Jai Ho with Jay Leno

Watch the clip where ARR is totally having a blast while singing Jai Ho @ Jay Leno show. Also love the beautiful soulstirring Latika's theme which he plays while the unknown lady sings. It gives me goosebumps when I see Americans singing Jai Ho song. A sense of pride runs through my veins, the happiness unexplainable.

On a sidenote, I dunno whats with misspelling AR Rahman's name everytime. First it was in Golden globe when Kate Beckinsale addressed hims as AR Raaman and now Jay Leno calls him AJ Raaman...hehehe...crap, but chalega. When one is happy these mistakes look way tooo small to complain about.

ARR nominated for Oscars, not once, not twice...but THRICE !!!!

If I'm not wrong, I think AR Rahman is now officially the first Indian with most Oscar nominations. I'm speechless, spellbounded, and running out of adjectives here. I want to go give him a hug and congratulate him and wish him best of luck. I think I'll be in tears of joy when he performs on stage in Kodak Theater. Man o man this year is turning out to be so good. First there was Obama's presidency and now ARR's first Oscar appearance. Astounding !!!!

There's no doubt that Rahman will win atleast one award, but I wouldn't be surprised if he bags both. Regardless, this is an achievement in itself. A feat which comes as a token of appreciation for all the years of hardwork he's done. Yet another proud moment for India and all Rahman fans.

Jai Ho ARR !!

AR Rahman has made India Proud

With Roja he captured the hearts of many down South. Birth of Rahmaniacs.

With Rangeela he created waves all over India. A phenomenon called Rahmania had begun across the country. More and more Rahmaniacs came to life.

With Bombay Dreams he took Indian Film music to a new level, made his mark in an unconquered territory yet, the Musicals. Rahmaniacs grew..

And today with Slumdog Millionaire he's put India on Global Front, made every Indian proud, made the whole world notice him and his work and finally made the unthinkable happen, becoming the first Indian to win a Golden Globe Award for the Best Original Score !!! Now Rahmaniacs include people from all over the globe.

Wow...What a journey its been from Roja to Slumdog Millionaire. Thank you very much Rahman for filling our ears with some incredible music all these years and Congratulations on behalf of the Billions who now feel honored and proud to be Indians.

Thank you Rahman...and Thank god for making this happen.

And wait...this is not the end...this is just the beginning. Waiting to see more awards, more collaborations, and more unbelievable stuff from Mozart of Hindustan. Jai Ho !!! Oscars here we come.

Slumdog Millionaire - a vibrantly wonderful film

Got to watch this incredibly brilliant film, Slumdog Millionaire, on thursday. I have to admit that I haven't watched Danny Boyle's Trainspotting or 28 weeks later, both of which are critically acclaimed and claimed to be classics. The only reason I got interested in this movie was AR Rahman. I was totally unaware of this project at the beginning, and then started this buzz that a film based on India got rave reviews in London film festival. Further digging into the subject revealed the fact that the music was composed by our own Rahman. What more can I say, this movie got added to my list of "everyday updates".


SdM is a movie based on a novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup, an Indian Diplomat. Set in India, it tells the story of Jamal, a "Chai wala" working in a call center, who becomes the biggest quiz-show winner in history, only to be sent to jail on accusations that he cheated. The movie goes on to tell us how by drawing from the experiences of his own short, yet turbulent and sometimes cruel life he, essentially a slumdog, managed to answer all the twelve questions that led him to the jackpot, and more importantly get his girl.

As this was a free screening, the line was pretty long and most of the audience were non-Indians. I think I just spotted one or two desis, which made me feel special, one of the very few Indians for a movie based entirely on India. There are many reviews giving pretty high ratings for this movie and believe me it truly deserves it. Every scene and detail has been handled very carefully. Even things like subtitles (as there are initial scenes of children completely in hindi) was done so playfully and colorfully. You won't find them at their usual place with white colored fonts, instead they go around the big screen in a way that you concentrate on the scene as well as the words. Master stroke !! Also I loved the way the music blended with the movie. It was a big opportunity for Rahman to showcase his talent and he has pulled it off brilliantly. The background score was amazing. There were times when I didn't know if it was Danny Boyle's direction or Rahman's music which made the scene either so romantic or so intense. I think it was a perfect marriage. There are two songs featured in the movie which give a breath of fresh air amidst moments of heartbreak, tragedy and drama, MIA Paper planes song which comes at an important juncture of the film and the grand Bollywood song-and-dance number which comes right at the end. Danny Boyle makes sure that everyone leaving the theater leave in their best spirits and with a wide smile of their faces.

Another highlight of this movie is its memory narrated structure. It keeps going back and forth from the game show to the jail to Jamal's past experiences, all of them culminating at a pulsating finale. Acting also needs a special mention, as everyone right from the young children did a fantastic job. For about an hour or so the two young kids carry the entire movie in their shoulders which was incredible. Their scenes actually were the most impressive for me and touching. And then there were veterans Irfan Khan and Anil Kapoor who did their part with great panache. Latika(Freida Pinto) was simply beautiful and Jamal(Dev Patel) was extremely believable and so relatable. I'm sure we'll see more of this young lad in the coming years.

Now for the most unforgettable scenes from the movie :~
1) One of the most unforgettable and unimaginable scene fro SdM was the gross-out comedy sequence of youngest Jamal caught in a predicament when the big bollywood star Amitabh lands in a helicopter at the slums and he's stuck in the toilet ( restroom ), the only way to get an autograph being to jump in the shitttttt...You've gotta see the expression on everybody's faces...extremely hilarious.
2) Hindu's attacking Muslims in the slums. This showcased the brilliant directorial abilities of Danny Boyle.
3) The nail-biting sequence where Jamal's brother gets Jamal to the orphanage goonda to showcase his singing abilities, and how he rescues him.
4) The MIA-paper planes song sequence.
5) The magnificent Tajmahal and younger Jamal's story of how and why Tajmahal was built.
6) The railway station chase sequence with superb music.
7) The tension filled climax.
8) Finally the end credits fun filled Bollywood dance number "Jai Ho".

SdM is a journey through that part of India which is seldom seen or heard these days. It boldly showcases that section of people who are at the most neglected both by the huge Indian media and the government. I'm sure no Indian film maker would have dared to touch such a subject thinking about money prospects and for that I thank Danny Boyle for presenting this movie in such a delightful fashion. I hope he gets the gold, if u know what I mean. The underlining motto of this movie is Destiny. Whatever happens, happens for a reason and it is written to happen that way. Something which I personally believe in. Do you believe in that ???

SdM opens in select theaters on November 12th. Let the journey begin.

Gajini First look

Right when everyone are swept by the Tsunami called Yuvvraaj, Aamir releases the first look of Gajini. To me this has doubled, tripled my expectations from the movie. We see a HULKed up Aamir sporting many tatoos with pictures of his past in the background. Pretty much tells us the story. I'm sure girls are gonna go bonkers over this new look of Aamir.

And this also means another good news...the music release is round the corner..

Yuvvraaj - The Musical released !!!!!

Music Director: A R Rahman
Lyricist: Gulzar
Label: T-series

-= TrackList =-

01. Yuvvraaj - Main Hoon Yuvvraaj
02. Yuvvraaj - Tu Meri Dost Hain
03. Yuvvraaj - Shano Shano
04. Yuvvraaj - Tu Muskura
05. Yuvvraaj - Mastam Mastam
06. Yuvvraaj - Zindagi
07. Yuvvraaj - Dil Ka Rishta
08. Yuvvraaj - Manmohini Morey
09. Yuvvraaj - Shano Remix

Initial fans reaction is mixed. Some love it, some like it while other's hate it. Many feel its the most different album in a long time because of the western classical ingredients in all songs. All this only reminds me of the time when Taal was released and how many just dumped the album saying things like boring, soulless an stuff like that. What happened after few weeks is history though. So thats great news for us.

As I always say if we like AR Rahman's album instantly, then its a Hit and if we don't like it in first listen then its a Superhit. There can only be two results.

I'm yet to listen to the songs. I've already ordered the album online. Till then unable to resist my eagerness to listen to the songs in high quality I am shamelessly downloading high quality version of the album. I think that's fair enough.

Yuvvraaj First Look

Kisna was pathetic. Yaadein was not even in my yaadein the minute i finished watching it. I haven't yet watched Mr. Ghai's Black and White. I don't think I'll ever watch it. But yet I am excited for his latest offering Yuvvraaj. And why ????

One thing for sure is AR Rahman. He's been having a great year so far both in hindi and tamil and still the best is yet to come. We also have Gulzar penning beautiful poetry to the tunes set by Rahman. And then yet again Subhash Ghai is coming up with a musical. His previous one being Taal which was brilliant in terms of music. So, AR Rahman, Gulzar and Subhash Ghai - isn't it already a music lovers dream??? Also this one has Salman and Katrina, I guess the current hot pair. I'm not so good at keeping up with hottest pairs in bollywood. They just keep changing everytime a new movie releases. And finally there's the one actor who looks more and more younger as he grows old, Anil Kapoor. Check out the latest outstanding trailer.



I think Subhash Ghai has a winner here. Atleast the promo looks very promising, with stunning cinematography mixed with great locations and an amazing tune in the background. Also the names appearing on violin was a brilliant stroke. Full marks for a great first promo Mr.Ghai.

New promo from JTYJN

New promos, new excitement, new discussions, all add up to more expectations, and why not ?? we just have 2 more days for the soundtrack to release. This is the song based on the first promo's catchy music. The song's structure however is convoluted, or we can safely put it as Rahman's style. I'm sure its gonna be catchy after few listens and after hearing it completely.

JTYJN soundtrack releasing on May 20th

I hate when things get postponed..JTYJN audio was supposed to release on May 15th, but now due to some reason its pushed to May 20th :(.

So till then atleast I managed to get the tracklist. In total 8 songs with 2 repeats / remixes. Damn...6 more days !!!!

Here's the Tracklist for Jaane Tu...ya jaane na -

Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Zindagi (3:41)
Rashid Ali
Pappu Cant Dance (4:27)
Blaze, Mohd. Aslam, Tanvi, Anupama Deshpande, Benny Dayal, Tanvi, Darshana, Satish Subramanium
Jaane Tu Mera Kya Hai (3:41)
Runa Rizvi
Nazrein Milaana Nazrein Churaana ( 3:57)
Swetha Bhargave, Naresh Iyer, Satish Chakravarthye, Tanvi, Darshana, Benny Dayal, Anupama Deshpande
Tu Bole Main Boloon (4:36)
A R Rahman
Kahin To Hogi Ho (5:05)
Rashid Ali, Vasundhara Das
Jaane Tu Meri Kya Hai - 1 (5:44)
Sukhwinder Singh
Pappu Cant Dance - Remix (4:27)
Anupama Deshpande, Benny Dayal, Benny Dayal, Blaze, Tanvi, Darshana, Satish Subramanium, Mohd. Aslam

While waiting for JTYJN's audio, you can now check out Ada's second teaser. We get to hear a beautiful humming in the background...and thats about it. Can't they come up with atleast 20 sec trailers ?? 10 sec is way tooooo short...kills me

Innovative Promotion for Ada's music

Today I came across a news in Businessofcinema website that AR Rahman, Big Music and Nokia team have joined hands to give young Indians a chance to remix two leading tracks from Rahman's latest offering "ADA...a way of life". This is the first time ever that the beacon of Indian music is allowing listeners to remix his compositions.

More on this news - Click here

I think this is a brilliant way to promote the movie which other than AR Rahman, who's the only big name associated, has a list of unknowns/debutants to its credits. And guess what the Winner gets rewarded with......A chance to spend one day with the Maestro himself in his studio, to compose the remixed songs in Ada Soundtrack. Oh man !! somebody's dream is gonna turn into reality soon.

This is what Rahman had to say "India is full of talented young people and this contest is my way of unleashing their creativity. Nokia and Big Music have come up with a very interesting concept and I am looking forward to see how the listeners interpret my music and give it a new form."

I was sad when some of the memorable gems like Bose, Meenaxi, Tehzeeb and Kisna went kinda unnoticed due to either lack of publicity or lack of star value. But the story is different now with makers of several movies coming up with a wide variety of innovative strategies in promoting their movies. Good luck Rahman for both Ada and JTYJN, I'm sure your hardwork will get noticed and win you lot of accolades and more and more fans.

Here's Ada tracklist I found in the official website http://www.arrahman.com/. It's gonna be a musical treat with 10 songs !!!!!

ADA - A Musical Journey By A. R. Rahman

1. Ishq Ada (Male Version) - Rashid Ali, Raquib Alam(lyrics)

2. Ishq Ada - Parul Mishra, Raquib Alam(L)

3. Gumsum - Alka Yagnik, Sonu Nigam, Nusrat Badr(L)

4. Hawa Sun Hawa - Alka Yagnik, Sonu Nigam, Nusrat Badr(L)

5. Gulfisha - Sunidhi Chauhan, Sonu Nigam, Viviane Chaix, Nusrat Badr(L)

6. Hai Dard - Udit Narayan, Nusrat Badr(L)

7. Milo Wahan Wahan- Alka Yagnik, Jayachandran, Chorus, Nusrat Badr(L)

8. Tu Mera Hain - Chithra, Sukhwinder Singh, Naresh Iyer, Nusrat Badr(L)

9. Maherbaan - A. R. Rahman, Raquib Alam(L)

10. Maherbaan - (Instrumental Solo Guitar - Sanjeev Thomas)

Can this year get anymore better, our Boss wins both Best Music Director and Best Background Music award for Guru in Zee Cine Awards 2008...wooooohooooo

Rahman's Jaane Tu ya Jaane Na and Ada

Rahmaniacs have a reason to celebrate now. Two albums are gonna release soon, may be in the month of May for which trailers are already out. Sakkarakatti is another awaited ARR album in Tamil. I guess Ada might be the first one to be out followed by Jaane Tu ya jaane Na. From the trailer it looks like JTYJN is gonna be a fun, rocking, peppy and youth album, may be in the lines of Rang De Basanti, which would be fantastic from Rahman. Ada seems to be more innocent, deep and delicate love story, so we can expect some mindblowing tunes from Rahman saab :). Here are the just released trailers -

Jaane Tu... ya Jaane Na





ADA - A Musical Journey By A. R. Rahman

Shauk Hai - Ethereal song from Guru

Some songs are melodious, some are beautiful, and then there are some which go on to touch hearts. Shauk Hai is one of those songs. It was quite unfortunate that this song didn't find place in the original Guru Cd. But it later got released in "A.R.Rahman - Greatest Hits" CD under Sony-BMG label.



Whenever I'm longing for something, I'm a bit down or feel voidness I take shelter in this song. It kinda injects confidence in me, makes me understand that there's more to life than this. The lyrics stress the importance of simple things in life which are actually the most precious things that we fail to appreciate in our daily lives. And that we only will understand if we come to know that one day the candle of our heart will stop burning. Thats precisely the story of Meenu from the movie Guru, which AR Rahman beautifully captured in his song. A Masterpiece !!!

AR Rahman's KM Music Conservatory

Whatever AR Rahman does, we either admire or get inspired. Check out the video where ARR and few other music professionals talk about his "once a dream, now a reality" KM Music Conservatory.

Rediff published some additional information in their article Now, you can learn music from A R Rahman

Thank you Rahman for this great initiative. I'm sure every single aspiring musician will be delighted with this news. I just wished this had come 10 yrs ago when I was deciding whether to take up Engineering or Medicine :(

AR Murugadoss arrested !!!!

I always wonder why the movies I have huge expectations on gets into some sort of trouble. Rang De Basanti had some issues with animals being ill treated. Then it was Fanaa which had problems releasing in Gujarat. Then Jodha Akbar for lot of unwanted reasons and film getting banned from Rajastha and MP. And down south Godfather movie was stalled for a long time before getting released and becoming huge hit. Now its the turn for Tamil movie remake Ghajini starring Aamir Khan. Director of the movie, AR Murugadoss, was arrested yesterday by the Salem police for reasons best known to movie industry folks.

Full news here - Behindwoods

Ofcourse this is going to hamper the progress of the much awaited movie. But after watching Taare Zameen Par, my confidence on Aamir as a director has double, tripled...quadrupled. I sincerely hope the issue regarding director's arrest is resolved soon, and if not, it'd be more interesting and exciting if Aamir takes up this project and completes it himself. I think he'll do a tremendous job, considering the fact that the second half of the Tamil version was badly directed by Murugadoss. Lets wait and watch...

Jodha Akbar - why these controversies and contradictory news ?

Whats this now..few days ago on 22nd Feb I read @ Rediff site this exciting news about Jodha Akbar makin over 34 crores in India and that its gonna make more and today I read on the same site that Jodhaa Akbar stumbles in India, races ahead abroad. Why can't a website stick to what it proclaimed and give the right news to people ? I don't want to read one day that Mr.X is dead in an unfortunate accident. And the next day in the same site I read Mr.X was saved by people in the last minute and he's healthy. And the 3rd day I read Mr.X died on the way. I mean we just can't trust the site anymore...Some news are damaging for people..and these kind of news items are really damaging for the movie.

First news --> Money spinning Jodha Akbar - http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/22ja.htm

Next news --> Jodhaa Akbar stumbles in India, races ahead abroad-
http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/26jodha.htm

According to a release from Imagesmiths, the public relations firm that was handling Jodhaa Akbar for UTV, the film made Rs 52.70 crores in India in 10 days, and Rs 21.30 crores in the overseas market. And the movie was produced for Rs. 40 crores. I don't think I'm that stupid, but to me it looks like...mmmm...lets see...Rs. 52.70 + Rs.21.30 = Rs. 74 crores which is more than 40 crores. So how in the world Rediff says Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodhaa Akbar would have become a loser at the box office if it had not done brilliantly overseas.

All this even when the movie isn't released in Rajasthan, where the stupid govt. banned the movie for the fact that they don't agree Jodha was Akbar's wife, when they shamelessly accepted Mughal-e-azam which showed Akbar and Jodha happily married. God save the ignorant people !!!

I'm reading many complaints against the movie in several sites and I think I have an answer for most of them if not for all as some complaints are just stupid and based out of ignorance.

1) Akbar's wife was not Jodha, it was Maan Kunwar - You think Ashutosh was stupid to make a movie about them without even researching this one story ? Or do you question the historians who wrote about Akbar and Jodha ? Before the start of the movie, Ashu clearly states that there are many versions of the story and this is his version. He also says there are many names of Jodha in several books and he's stuck to Jodha. What more do you want ?? You'll boycott the movie for this insignificant thing ????

2) There is no mandir in Agra Mahal - I don't know about that. But I felt that was a very noble gesture. Ashu just potrayed Akbar as a benevolent king. Whats wrong with that ?? I remember reading in my history class that he was the only Moghul who was tolerant of many religions. This was one way to showcase that and I thought it was not bad. And honestly, once the movie went in the love angle between Jodha and Akbar, I was just lost in it...I didnt freakin care about any historical inaccuracies.

3) Akbar never married jodha as hindu girl,they forced her to accept Islam - Well again...several historians have several versions of the story...Historians who hated Akbar and Moghuls in general would have potrayed him in that way. Personally I think if they had shown Jodha as forced to get married, then movie would have surely not been released or the screen would have been set on fire. Is that what we all want ?

4) Rajputs were shown as loser(in reality they were great warriors) - I think this is the big one. This must have been the main cause for folks in Rajasthan not able to see the movie. Well truth does hurt. Its inevitable. Rajputs might have been great warriors, no doubt. But under circumstances they had to do things to save their territory, their people. In that way I think Raja Bharmal was a great king. He could sacrifice his own daughter to save the land and millions of people living in his land. Find me another person in these times who did that.

5) Hrithik did not suit the role. Directors should choose more suitable actors for such roles instead of their star value - I strongly feel Jodha Akbar got that initial rush at Box office mainly because of Hrithik. He was charismatic as Akbar and carried off well. Sometimes star value does help in movies like such. That will make people go and watch them on big screen. Else they'll be avoided no matter how good the movie is. Remember Bose..the Forgotten Hero !!! How it became Bose..the Forgotten Movie.

6) The length of the movie - I watched the movie 2 times. Believe me I never felt it was long. I didnt care much for the initial 20 mins which had the history going. But I loved each and every moment of the love story between Jodha and Akbar. I loved the sets, palaces, costumes, grandeur, acting and most importantly the MUSIC. There was something going on everytime. In these fast moving times I know its hard to even press talk button and wait till the other person picks up his / her fone. Instead we do SMS and keep going. But I think once a while it's really worth to sit back and enjoy beauty at its own pace.

So there you go...those are my 2 cents. I personally felt the movie was very good. I thought Hrithik did a brilliant job. AR Rahman's music was heart-warming. Aish looked graceful. And even the rest of the cast were perfect like Kulbhushan, Punam Sinha, Sonu Sood, Ila Arun and Akbar's brother in law ( forgot his name ). The pace of the movie was just right. Please don't watch this movie to complain about any historical inaccuracies. I'll tell you a better way...complain about inaccuracies in movies like Dhoom2 where Abhishek was able to stay under water with his Jet Ski turned on for a long time, or movies like Partner where a toy rocket designed by a kid could almost kill Salman and he had to let Govinda leave the yacht.

I loved 300 for its sheer painting like visuals. For its awesome effects, slow motion fights and superb acting.
I loved Troy for Brad Pitt and his brilliant potrayal of Achilles and once again for its effects and music. Also for Hector potrayed by Eric Bana.
I loved Gladiator for Ridley Scott's amazing direction, Russell Crowe and the unique subject which also had entertaining fights like chariot fight, fights with Tigers and ofcourse the finale in Rome.
And finally I loved Jodha Akbar for Hrithik, AR Rahman's music, grand sets and costumes, Azeem-o-shaan's choreography and Ashutosh's potrayal of the beautiful love story.

Jodha Akbar gets 4 stars from IndiaFM !!!!!

Wowwwww...Quite unbelievable...4 stars out of 5 coming from Taran Adarsh, that too for a good movie !!! I mean c'mon he's the same guy who gave Swades 1.5 stars, Rang De Basanti 2.5 stars when he gave Heyy Babyy 4 stars and the disgusting Kabhi Alvida naa kehna 4.5 stars.

So should we believe him or not ??? I think its in best interest for everyone to judge a movie from their own perspective. I'm kind of following the trend of how Taran rates the movies and looking back at history he gives high marks for big banners and entertaining movies, but low marks for experimental or sensible movies, which I think is just absurd.

However I'm very glad that JA has turned out to be an outstanding movie. I was very very skeptical after watching the first trailer on youtube and lack of proper promotion. Although I did have some confidence on Ashutosh and Hrithik. Even ARR had told in an interview that he was very proud to be part of this movie. And what a perfect timing...Jodha Akbar would be my valentines day movie :).

By the way is it time someone shows Mr. Jogindher Tuteja the door ? Note how he finished the music review for this movie :

"Jodhaa Akbar disappoints, and how! Though the music of Lagaan was good (catching on more after the film's success), Swades was always a few steps behind. However, Jodhaa Akbar does not have much to cheer about and fails to go an extra distance. "

On Jashn e bahara song he said "However, one misses the kind of punch as expected from the first romantic song of the album and the final outcome turns out to be little lackluster with not much in the song pulling a listener for a repeat hearing."

And he gave 2 stars to the album.

Now Taran says "A.R. Rahman's music is not the type that you take to instantly, but yes, it gels beautifully with the mood of the film. 'Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah' and 'Jashn-e-Bahara' are the best tracks in terms of tune."

Can we ever get more contradictory statements than this in the same website ??? Didn't Jogindher know the music was for a period movie or did he just expect some club songs or techno songs ???

Jodha Akbar Music Review

Huh !! Finally Jodha Akbar's audio has hit the stands. I believe it got delayed in India for some reason. However Sony has released it worldwide and believe me, it was totally worth the wait. After listening to all the songs including instrumentals, I feel there can be only two words that would be apt to describe the album -Pure and Eternal.

Ashutosh and AR Rahman combo has got another winner in this album. Its got 5 songs and 2 instrumentals all of which are class apart and beautiful in their own terms. There was a time when I felt only Mani Ratnam knew how to extract brilliant music from the Musical Wizard. With the arrival of Lagaan that view changed and I was very happy that ARR had got another good director who has a very good ear for music and who appreciates good soulful music. In Jodha Akbar we get to hear ARR in his best creative form who's taken his own time in coming up with some extraordinary music for yet another period film. I didn't just want to write a review, rather I wanted to share the musical experience of Jodha Akbar, because not so often we come across albums like these. So here it is..

The album opens with Azeem o shaan shehenshaah. Right when you hear the sounds of horn followed by the thumping sound of drums, you get transported musically to the era which you've only witnessed in history books. In no time the blood starts to gush inside your veins and you feel like going with the crowd Azeem o shaan shehanshah Farmaan awaah..hamesha hamesha salaamat rahe.. Just when you are already captivated by the mukhda and the very catchy chorus chan chanananana line in the antara and want to keep hearing it again and again, you are grabbed and put right in the middle of battlefield where you hear clanging sounds of swords which form the interlude. Everything about this song is so perfect, so grand, so appropriately placed, in other words so Rahmanesque. Its just amazing how Rahman brilliantly matches his music with the essence of the situation, the idea, the thought and the event of Glorifying Emperor Akbar... a composition which even Akbar would be proud of. Marhaba..O..Marhaba...

We all have heard innumerous melodies offlate. Very easy on ears, quite understandable in the first hearing, and immediately on our lips. But Rahman reminds us every now and then that melodies can also be complex, unconventional and yet be scintillating and pleasant to hear. In Lamhon ke is one of those compositions. Its a mesmerizing song sung both beautifully and soulfully by Sonu Nigam, who's for sure reserved a nomination this year. If the first song was about people singing praises to Akbar, this one goes a bit further by digging into the heart and mind of Akbar and his realization of Love...hmmm Ishq hai saari hawaaon mein...The antara portions induce lot of goosebumps with the high crescendo regions and the intoxicating choral renditions..and then arrives Madhushree with her nightingale voice..the way she sings can be best described like a painting...a painting of a river..a free flowing river that meanders happily and ends up in a lake...where everything comes to a standstill..and then we hear Sonu whispering to us...
Mere khwabon ke is gulistaan mein, tumsehi tum bahaar chaayi hai ..
phoolon mein rang mere the lekin, inme khushbu tumhi se aayi hai...
a moment of absolute bliss. I don't want anything more from this album. I've got it all in this one song. The song where you get filled with peace and harmony and Javed saab drowns you in his poetic ocean. A mellifluous number which would be remembered for a long time.

The first thing we notice when we hear the next song Jashn e bahara is Javed Ali's laid back casual singing style. I couldn't believe he's the same guy who earlier sung another chartbuster song "Kajra re". After this song, I'm sure he'll be placed on par with other top singers of our country. Credit goes to none other than ARR for bringing out the best from him. This is a lilting melody and an instantly appealing song. It brings with it a whiff of fresh air. Javed Akhtars lyrics are top notch here. Give close hearing and you'll observe intricate details and brilliance throughout the song, various layers with different instruments producing pleasing sounds. All put together very carefully by Rahman who manages quite effortlessly to produce a beautiful romantic melody. A strong contender for the song of the year.

Later in this album we also have an instrumental of the same song with Naveen's flute replacing Javed Ali's vocals. Notice closely and you'll find that the entire song is not just played with one flute. Both the antaras have different flutes used, I guess to break the monotonous feel, and it works pretty well. A very soothing melody, the power of which you can only realize when you switch off all lights in your room and give it a hear. An amazing instrumental.

The next song is a spiritual qawwali number Khwaja mere Khwaja written by Kashif. ARR's already proved that he's the undisputable king when it comes to spiritual numbers with songs like Piya Haji Ali and Zikr. With Khwaja mere Khwaja, he's added one more to the list. Throughout the song he does some great rendition moving easily from ultra mild to high pitches. The mukhda part is extremely catchy and the entire song is backed strongly by one instrument, tabla, the sound of which is crisp and vibrant. The arrival of Oboe instrument in the interlude signals a serious moment which we might only understand when we watch the movie. Its a number which truly belongs to Rahman.

The album also comes with Khwaja mere Khwaja instrumental version which surprisingly sounds very different from the vocal version. Oboe instrument dominates the full song with subtle orchestration in the background. Parts of the song reminded me of the Bose theme, but that might also be due to the instrument itself. The whole song has a mystic feel to it and its a song which one can hear in repeat mode. I just wished it was a bit more longer. Brilliant, just brilliant instrumental.

Ashutosh - ARR combo album is incomplete with a bhajan song. And so we have Mann Mohana which surprisingly has a very rich orchestration in its interludes for a devotional number elevating the song to higher levels. The song also has a haunting melody which takes time to sink in. For me its few levels above his older devotional numbers like Pal Pal hai bhari and O Palanhare. The orchestration with flute tune still reverberates in my ears even after I finish listening to this song. Believe me...give it sometime and you'll get submerged in this song. Special mention has to be made on new singer Bela Shende who's sung this song very passionately.

And so the album ends on a strong note, with all the tracks being gems, with every track having an identity being the best possible song in its own category. Not often do people make movies such as Jodha Akbar in India. And for that I really respect Ashutosh in coming up with this movie in which he's invested a lot of time, money and effort. To compose music for such a film needs lot of dedication, imagination, research and understanding of directors vision and Rahman pulls it off with great élan. I can't imagine anyone else coming up with such a score which not only compliments the movie so well, also raises the bar for Ashutosh to make the visuals even more enticing. And for that reason alone this album truly deserves 5 stars. I think a lot more is in store for us when we actually witness the movie, in the form of BGM.

Every year starts with a Rahman's album which goes on to grabs numerous awards. By taking historical facts into account and adding Rahman's consistency and his dependability factor, I think he's got it this year as well. Also going by the hype and the promos with music, I have a strong feeling Jodha Akbar is going to be a classic film. I hope Ashutosh doesn't disappoint me. I don't have to specifically mention that this is a must have album or its better than this and better than that...Here's the fact -

There is good music, there is great music and then there is AR Rahman's music.

Do I have to say more ??? Go grab your CD right away...

Jodha Akbar mp3s out on web - Don't be Fooled

Today my friend scrapped me on orkut saying that mp3 songs of Jodha Akbar have been released. I was really surprised because I've been closely following every event related to that movie, and to my knowledge only the audio launch took place recently and they were releasing the audio on 15th of this month. So I googled it immediately and downloaded the mp3s, you know...just for curiosity sake :). I do intend to buy the original as I always have. I was shocked when I heard the first song "Khamoshi se Pukar".

This ain't Jodha Akbar...its Warriors of Heaven and Earth song by AR Rahman..a Chinese movie. Damn whoever posted these songs on web. This is ridiculous. And added to that people who have downloaded these songs were praising the uploader. I hope atleast after they hear the songs they'll realize that this is not the official songs from the movie. Even the rest of the songs are mere audio rip offs from the movie trailers and audio release function.

So PLEASE...PLEASE DON'T DOWNLOAD JODHA AKBAR MP3s....It ain't real...

The only real and latest news are these videos from the Audio launch :

Jashn Bahara almost Full song :~


In Lamhon ke daaman mein :~


Kwaja mere kwaja :~


Mann Mohanaa :~

CNN-IBN Song of the year - Tere Bina

This is really great. Rubaroo was the CNN-IBN song of the year in 2006. And now Tere Bina. Congrats Rahman..hope we get to hear many more amazing compositions from you in the coming years.

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/55267/.html

Jodhaa Akbar new promos out

I don't know whats making UTV wait for such a long time to promote Jodhaa Akbar in all the channels. I know its happening, but for an epic movie like this, its way too slow and subtle. The way they released the first poster was amazing. Kept the tension going. But then from then till now, there was just 1 main trailor, of which a bad print was circulating all over the web. And now I hear the news of Big Music backing out from the music rights. In a way its good, now UTV would hand it to Sony BMG, who released the music of RDB and Guru in consecutive years and they went on to become huge hits. But I wonder why all this confusion in the very last minute. Now Ashutosh has removed Jan 25th date from the website. So we can expect some more delay in the movie release.

I just hope from this moment they aggresively promote the music and enticing visuals from the movie. On that note, here's the latest promo which I saw on youtube, featuring the song "Jashn bahaara". Sounds like a beautiful melodious song. I hope we don't wait long to hear the full song.