it suits his voice absolutely well. He adds a superb touch to this song with his excellent voice. He has also sung "Roobaro" along with Naresh Iyer. Another good trend that Rahman pioneered is getting in fresh voices to the Indian music industry. I see a lot of fresh and strong voices in this movie, just like his other ones. Another musical marvel that Rahman introduced to the Indian music industry is Madhushree, the most recent nightingale. Btw, Rahman was the one who gave her this name, her name was Sujata Bhattacharya before. I started noticing her after her amazing performance in Tehzeeb. I am actually surprised about the fact that she's mostly remained in Rahman's camp and not many MDs are using her vocal talents. There are two female singers whom I absolutely love, regardless of how bad the song is - one is Madhushree and the other is Harini (Tamil singer). Another song which features Lata Mangeshkar and the Guruji Rahman is "Luka chuppi". A couple of years ago, I was totally annoyed at hearing Lata Maneshkar's voice (and the South-Indian singer Chitra's as well), as she was featured in almost all the songs at that time. But after hearing her in Rahman's music my view has changed a bit. He somehow brings a new side of a singer with most of his songs. Now I dont mind listening to Lata (or Chitra), especially if it's a Rahman's movie.

On the whole, this is a good album with a mix of trendy and melodious songs and will certainly make a good listening in your car or your stereo system.