This is bollyvista's review
--- In arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com, Vithur <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > http://filmikhabar.com/2008/01/29/music-analysis-of-jodhaa-akbar/ > > The "Beethovan of the East", A.R. Rahman is back with what he is best at. > Yes, its composing music for period films, at which he is simply par > excellante! And that is reason enough for lovers of high quality classical > based music (fed up with the artificial techno-stuff) to rejoice. This is > the maestro's sixth album for a full fledged period film album. The first > one in the excellent line-up was, Earth (1998), followed by Aamir Khan's > Lagaan (2001), Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), Bose-The Forgotten Hero > (2005), Mangal Pandey-The Rising (2005) and Water (2006). Quite an > impressive line-up, one must say! With Rahman announcing that Jodhaa Akbar > will be the last in the series, here is inviting all Rahman maniacs to feast > on this musical offering by the wizard, Allah Rakha Rahman! > > True to the grandeur and magnificence of the magnum-opus, Rahman's first > composition is '*Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah*' (Shouldn't it be Azeem-Ush-Shaan > Shahenshah, Javed Sahab?) which commences with bugle and nagada sounds > heralding the arrival of the most powerful Mughal Emperor, Jalaluddin > Mohammad Akbar. Rahman's work is magical here as he deftly creates the > perfect ambience through his superb musical arrangements. Percussion wizard, > Sivamani gives the song a royal battlefield touch with his Taiko and sword > rhythm and makes the song a thrilling hearing experience. The tempo and > rhythm is kept at a constant pace, the flow of the mukhda and the antara are > kept uniform. It's the uniformity which makes this composition a delight and > truly unique. The only point where it varies is where the inspiration from > his own Lagaan composition 'Ghanan Ghanan' takes over for a while in the > female chorus. The two male singers, Mohammad Aslam and Boney Chakraborty > sing as a team and are in perfect harmony with each other. > > Javed Akhtar succeeds in providing a befitting introduction to the emperor, > highlighting the power and strength, the kind and generous nature as well as > his loving personality through well crafted words. The mukhda > "Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah,(The great emperor), Farmaan Ravaan (Whose decree > is the order of the day), Hamesha hamesha salamat rahe (Live healthy > forever), Tera ho kya byaan (No words can describe you), Tu > shaan-e-Hindustan (You are the pride of Hindustan), Hindustan teri jaan, > (Hindustan is your life), Tu jaan-e-Hindustan (You are the life of > Hindustan), Marhaba, Marhaba (Welcome & Hail thee, Hail thee)". Javed Akhtar > also uses the local dialect of the North to give the song an authentic feel. > A truly 'azeemushshan agaaz' (great beginning) to an 'Azeemushshaan' album! > 'Marhaba! Marhaba!' > > Ashutosh prefers to call his magnum-opus an epic romance between Emperor > Akbar and his beloved wife, Jodhaa, and it therefore provides Rahman ample > opportunity to create two of the most wonderful love ballads of recent > times. > > Magical sitar and rubab sounds embrace the listeners and commence the first > one '*Jashne-E-Bahaaraa*' that one falls in love with instantly. The > combination of the sitar, rubab and beads is fantabulous. Although it's a > romantic love song, it is a touch different. What we mean is that its not > the usual run of the mill number that can fit into any romantic situation. > It has been specially crafted for the movie. The lyrics suggest that it is a > situational love track. The fact that initially Jodhaa resented her marriage > to Akbar is presented in a beautiful manner, through words which are simply > superb, and Javed Akhtar deserves all the accolades possible - "Kaise kahen > kya hai sitam, Sochte hain ab yeh hum, Koi kaise kahen woh hain ya nahin > hamare, Karten toh hain saath safar, Faasle hain, Phir bhi magar, Jaise > milte nahin dariya ke do kinare." Javed Ali is simply superb, as he > tunefully renders the spellbinding composition. > > Sitar and rubab once again commences '*Jashn-E-Bahaaraa-Instrumental*' > though its backbone is some excellent flute piece by Navin (Rahman's > favourite). It is definitely a novel effort and makes for a pleasant change > from the mundane instrumentals of today > [image: Jodhaa Akbar] Jodhaa Akbar > > According to the lead actor Hrithik Roshan, Jodhaa Akbar has the most > romantic and intimate moments (sans the kiss of course!), and the next > composition '*Inn Lamhon Ki Daaman Mein*' is a testimony to those beautiful > moments shared by the Emperor and his beautiful wife. The number starts as a > simple love song, with Sonu excelling in the genre which has become his very > own. But as Rahman's trademark magnificently executed crescendo takes over, > the listeners are as always left awestruck with the massive arrangements, > which only the maestro is capable of. The crescendo highlights the > passionate relationship well. The chorus with its background taans and also > singing and the lull that follows the mukhda are all breathtakingly > beautiful. 'Madhur' (sweet) sounding Madhushree joins in the duet and sings > in chaste Hindi(the princess is a Rajputani, remember!). Kudos to the > musical genius! > > After two beautiful love songs, its time to go spiritual with the Sufi > qawwali, '*Khwaja Mere Khwajaa*'. Rendered by the maestro A.R. Rahman > himself, its an authentic qawwali, the kind heard in the shrines and > dargahs. The musical instruments like harmonium, tabla, daf, along with well > knit taans and sargams by the chorus will be appreciated by the connoisseur > of this type of qawwali, who love it pure and unadulterated. The result is a > superb devotional track that tugs at the heart, such is Rahman's rendition. > It is a situational number. As is well known that Akbar visited the shrine > of the famous saint Salim Chisti (Fatehpur Sikri), wept, pleaded and prayed > there to be granted a son who would inherit his empire. His prayers were > granted and he was blessed with son Salim, the next Mughal emperor after > Akbar, known as Jahangir. But the lyricist Kashif has referred to the saint > as Khwaja Moiunddin (Ajmer)/'Gharib Nawaz' and this is a big error on the > part of the whole team, as Akbar visited the shrine of Khawja Salim Chisti > and not that of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. > > The qawwali also has an instrumental version, and the instrument > predominantly used is the oboe, a woodwind instrument (modified version > bassoon) played to perfection by Leighann Woodard, along with the sitar and > organ sounds. This is a musical wonder from A.R. Rahman which can be labeled > as an Indian Philharmonic orchestra. A real treat! > > After the soulful qawwali, its prayer time once again, with '*Man Mohanaa*', > a bhajan or a devotional number, dedicated to Lord Krishna, God of love, > also referred to as "Kanha" or "Man Mohanaa" (charmer of the heart), as in > this number. It is obviously a situational track, sung during troubled > times of war and revolt. The extremely talented, but underrated Bela Shende > moves the soul with her rendition and makes this first, somewhat average > composition (the tune has been heard many times before) from Rahman a > soulful experience. In the context of the movie, the number will serve an > important purpose in showing that Jodhaa was a woman of substance and she > stuck to her own faith and religion and the emperor respected her faith. > > So those were our impressions of Jodhaa Akbar, the audio album which finally > hit the stores after many postponements, but when it did, the wait was > definitely worth it! Rahman has done it again and his fans are savoring his > masterly compositions. But isn't that always the case, even when it is > served on time? Definitely and surely a must buy, as it may not be a > classic, but will surely become one in the days to come! > > > -- > regards, > Vithur > > A.R.RAHMAN - MY BREATH & LIFE FORCE >
