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| 'ROBOT' MUSIC REVIEW |
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Music :
A R
Rahman |
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Lyrics :
Swanand Kirkire |
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Direction :
S Shankar |
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Producer :
Kalanithi
Maran |
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Star Cast :
Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai, Danny Denzongpa |
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EXPECTATIONS
One has to make himself doubly sure before picking
up the album of Robot. Firstly, because there are
two soundtrack versions of Robot made available on
stands - a Tamil and a Hindi version. Secondly, even
in Hindi version, song titles (is it really Swanand
Kirkire who has written lyrics here?) go as 'Pagal
Anukan', 'Chitty Dance Showcase', 'Arima Arima',
'Boom Boom', 'Kilimanjaro'. Frankly, it is hard to
fathom if the songs in the album would indeed be in
Hindi. Despite the name A.R. Rahman being associated
with Robot, one still plays on the album with some
apprehension because it is a classic case of a
soundtrack carrying a feeling of being dubbed rather
than something like Raavan which carried its own
distinct flavour of Hindi as well as Tamil due to
the film being a bilingual. |
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MUSIC
As expected, Robot sees a techno beginning for
itself in the first song 'Naina
Miley'. The song does carry the kind of
sound that Rahman had made popular in the 90s and
hence there is a strong sense of deja vu. However,
the lyrics really kill the show here with words that
go as: 'I Robo Dooba Mai, Pyaar Mein Dooba Re; I am
a Super Girl, Teri Pyaari Rapper Girl'.
Surprisingly, |
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even though Rahman himself comes behind the mike for
this one, there is little impact made.
Comparatively, Suzanne's voice does carry a naughty
streak to it which does lend an added zing to the
song. With English lyrics and background vocals by
Kash n Krissy, 'Naina Miley' is the kind of dance
number that comes with the potential of looking good
more than sounding phenomenal.
'....Neutron Electron Neele
Naino Mein Bolo Kitne Hain' - It is hard
to imagine that Swanand Kirkire actually sat down to
write a song with lyrics like these. Agreed that the
film is futuristic with robots and stuff alike but
bringing elements like neutrons and electrons is
taking things a little too far. On a regular day, a
duet coming from Mohit Chauhan and Shreya Ghoshal
would have come with a very good probability of
working with the audience. Here, the tune is not bad
but still the sense of deja vu due to a heard before
tune and some bizarre lyrics don't quite allow the
song to make much of an impression. |
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Thankfully there is some fun in store with 'Chitti
Dance Showcase' - an uninterrupted three
minute long dance piece with accompanying vocals by
Pradeep Vijay, Pravin Mani, Rags and Yogi B. It's a
good mix of Western and Indian classical as this
dance piece with a heavy thump to it makes for an
engaging hear. This one should look really good on
screen as it comes with the promise of a robot
dancing to the beats.
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One doesn't quite remember when was the last time a
song had featured Sadhna Sargam. One of the preferred
singers for Rahman, she comes along with Hariharan to render
a theme track 'Arima Arima'
which has - hold your breath - lyrics like 'Yeh Yantrik
Maanav Sabse Ooncha'. While one continues to figure out the
meaning of 'Arima Arima', more heavy weight words follow
that give an impression of some of the literal translation
that late lyricist P.K. Mishra used to give to Tamil lyrics
of Rahman songs a decade back. Oops, but this one too stays
on to be strictly situational.
Ok, this one has to be heard to believe. 'Kilimanjaro ladki
parbat ki yaaro.....mohan jadado isko dil mein utaro' - A
song like this is bound to turn you speechless. Really, the
tune isn't bad here and singing by Javed Ali and Chinmayi is
decent too. Still, 'Kilimanjaro'?
If one ignores this aspect of the song, it does promise big
screen experience. |
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'Aizak Asimov Kaa Kela Hai Robo, Aizak Newton Ki
Leelaa Hai Robo' - Let's not even try to go beyond
that. The beats do carry a thump; the sound is on
the same lines as 'Chitti Dance Showcase' and the
Western zing does promise an electrifying outing
once the visuals start making an impression in
Robot. However, for that you wait for the movie to
arrive and not quite give much attention to what
this song by Rags, Yogi B, Madhushree, Kirthi
Sagathia and Tanvi Shah has to |
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offer.
Last to come is 'O Naye Insaan'
- a theme track about the birth of Robot. A slow piece with
a haunting feel to it, this Srinivas D and Khatija Rahman
sung track is strictly situational and doesn't carry much
shelf life.
OVERALL
Robot disappoints. While Rahman himself hasn't come up with
anything exceptional, something which is expected from him
film after film; it's the lyrics that are chief culprit
here. It is clear that a lot has been lost in translation
here, literally so, as the song dubbing Tamil to Hindi just
doesn't work here. |
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Rating: 1.5/5 |
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