Trenchant

BLUE (Hindi Movie) – music review

I was browsing through ARRahman.com and discovered that music for Blue is out. Yeah I’m late, as usual but it took me no time to realize that I’d have to listen to the music right away. As of this writing, I have no idea what this movie BLUE is about. But generally, for me, the movie has not much to do with the music in it, especially in case if it is by ARRahman. This belief came from the fact that there were his numbers that sound heavenly though they came from movies that impressed less; the latest one, Delhi-6 for example. More about ARRahman’s music in a separate post may be; this post intends to review music from BLUE.

Album: Blue – Hindi Movie OST
Music: A R Rahman
Lyrics: Abbas Tyrewala, Mayur puri, Ajit Arora, Sukwinder Singh, Raqueeb Alam
Vocals: Kylie Minogue, Sonu Nigam, Suzanne, Shreya Ghoshal, Sukhwinder Singh, Benny Dayal, Hentry Kuruvilla, Shi Millhouse, Raven Millhouse, Vijay Prakash, Rashid Ali, Blaaze, Raqueeb Alam, Sonu Kakkar, Jaspreet Singh, Neha Kakkar, Dilshad, Udit Narayan, Madhushree, Ujjayinee Roy

The album has seven numbers in all.

1. Chiggy Wiggy- Kylie Minogue, Sonu Nigam & Suzanne; Lyrics: Abbas Tyrewala

A dance number (club probably) with a big name to sport – Kyile Minouge. While I was contemplating what ‘chiggy wiggy’ could mean, the song opens in English. If you have seen Kyile’s videos, you’d know before listening to this number what the expression would be like. But there is a twist in the story (mind you, it’s a Bollywood movie!). Out of nowhere, towards the middle of the song, you get to hear the Punjabi chorus say hoey! Its time for Indianization, enter Sonu Nigam in Hindi. Towards the end, it’s quite a number to dance to at a marriage party.
But I did not find this song any different than the number – ‘zara zara touch me touch me …’ (from the movie Race). That’s that.

2. Aaj Dil – Shreya Ghosal & Sukhwinder Singh; Lyrics: Mayur puri

Does it sound like Sukhwinder sing? Yeah it does. Neither the lyrics nor the tune or the music arrangement seemed to have a purpose. I did not find anything to talk about the song if not calling it just another number on the album.

3. Fiqrana- Vijay Prakash & Shreya Ghosal; Lyrics: Ajit Arora

The opening with the voice (is it called electronic modulating? I’m not sure of the term for this) did not quite sound like Rahman. The chorus gives a feeling of – dhakka laga bukka from Yuva but is far from its brilliance. The music arrangement sounded artificial and electronic. I somehow could not approve of any merit here.

4. Bhoola Tujhe – Rashid Ali; Lyrics: Abbas Tyrewala

I was waiting for this moment…to write about this glorious number. RashidAli – We have heard him sing before(Kabhi Kabhi Aditi & Kahin Toh Hogi Woh from Jaane tu..ya Jaane na) and it sure felt he had one of the best voices that ARRahman introduced to us. The number opens on a mellowing note, marked with simplicity. One doesn’t take much time to realize the sheer élan.
The song is beautiful for several reasons. For one, the mood - someone singing to his khuda (read god) as though they have been closely associated all the while. I would say Rahman has carved himself a niche in rendering grace to such numbers (dil se re, dil gira dafattan, rehna tu, maa tujhe salaam etc). Second reason – the simplicity in music arrangement and instrumentation – stress on the singing and the expression. Wow, I already fell in love with the song. Listened to it over ten times already!

5. Blue Theme – Blaaze, Raqeeb Alam, Sonu Kakkar, Jaspreet Singh, Neha Kakkar & Dilshad; Hindi Lyrics: Raqueeb Alam ; Punjabi Lyrics: Sukwinder Sing

The number starts with the casual – made-over-computer – sound. Though it doesn’t impress to begin with, there are a few elements that catch your attention. The chorus for one (bluooo and buloooo they say). The number might remind us of the Yuva theme again. I have always liked Blaaze as a part of Rahman’s troupe (Saathiya, Yuva, Rang de Basanti, Swades Sivaji, Slumdog Millionaire etc). Not a bad one, but I feel it won’t last long.

6. Rehnuma - Shreya Ghosal &,Sonu Nigam; Lyrics: Abbas Tyrewala

This is supposed to be a soul number. Probably one of those sung as seen at a restaurant. But the mood fades soon as it starts. I could not notice any theme there.:-( Did not interest me except for a few sounds that remind of the ‘James bond’ tune. Nothing more here.

7. Yaar Mila Tha – Udit Narayan, Madhusree, Ujjayinee Roy

This was a good one. Udit Narayan is great as ever. The song opens with a dance number style beat and chorus. Perhaps this is the only number on the album that had chorus that felt fitting. You’d want to follow the lyrics closely so that you won’t miss the story line that the song portrays. It’s a smooth duet I thought.

Over all, the album isn’t the stunning combination of lyrics and music that one would expect from an ARRahman creation. Yet, ‘Bhoola Tujhe’ would be one number from this album I would listen to for a long time to come.

We would have to wait and watch the movie and see what this music means to create on the screen. Meanwhile, checkout their website http://www.bluethefilm.com/

Feel free to post your comments. Thanks for reading.