1.19.2008

Jodhaa Akbar Soundtrack

A.R.Rahman isn’t new to historical or period films. A.R.Rahman, who always wants to experiment with new sounds, is keen to compose music for such historical movies without any constraints on choice of instruments and sounds, for the sake of authenticity to the period. So, considering ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ being a film set in the Mughal period, if you expect some simple, classically inclined music like that of Naushad’s score for Taj Mahal or Mughal-E-Azam, you are bound to be disappointed or surprised depending upon the openness of your mind.

No matter, whether the lovers are from 18th century or 21st century, the emotions are same and Rahman takes this logic as a token for his freedom to do whatever he wants. He restricts only when it is utmost necessary and otherwise lets his creativity flow infinitely in this soundtrack. But the good thing about Rahman is that even with all liberties, he never goes overboard or weird or make it sound so alien to the movie’s setup to prove his experimentation skills. The songs are an eclectic mix of Javed Akthar's beautiful poetry, contemporary sounds, traditional instruments, classical melodies and western classical orchestration.

“Azeem-O-Shahenshah” is a majestic song with every beat and its thump singing the praise of the shahenshah and comes out proving that Rahman is the real Shahenshah when it comes to matching the visual grandeur with his music. The solo horn piece, majestic lines, the soulful chorus, varied percussions, and extremely catchy phrases of melody, and above all the sound of Rahman that it creates when all those elements come together makes this an instantly likeable track.

“Jashn-E-Bahaara” is a breezy romantic melody without much of complexities in its structure like other songs. The simple melody with Javed Ali’s velvety rendition sounds heavenly. There are not too many layers of instruments running in the background and the melody just unfolds with effective chords and instrument sounds are just sprinkled into the song to create a pleasant ambience around the melody.

“In Lamhon ke daaman” is highly unpredictable and goes through a lot of variations. It alternates between a soothing melody and an alluring crescendo of chorus and the transition is effectively seamless and gives us a lot of goose-bump moments in the song. Especially when it returns to the main melody after a high decibel crescendo, the feeling you get cannot be expressed in words. The melody sounds serene on divine vocals of Sonu nigam. The strains of Santoor and Sitar sprinkled throughout the track tries to keep the song grounded to the sound of period and its musical tradition.

“Khwaja Mere Khwaja” is another typical Rahman’s catchy qawwali number with indispensable multi layered vocals, bass lines, Tabla and additional fresh rhythm layers. It takes sometime for the flow of the melody to sink in but it sure does after 2 or 3 listening. Rahman’s rendition is little different and tends to be more spiritual.

“Mann Mohana” though starts like a typical bhajan, gets richer in orchestration in the interludes and flute flourishes adds a mystic flavour to the song. The song sounds really too long, tedious and boring on first listening, but once we get acquainted with the turns in the phrases of the melody, it is likeable.

The instrumentals are not the usual ones we get to hear in every other soundtrack. It seems that Rahman has taken a lot care to make us hear the instrumentals, without skipping it. Navin’s flute traverses those extra octaves which we don’t hear in the vocal version. And to avoid being repetitive, the first part of the song is played on a huskier bass flute and the second part is performed with a saccharine high pitched flute. Even if this track comes immediately after the vocal version, you won’t feel like skipping it.

No one could have thought of a song like ‘Khwaja mere Khwaja’ being performed with a western classical orchestra. With Harp replacing the Tabla rhythm and strings adding an emotional depth, Oboe dominates the song playing the lead melody. The instrumental of ‘Khwaja Mere Khwaja’ is just an out of the world idea and composition.

So the final verdict is that Jodhaa Akbar music is not a wannabe classic, its gonnabe a classic.

PS: If you are a diehard Lagaan fan, you may also be interested in reading ’Listening Lagaan’.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

//So the final verdict is that Jodhaa Akbar music is not a wannabe classic, its gonnabe a classic//
Good one :)

Karthik said...

Very well-written with all the minute details.Your revu speaks volumes abt. the understanding of ARR's Music which I loved. Great revu!

The Lagaan one was an extensive work man. I am still, in progress, listening to them. Good work there too!

P.S. Suresh Kumar said...

Aparna and Kathik - Thanks.

Anonymous said...

short and sweet :)

expecting a detailed blog on JA's BGM soon :)

Unknown said...

Hey Suresh ..

"So the final verdict is that Jodhaa Akbar music is not a wannabe classic, its gonnabe a classic" ... liked that!

Nice review ... as always. Liked couple of songs when I heard first. Rest is about to sink in ...

Smiles,
Vinayak

P.S. Suresh Kumar said...

Anon - Yes, even I am expecting for the same.

Vinayak - It will sink in for sure... keep listening..

Parthi said...

i have to be greatful for your observation of the different flutes used in the Jashn Bahaara instrumental! simply splendid! and the part in Kwaja instrumental where theres nice orchestration wiht great violins makes you feel on top of the world! awesome music !

P.S. Suresh Kumar said...

Parthi - The instrumentals are really special in this soundtrack...

Anonymous said...

This is a wow from Rahman. For me only 'Mann Mohana' is not working at all. Otherwise all the tracks are delight, especially Rahman's self-crooned Khwaja-mere-khwaja. Have been humming it all the time.

But as much as it's sweet Jashn-E-Bahaara's pallavi somehow reminds me some other tamil track. Couldn't get what it is.

Prabakar Ramalingam said...

Have you heard 'Marhaba Yoa Musthafa' from the film by Rahman 'Al Risalah'. Really it is a melting song... Keeping it in loop for the whole day

P.S. Suresh Kumar said...

Prabakar - Haven't heard the song... Are the CD's out?

Amjath said...

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. In terms of choreography, Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah is awe-inspiring, while the execution of Khwaja Mere Khwaja is outstanding. Rahman's background score is simply extra-ordinary.

given indiafm JA movie review

P.S. Suresh Kumar said...

Amjath - I read it yesterday.. it is good to know that... waiting to watch the movie this weekend

Amjath said...

Hi suresh,

where u post ur movie review man.......

am waiting for that...

regards
Amjath

Amjath said...

where can i find ur JA movie review...

With Regards
Amjath

P.S. Suresh Kumar said...

I am Watching JA tommorrow...