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| 'ROCKSTAR' MUSIC REVIEW |
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Music :
A R
Rahman |
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Lyrics :
Irshad Kamil |
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Direction :
Imtiaz Ali |
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Producer :
Dhillin
Mehta |
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Star Cast :
Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Shammi Kapoor, Aditi Rao
Hydari, |
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Kumud Mishra, Piyush Mishra, Shernaz Patel, Moufid Aziz |
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EXPECTATIONS
There are tremendous expectations from the
soundtrack of Rockstar. Reasons are aplenty. This is
more than a decade after Taal that A.R. Rahman is
composing for a full fledged Bollywood musical. The
film is directed by Imtiaz Ali whose Love Aaj Kal
and Jab We Met have created waves when it comes to
music (composed by Pritam). Moreover the young man
in the title role is Ranbir Kapoor who is expected
to be a true 'rockstar' in the title role. With
ever-so-reliable Irshad Kamil as the lyricist, one
expects nothing less than something extraordinary
from Rockstar. Moreover, due to the film's genre,
you do want the album to throw at least 3-4
chartbuster tracks that would play for many more
months to come, if not years. With as many as 14
tracks in the album, one is obviously led to believe
that your wish would indeed come true. |
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MUSIC
As it turns out, Mohit Chauhan is Ranbir Kapoor's
voice in the film, what with the singer appearing in
practically every song that is picturised on the
actor. He begins the album with 'Phir
Se Ud Chala' which is an uncharacteristic
start for an album as one would have expected the
popular number 'Saadda Haq'
to come first. Anyways, more about that later.
Coming back to |
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'Phir Se Ud Chala', it turns out to be a soulful
piece with just a guitar in the background
(something that goes with Ranbir's characterisation
in the film) and though you don't find yourself
singing it along, you are truly mesmerised by the
song that comes straight from the mountains.
It's the sound of 'ya ya ya', something that again
has a 'pahaadi' feel to it, which is heard at the
very beginning of 'Jo Bhi
Main'. With a concert feel to it, this
soft rock number pretty much takes forward the mood
that has been created at the beginning of the album
with 'Phir Se Ud Chala'. It is Mohit's voice that
continues to haunt a listener with 'Jo Bhi Main'
turning out to be yet another 'made for the movie'
number that isn't instantly catchy but is arresting
enough to grab your attention as it plays for those
near five minutes.
While one does like the sound created in Rockstar so
far, the hunt is on for those commercial tracks that
would work across the length and breadth of the
country. An attempt is made in this direction with 'Katiya
Karun' which has a Punjabi setting to it
and has a female singer at the helm of affairs for
the first time in the album. Harshdeep Kaur is the
voice behind the song and she does quite well in
rendering this track that has a folk flavour to it
with a distinct fun element to it that reminds one
of 'Thoda Thoda Pyar' from Love Aaj Kal. With
additional vocals by Sapna Awasthi, 'Katiya Karun'
does well though it still isn't extraordinary by any
means. |
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Next to arrive is a devotional number with A.R.
Rahman, Javed Ali and Mohit Chauhan coming together
for a Sufi outing. Titled 'Kun
Faaya Kun', the song is also the longest
of the lot with a running duration of eight minutes.
Reminding one of 'Khwaja Mere Khwaja' [Jodhaa
Akbar], the track would basically find a following
amongst those who appreciate this genre of music and
are die hard Rahman fans. Also, one wonders whether
this track would actually make its |
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presence felt for the entire eight minutes duration
in the film's narrative.
The album changes track with 'Sheher
Mein' which is basically set as a song recording
in motion. Appearing to be a setting where a composer is
trying to get two different singers sing to a tune, 'Sheher
Mein' has a funny feel to it and is expected to invoke good
laughter when it plays on screen. With cheesy lyrics filling
the song and reminding one of many such parodies that Ram
Gopal Varma has included in his past films, the song has
Mohit Chauhan and Karthik singing in different styles with
former in an experimentation mode and latter going the
conventional way.
'Haawa Haawa' starts off
unconventionally and stays on like that right through its
near six minutes duration. Reminding one of the Western
classical numbers from the era gone by, this Mohit Chauhan
song belongs to the genre that Sanjay Leela Bhansali had
attempted with 'Udi' [Guzaarish] last year. A situational
track where dance is expected to form an integral part of
the affairs, the song also includes additional vocals of
Viviane Chaix, Tanvi Shah, Suvi Suresh and Shalini. An okay
number, it makes one not just a tad impatient and also
wonder if Rockstar would indeed showcase any songs that
would justify the immense hype that had been created all
along. |
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Alma Ferovic is the backup vocalist for 'Aur
Ho' where she is heard right at the
beginning before Mohit Chauhan takes over. As it
turns out, the song is in fact the saddest of the
album so far and makes one hope that the rest of the
album would have something far better to offer. 'Aur
Ho' may do well in the film's narrative but there
too it would have to be used judiciously as it
threatens to slow down the film's pace. Moreover, as
a standalone number it is a strict no-no. |
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However what follows next is a musical piece titled 'Tango
For Taj - Music' which is presumably composed
with Taj Mahal in the background. With a Western treatment
to it, this piece reminds one of the kind that was created
by Rahman for Yuuvraaj. A situational interlude, it is
followed by 'The Dichotomy Of Fame'
after a short while. This one has a predominant Indian feel
to it and is a fusion of 'Shehnai' and 'Guitar' with Balesh
and Kabuli doing the honours. Arrival of these tracks only
make one wonder if the middle portion of Rockstar is fast
losing it's way because though they may help the film, as a
part of the album they end up appealing to only a very niche
set of audience.
Kavita Subamaniam (earlier Krishnamurthy) is heard after a
hiatus in 'Tum Ko' and
it is always welcome to listen to someone who has not yet
lost touch despite her heydays being way back in late 80s
and then a good part of the 90s. A song with an Indian
classical base to it, 'Tum Ko' is quite easy on ears and yet
again reminds one of the sound of Yuuvraaj, especially the
number 'Aaja Main Hawaon'. One of the better numbers to
arrive in this part of the album, it makes one look forward
to what does the reminder of the album has to offer. |
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What follows next is an interesting track that goes
by the title 'Nadaan
Parindey'. A song which is basically a
cry of 'homecoming' for a youngster (in this case
the central protagonist) who has lost his way, 'Nadaan
Parindey' sees coming together of some good lyrics
by Irshad Kamil with Rahman doing well behind the
mike as well. With Mohit Chauhan joining the show,
this situational number should form a part of the
film's pre-climax and make for some good narrative,
courtesy the |
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kind of story telling that one expects from Imtiaz
Ali. Expect a high voltage outing here.
The album shows further escalation with Mohit Chauhan coming
to his own in 'Tum Ho'.
A love song that was always expected from Rahman right from
the beginning of the album, 'Tum Ho' has melody at the core
of it and is as haunting as it gets. With Suzanne D'Mello as
the backup vocalist, 'Tum Ho' stays with you right through
it's five minutes duration and makes you play it all over
again to be savoured.
The wait is finally over with Orianthi's guitar lending a
grand opening to 'Saadda Haq',
the hallmark track of Rockstar. Mohit Chauhan starts the
number rather slow as he debates the virtue of right versus
wrong, only to pick on pace a while later hence resulting in
a number that has chartbuster written all over it. 100
seconds into the song and you know that the hype surrounding
this 'Sufi-rock' number was well justified. A superb number
that can well be expected to take the film's narrative to an
all time high, it also pretty much makes one forget the
rather lukewarm middle portion of the album.
The album ends with a track called 'Meeting
Place' that basically has Ranbir Kapoor mouthing
a single line which is based on a poem by Rumi. One wonders
what purpose does it really solve in the album since it
lasts a mere 70 odd seconds and could possibly convey a
point after it has been heard and seen in the film.
OVERALL
Let the fact be stated - Rockstar is certainly not the kind
of album that one expected it to be. While it isn't quite a
musical that one thought Rahman would come up with for
Ranbir Kapoor here, even Imtiaz Ali would be well aware that
it doesn't have those countless commercial ingredients that
gave an extra zing and spice to his earlier films. Having
said that, there are some interesting songs in this crowded
album that indeed stand out. The album starts off well, has
an un-engaging middle portion but ends with a bang, hence
ensuring that a listener isn't disappointed.
Since there is immense curiosity and excitement to check out
what Rockstar has to offer, the album can be expected to fly
off the shelves/get downloaded in quick time. While initial
sales would be impressive enough, long run of the album
would be dependent upon the impact that the film manages to
make in theatres. |
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Rating: 3.5/5 |
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