Updates
on November 5, 2007
Now this one has arrived almost 'chupke se'! While most
other biggies featuring the top bracketed actors/film makers
make a lot of noise (sometimes deserving, sometimes not so
deserving) for both the movie and the music release, Aamir
Khan's Taare Zameen Par has silently arrived in a
subtle manner, just like the simplicity the movie itself
conveys. With Prasoon Joshi doing the lyrics, one expects a
sensitive outing ahead. From Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, who have
enjoyed a great 2007 so far, one expects nothing but a high
quality score in Taare Zameen Par.
Remember the tinkle sound
in 'Meri Duniya Tu Hi Re' [Heyy Babyy]?
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy take a cue from the same sound to
carry forward the title song 'Taare Zameen Par'.
To the credit of the composer trio, Shankar Mahadevan
who takes the onus on himself to come behind the mike
and supporting vocals of Bugs Bhargava, Dominique Cerejo,
Vivinenne Pocha that the song turns out to be a
heartwarming outing
It is a difficult song to
create due to various reasons. a) It is slow moving which
means that beats cannot camouflage/overtake the melodious
intent of the song, b) It requires a singer of high caliber
to croon since the focus is entirely on voice due to hardly
any instruments being in the background, c) Prasoon Joshi's
lyrics follow a poetic route which means double the effort
for the composers to think innovatively. Still, the end
product is such that even if it won't be sung aloud by a man
on the street (that was never an intent to begin with),
Taare Zameen Par would make for an emotional cinematic
viewing.
Singer Raman Mahadevan builds on the melodious feel of the
album with 'Kholo Kholo' which is about opening up
the world around you and breathing all the air in the
beautiful surroundings. Very urban and belonging to
soft-rock, 'Kholo Kholo' has a guitar as it's base
instrument which works wonders with Raman's smooth vocals. A.R. Rahman and Gulzar saab would definitely approve the
kind of great job that Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Prasoon Joshi
do. Even better than the title song, 'Kholo Kholo' is
number that you would love to hear in isolation in a repeat
mode!
Aamir Khan begins 'Bum Bum
Bole' with some funny sounding gibberish which is meant
to appeal to the kids due to it's playful setting. A track
which appears to be created for a setting where Aamir Khan
interacts with number of kids in the school and makes all of
them play with each other, 'Bum Bole Bole' takes a
rhythmic mood. Different in style when compared to the first
two tracks in the album, this Shaan sung track should appeal
to children due to it's situational setting.
It's the sound of an alarm which opens 'Jame Raho', a
song that takes a listener through the journey of a student
from waking up in the morning to going to school to studying
hard and achieving success. Boasting of a rock setting, the
song is such that it could easily have fit into the mould of
a sports anthem number as much as an inspiration for the
soldiers on the border!
Crooned quote well by Vishal Dadlani, who seems to have
become almost a regular with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for singing
at least one song for most albums for them, 'Jame Raho'
is an entertaining number which mixes some English words
with primarily Hindi lyrics.
10 singers (yes, 10 singers) come together for 'Bheja Kum',
a two minute rock track which starts with the words 'Idiot,
why can't you'. A spoof on the kind of scolding that
children get on scoring less marks in exams, 'Bheja Kum' has
a big team of Shankar Mahadevan, Bugs Bhargava, Shankar
Sachdev, Raaj Gopal Iyer, Ravi Khanwilker, Loy Mendonsa,
Amole Gupte, Kiran Rao, Aamir Khan and Ram Madhvani coming
together to sing a line or two (in case just speak a few
words) to showcase (albeit in a lighter vein) the kind of
tension that a kid goes through!
With 'Maa', Shankar Mahadevan gives himself another
good solo after the title song 'Taare Zameen Par'. A
serene number which just like the title song depends
entirely on the singing and the basic composition instead of
arrangements added on in the recording studio, 'Maa'
is a heartfelt track about a child looking at sharing with
his mother his fears, shortcomings and affection for the
ones close to him. With the most simple and yet effective
lyrics heard in the album so far, 'Maa' is another
superb piece of work after 'Taare Zameen Par' and 'Kholo
Kholo'.
Guest composer Shailendra Barve makes his presence felt with
his only track 'Mera Jahan'. Rendered superbly by
children Auriel Cordo and Ananya Wadkar who, after their
English rendition, set the base for Adnan Sami to take over
the proceedings, Mera Jahan' reaches it's crescendo
the moment title words appear in the song. Musically the
song carries a similar rock style as 'Bheegi Bheegi Si'
[Gangster] and if you have liked the numbers heard in 'Life
In A..Metro', it would be hard to ignore 'Mera Jahan'.
Amole Gupte, Creative Director of Taare Zameen Par,
has the last word with his piano composition for 'Ishaan's
Theme' bringing the album to an end. A four minute long
musical piece which boasts of international standards and
carries a pensive feel to it, 'Ishaan's Theme'
belongs to the kind that you hear in 5-Star hotel lobbies.
Smooth, serene and infectious, this sound of piano is just
the right finale for an impressive soundtrack of Taare
Zameen Par.
The moment one is through with the album, the first thought
which crosses the mind is that of 'Aah, thank goodness no
remixes'! Aamir Khan, Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy and Prasoon Joshi
make a zero compromise album which stays honest to the
film's theme and bring in as much variety as one possibly
can in the music for a film belonging to a genre different
from regular romance, action or drama. No item song, no 'pyaar-mohabbat'
saga and moreover nothing which becomes preachy, Taare
Zameen Par boasts of a soundtrack that stays true to the
film's spirit and promises to thoroughly involve a viewer
while the music is on in theaters.
   
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