Film maker Rakeysh Mehra, composer A.R. Rahman and lyricist Prasoon Joshi come together after Rang de Basanti to give one of the finest score in years for Delhi-6. The sum total of all the songs from the movie sounds completely different from Rang de Basanti yet there are a lot of similarities: the album has some of the finest compositions of Hindustani Raga based music yet it has enough contemporary sound to make you groove. The moment you switch on the album it takes you on a journey of the old walled city through its lyrics and music and that itself is a triumph for the composer and the lyricist. Anyone remotely connected to the ways and culture of old Delhi would instantly identify with the music.
Like Rang de Basanti the album opens with a religious prayer, an Aarti as opposed to the Gurubani in the earlier album. While the Gurubani was short Aarti Tumre Bhavan Mein is slightly long but equally calm and spiritual. The album gets going with the second track Arziyaan a Sufi Qawwali in praise of Nizamuddin Auliya and many other Sufi saints which is a long standing tradition of old Delhi. Javed Ali has finally proven why he has become the chosen one for the genius composer. He has put his soul behind this song. This is a major step up from the likes of Guzarish and other modern songs he has belted out in recent past. Arziyan steeped in pure Hindustani traditional singing style with tablas, harmonium and chorus with very challenging Antras is a triumph for Rahman, Prasoon, Javed Ali and Kailash Kher who after a long time has shown why he is the best at this genre. It would almost be impossible for someone to replicate Ustaad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's thumri Bhor Bhaye for a Hindi movie. Shreya Ghosal is chosen to perform this impossible task and she comes out sounding better then ever. Except for one small blemish of a screech at a high note, Shreya has rendered this thumri as only the Mangeshkar sisters would have done. Newcomer Ash King sings the next song Dil Gira Dafatan in a soft and sensuous voice as required for this slow romantic ballad. The song sounds quite different from any Rahman number so far. With just a non stop minimal chords and sudden strains of violins once in a while this song has some of the Urdu vocabulary you would find only in a Gulzar song. Genda Phool, a folk song, has all the ingredients of Namak Ishq Ka including the lead vocalist Rekha Bhardwaj. The melody and the singing style though traditional folk, Rahman fuses it with some modern techno beats. The outcome is simply great. If Khoon Chala from Rang de Basanti established Mohit Chauhan as a singer Masakali will propel him to big league singing. Easily the most popular song, not necessarily the best, Masakali relies heavily on the phonetics of the lyrics which forms the basis of the song set in an unusually low scale to begin with. Mohit from the low scales goes up to a falsetto mouthing the complicated lyrics efficiently over a steady rhythm and accordion being the main instruments used. Hey Kaala Bandar falls in the same category as Masakali but is more retro and funky with loads of English lyrics interspersed with Hindi. The song though remains the weakest link in the whole album might just become the most popular with the young listeners. No Rahman album is complete without him donning the role of a singer. So Rahman gets behind the microphone for Rehna Tu giving a sterling rendition. The song mainly driven by the melody and lyrics, Rehna Tu sounds completely serene and soulful. Tanvi Shah, Claire and Vivianne joins Blaze and Benny Dayal for the title track Delhi 6 reminiscent of Khalbali and Pathshala.. Though the sounds are very much similar the structure of this title track is more layered and the lyrics descriptive of the city. Delhi-6 is as much Prasoon Joshi's album as much as it is Rahman's. Both compliment each other so well that it is difficult to imagine one without the other for this wonderful soundtrack. The year 2009 has already achieved a benchmark with this album and it would take an inspired effort by others to surpass it. Just the song Arziyaan for its Sufi traces, devotional lyrics and soulful singing is worth every penny of this album. Source: p l a n e t r a d i o c i t y . c o m http://delhi-6.co.in/2009/02/prasoon-joshi/delhi-6-is-as-much-prasoon-joshi%e2%80%99s-album-as-it-is-rahman%e2%80%99s/ -- regards, Vithur
