http://kingofchennaii.blogspot.com/2008/01/totally-addictive-music-of-jodhaa-akbar.html
Totally addictive - the music of Jodhaa Akbar
Ever since I heard Jodhaa Akbar
songs last week, I have been hooked to it. I play it on my mp3 player
everyday and it runs in an almost infinite loop. This post is by no
means a review, as I feel I am not qualified enough to comment on
music. This is just a listing of the songs and what I liked in them.
Azeem-O-Shan Shahenshah
- I liked this song on the very first listening itself. The song starts
off on a set rhythm pattern and it gains pace from around the halfway
mark. Slightly reminiscent of 'Ghanan Ghanan' from Lagaan in some
portions, but that doesn't take away anything from this song. This
songs seems to be praising Akbar all the way.
Jashn-e-bahaaara
- I saw a trailer of this song on Youtube even before listening the
actual mp3 and liked it. This is a nice 'n' smooth melodious song and
it talks about the love starting to build in Akbar's mind. The voice
sounds too similar to Sonu Nigam, but it turns out to be Javed Ali.
Nice intro to the song. Don't know which instrument is used here, but
my guess is Sarod. This is one kind of a song which only A R Rahman
seems to able to pull off time and again. Again, I liked this song
within 1-2 listenings itself.
Khwaja Mere Khwaja
- Any song in ARR's voice is interesting and if it happens to be a Sufi
- Qawwali number, its got to be extra special. Before listening to this
song, I'd read some reviews saying this song is similar to Zikr from
Bose or Piya Haji Ali from Fiza. But I don't see any similarity except
for ARR's voice. Needless to say, it is ARR's distinct voice that lends
an extra edge to this song. Upon listening to this song, one's mind
will be instantly transported to the Durbar of King Akbar. Class.
In Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein
- This one is the Sonu Nigam song in the album. The specialty of this
song is that it changes form quite a few times throughout the song.
Starts off like a melody, then suddenly high-pitched chorus, followed
by high-pitched stuff from Sonu himself, and later we can hear him
almost whisper a couple of lines, and back to high-pitched singing
again. This unusual structure is what works for the song.
Man Mohanna
- I read some reviews bashing this song. Most reviews seem to suggest
this song is the weakest link in the album. I dont think so. After
listening to it 3-4 times, I feel this song has a life of its own and
deserves to be seen a good Bhajan type song. Nice melody and overall a
classy feel.
Khwaja Instrumental - The first of 2 instrumentals in the album, this song uses
Oboe
instrument. Can you even think of anyone else coming up with this kind
of an instrumental in a movie album? ARR always treads the unusual path
and it takes real genius to do that.
Jashn-e-bahaara instrumental -
Nice flute played by Naveen in this song. This one is special. There
are 2 types of flute in this song. Nice soothing melody and the
instrumental version seems to have a calming effect on your mind.
Overall,
a very different album from what we have been hearing in recent Hindi
movies. Excellent lyrics by Javed Akhtar for all the songs. Although I
don't understand much Hindi/Urdu, the usage of words at the right
places and the way it complements the music is very good. This is a
class album and is apt for a historical movie such as Jodhaa Akbar. I'm
not sure how our masses will react to this album. Much will depend on
how the movie fares at the box office.
