I found Krrish and Fanaa entertaining enough to watch, though I instantly forgot the songs to both films, and haven’t had reason to go back for a second listen. I’ve also been sampling some of the other Hindi film music this summer via Raaga, and with a couple of exceptions the songs all sound like they were produced by robots who hate music. The Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna songs in particular are atrociously bad. (Kabhi Repeat Naa Karna.) 
One big exception from what I’ve heard are the songs to Omkara, the new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello by Vishal Bhardwaj. Bhardwaj directed another rendition of Shakespeare in Maqbool (Macbeth). Maqbool (Irfan Khan, Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri) was artfully done and well-acted, though I was a little confused about the obsessive focus on religion in the film. In Omkara, Bhardwaj is working as both director and music director, and the soundtrack benefits from the close attention to detail he evidently paid to it. The title track (“Omkara”), with Sukhwinder Singh’s vocals, is wonderful: it has that early A.R. Rahman happiness, the “Chaiya Chaiya” magic: Sukhwinder has a lot of power in his voice, and this tune celebrating the warrior “Omkara” allows it to come through. “Beedi” is also quite catchy — with a Qawwali sound — as is “Naina” (with vocals by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan). I’m a little less enthusiastic about the album’s slow songs, “Jag Ja,” and “O Saathi Re,” though they are still good — folksy and semi-classical rather than simply slow and pseudo-emotional (as in most Bollywood slow songs these days).
In short: sounds like A.R. Rahman, but much better than Rahman has been lately. But don’t just take my word for it: the reviews of Omkara‘s music in Rediff and Yahoo! India have also been raves.
One other exception to the general badness worth mentioning: the song “Ya Ali” from Gangster. It was surprising to hear a perfect dance anthem in the midst of a really quite terrible gangster-themed romantic melodrama, but sometimes you have to take little treasures where you can find them.
The film Omkara looks pretty promising as well: adapting a film about class relations and the undermining of a socially questionable, romantic bond (a transgressive “love match”) seems like a no-brainer for Bollywood. Maybe I’ll report back once I’ve seen it.
Do readers have recommendations for film music from Hindi (or other language) films this summer?
Question:
Where do you buy India/ Bollywood music in electronic from? I have browsed Rhapsody, they seem decent. I could not find much on iTunes. Is there some other place too?
Or it is all pirated and/ or through buddies.
Indian MTV still plays Chaiya Chaiya regularly. Last month, 36 China Town videos were always on Indian TV.
hey kush – didnt see any other answers – i’m not the most informed – but since noone has chimed in – i’ve listende to stuff on raaga.com and musicindiaonline.com – not in recent times though – some difficulties with firewalls and popups – but you might have better luck. then there’s always desidancer’s choice selections on her web site 🙂
thanks, hairy_d.
oh, i always vist desi dancer‘s site. however, she is moving in another league – Deepak Chopra and all. Anything less than Shekhar Kapoor might not cut it.
Jumping off from the Gangster comments above, the music of Gangster is actually pretty good. I don’t know where the other songs are “inspired from” but “Bheegi Bheegi” is actually a note for note (well, note really 🙂 ) copy of a Bangla rock anthem by the seminal band Mohiner Ghoraguli called Prithibi. It is probably in the top 5 songs of the Bangla rock pantheon. The guy singing Bheegi Bheegi is Bangladeshi folk-rocker James and he has done an outstanding job – the musical arrangement is not as good as the original however. I think Ya Ali is inspired from Buddha Bar but i could be wrong.
Speaking of forgetable flim music, why has Indian film gone completely down the tubes in the last four or five years? I can’t remember the last film that actually inspired me. K3G maybe?
I know a couple of people have recommended this already but I have to add my support to Kailash Kher. “Teri Diwaani” is an incredibly romantic song, very passionate — listen to the lyrics. All very very accurate 😉
Very nice video too.
If you like that kind of Sufi-type romantic music, I can also strongly recommend “Mainda Ishq Bhi Tu” by Jagjit Singh. It’s from an album called “Different Strokes” — I think from 2000 — which is mostly classical music (ie. not his usual ghazals). This song, however, is more along the lines of typical Punjabi devotional/romantic Sufi music as mentioned before.
The song is available on the link I’ve supplied, although you’ll have to listen to a quick 25-second commercial for Citibank first 😉
jaggu ROCKS!! i went to his concert about two yrs ago in NJ. ghazals and liquor just go together
Am I the only one who absolutely loved the song “mitwa” from kabhi alvida na kehna?
Agreed the rest of the songs from the soundtrack sound like rehashed versions of other songs.
Jai:
You can press the “forward/next track” button …its not necessary to listen to the commercial 🙂
I absolutely enjoyed everybody’s comments, especially the tips on good Indian music. Being of a certain generation – oh heck, I am 53 – I am not as current on Indian music as most of you. I will be on the lookout for some of the new stuff mentioned here.
Junoon’s Wahda hoo is great too !!! Any Sufi based song by Junoon is great for that matter.
Jeet,
I’m a huge fan of Jagjit Singh. Personally, I think “Marasim” was his best album. Apparently another collaboration with Gulzar is also in the pipeline, so I’m looking forward to that.
Brown_Fob,
Thanks, I didn’t know that. Anyway, I already own that album — it’s my favourite one by Jagjit saab, after “Marasim” 😉
Jai,
couldnt agree more. Gulzar did say some shers himself, that was a bonus. I cant wait for the collaboration either. Sehar was phenomenal too
I also like some of the stuff Lucky Ali does. all his albums Sunoh, Sifar and Aks were great and now he has taken up bollywood…unfortunately
Jeet, agreed about Sehar too — some wonderfully romantic songs there. In terms of non-classical stuff, I like that album the most after Marasim (which I know I’m plugging extensively here — but hey, you can never plug Jagjit Singh too much !)
Gulzar’s voiceovers are always excellent too, he has such a distinctive voice. I hope their next collaboration lives up to the sky-high standard set by their previous work.
Floridian: In a way, it is. At least for Rahman it is. In fact any “assembly line” system would be a handicap for Rahman and so he will never be as prolific as someone like Himesh. And when he seems to be forced (I am using the word for lack of anything better) for whatever reason, he seems to recycle tunes. In fact some of his early Hindi numbers (including Yaaron Sun lo Zara) are recycled from his lesser known Telugu and Tamil soundtracks.
And we shall gladly give you a few reccos and pointers. Check out Rahman’s Iruvar, Thiruda Thiruda (perhaps the most diverse of Rahman’s soundtracks that features among other things a minimalistic capella and a Mariah Carey-esque number), Duet (a soundtrack built almost completely upon the saxophone) and Mr. Romeo, for starters. At least one of these has a Hindi version too, but for an intro into TFM (Tamil Film Music), this ought be just enough.
And btw, just to give you an idea about how good non-Bollywood movie soundtracks have been in India since the 1950s, listen to the first song in this Hindi soundtrack and then the first track in this Tamil album. My most favorite peice of music trivia links these two tracks!
Yes, overwrought melodramatic trash in the vein of Rocky VIII, but with some redeeming features: the opening 15 minutes had great, original visuals (the rowboat scene), and I liked both Kangana Ranaut’s femme performance as well as the overall foreboding and hopelessness.
Hard to believe you thought Krrish was anything other than brain-mashing crap. It was literally painful to sit through. Corporate and Naseeruddin Shah’s Yun Hota To Kya Hota qualify as art films in Bombay because they’re not musicals 🙂 The latter was decent but very exploitative in its not-so-subtle twist.
In books, Tourism by Nirpal Singh Dhaliwal was lightweight but fun, like Londonstani. Its smut factor is overrated– the un-PCness of its race views are far more discomfiting than the sex.
Sorry to sound academic, but I think it’s one of those films that works within the discourse of Bollywood. It has the high-tech fights, the beautiful settings (mountain/tradition + Singapore/modernity), the mildly thwarted romance, the novel science fiction plot, and a gripping (well, to some) second half. It’s the Hindi film equivalent of a traveling trunk, in which you find every device in the book. Historically, these are the films that become “superhits” at home and abroad. They are what keep the warm & fuzzy in changing times, and audiences flock to them, partly out of nostalgia for what they felt the first time they saw “DDLJ” or “KKHH” etc.
The word my wife uses to describe it is “Paisa Vasool”: you get your money’s worth.
I’m less tolerant of films like Gangster because they keep the melodrama and strip out the pleasures of pretty landscapes, traditional outfits, and any sense of humor. But you’re right, there were some good parts in Gangster here and there. I just got bored with it…
There must have been something lost in the translation with maqbool because watching it with subtitles, I definitely did not get the feeling it was artfully done or brilliant. What’s the fuss about? 🙂
Been checking out all the songs recommended here on Raaga. Thanks very much, everyone. I seem to have missed out on some good music in Hindi movies.
Anantha, nice bit of trivia there- had no idea that SPB’s “Ilaya Nila” had been attempted in Hindi (that version simply did not work for me). I like Rahman’s work in Tamil films, like “Alaipayuthey”, “Thiruda Thiruda”,and “Duet”. Some of his Tamil songs have a Carnatic music flavour to them (not an expert opinion, but this is what my ear tells me). Those are the ones I like the most.
Amardeep,
I forgot to mention this before but i dont understand the yardsticks by which you are comparing music of different films. If you say you cannot play RDB at parties because it is not well received, then would you play Omkara’s music? Omkara’s soundtrack is totally situational and according to the movie just like RDB’s was. Fanaa, Krrish, and KANK etc. are the more mainstream kind of music which will be more popular but if you look at it thru the context of the movie, it seems out of place.
Jeet, my comments on the dance songs in RDB were mainly in response to the criticism of A.R. Rahman that was made in a comment early on. I wouldn’t try to compare dance music to the kinds of songs on Omkara; they do something quite different.
Yes, film music is situational to an extent. But at a certain point you can also just decide whether something works purely musically. From that point of view I think A.R. Rahman has a better handle on slow, folksy, and tender (“Kabhi Neem Neem,” the songs from “Swades,” “Saathiya”) than he does on fast and loud (“Paathshala,” “Rang De Basanti,” “Fanaa” and so on).
His slower songs often have a sweetness and sense of joy to them that no other composer/producer/arranger can evoke.
Sorry to sound academic, but I think it’s one of those films that works within the discourse of Bollywood…
I could hug you Amardeep. Well said! Rakesh Roshan has made three of these all-time bolly super hits IN A ROW now, starring just his son (the man doesn’t need a 20-person all-star cast to squeeze out a hit unlike certain other filmmakers). Roshan has some kind of freakishly accurate understanding for the Bollywood audience pulse and even in today’s times of “edgy,” more “realistic” hindi cinema, continues to make unrepentant masala-fare for his bolly-starved audiences. I love what he and a select few others (like Aamir Khan) have come to represent for Hindi cinema today – a defiant, successful and unapologetic stand for traditional bollywood.
“I think A.R. Rahman has a better handle on slow, folksy, and tender (“Kabhi Neem Neem,” the songs from “Swades,” “Saathiya”) than he does on fast and loud (“Paathshala,” “Rang De Basanti,” “Fanaa” and so on).”
thanks for the reply. I think AR did a commendable job in RDB, all his songs struck a chord with me personally. songs like Khool chala and Tum bin bataye are so unconvential and make so much more sense after watching the movie. the placement of Ru ba ru and Luka chhupi in the movies context took them to a higher level. Paathshaala has become like an anthem for the youth in India from what i’ve heard. Daler did excellent on the title track, unusal match up tho AR and Daler. they did another song together for Lakeer called Nachley which became really popular also. I guess what he is trying to do is break away from dramas like MP, lagaan, Bose, Roja, Dil se, Bhagat Singh etc.
Regards,
Amardeep:
Spot on! But I wouldn’t count that as a negative either. In fact, you tend to notice nuances better on the slow numbers whereas the faster numbers run of risk of becoming (to quote my father) a general mishmash of assorted sounds. This is probably not applicable to the classical composers of yore, but IMHO, in the modern age, any composer proves his mettle only by the nuances shown in the slow lilting melodies.
And Rahman’s orchestrations are awesome too, which brings me to another reccomendation – the last track from this album
Jeet: ARR has a history with youth anthems. I can say with confidence that Musthafaa Musthafaa (the third song in that page) would be the last song played any high school/college/university graduation party in Tamilnadu, before the party breaks up. That is the signature farewell number back home and that soundtrack was released in 1996. I am not sure whether this song caught on in its Hindi version (loss in translation maybe?).
sk: That number is widely acknowledged to be the one of the most difficult numbers to replicate. That probably explains why the Kalyanji-Anandji interpretation falls flat. And yes, Rahman’s songs sometimes have a South Indian classical touch to them. And sometimes that effect pulls his numbers down, for example the tracks from Kabhi na Kabhi.
Hey guys …
Nice comments and reviews of Bollywood films and music here! I try my hand at it once in a while, but obviously it is tough to keep up with Indian stores in town to procure the latest Bollywood blockbusters. Specially when I want to wait for the original DVD, I end up waiting for ages and finally end up pilling on to my list of movie backlog.
(Kush asked) The Indian stores in every town or major cities do get the original audio CDs pretty early. I wanted to tie up with album labels in India so that I can get the original audio directly from them to play on my FM show every week- so far hasn’t happened. Anyone has any clues as to how that can be done? I have been able to do that with some record labels or individual artists here in the states- but not much luck in India.
By the way if you guys want to catch up on the podcasts of my radio show ‘Taraana’, visit my blog: http://taraana-keos.blogspot.com/
Omkara is definitely a glimpse of hope on the declining quality of Bollywood music. Can’t just blame the directors and composers. It’s the pace of the world! The attention span of today’s generation is far less than previous generations. It would take a while for the gen-X to appreciate the class of Naushad or Shahir, but for now most of them are happy rapping and mixing music! Simpler, repetetious lyrics and techno beats- that’s today’s popular music. I think Himesh is pretty talented, but with so much work in his hands, he’s just scratching the surface right now. Rahman as usual is his mysterious self .. what’s he upto these days? 🙂
Amardeep, thanks for a great post…and to all of you for the comments and recommendations. I’ve sort of lost touch with new Indian (film) music, and its great to get these well-vetted suggestions!
Jeet,
Sorry man, I almost forgot. Jagjit Singh has a truly excellent double-CD album of one his live concerts. Since it already has pride of place in my own ghazal collection, I wholeheartedly recommend this too.
Album: “Live with Jagjit Singh“.
His normal albums are of course superb as we’ve already discussed, but the live peformances (and the associated albums) are on an even higher level. And yes, I’ve heard the great man sing live here in London too 😉
DUDE i have that album and all others
Anantha,
Some nice recommendations from you to introduce ARR’s South Indian tracks to people who may have been exposed to only his Hindi tracks.
Speaking of ARR’s fast songs, what about Boys?
Musthafa, Musthafa is a farewell party anthem in colleges across Andhra Pradesh too. IMHO, it is one of the rare Reggae tracks in Indian filmi music.
Liked your trivia about ‘Neele Neele’ being an interpretation of IlayaRaja’s track. That makes me think, why is no one talking about Ilayaraja, the predecessor to ARR?Is it because he has hardly done any work in Hindi, in spite of being a legend in the South?
Omkara was awesome.
Saw it this evening, at the packed out Imaginasian theater. First class film making: excellent acting performances (yes, even from the much maligned Kareena), killer script (much thanks to William S.), and good music (and well integrated into the story, with “O Saathi Re” in particular a standout).
You’ll be hearing more about this one.
Kumar: Thank you. Just doing my duty, hehe.. But Boys, IMO, was not exactly unique, except for that impressive capella. As for IR, Raaga lists just 5 movies for him in Hindi. And I don’t think he did anything more. Ilayaraaja in Hindi is as irrelevant as L-P was in Tamil.
kobe writes
captain kirk rules. he is everywhere.
can someone translate ‘beedi’ and ‘namak’ songs from omkara for me please??? thanks!! and wat does susari mean?? (yes i am a british indian who has no clue but keep hearing the elders go ‘hai thoba!’ thanks!!!!!!!!
Ok I can’t believe I just wasted time on this while I should have been working, but this is an AMAZING song and I have all the zealousness of an evangelical when it comes to bolly-proselytizing. So here’s my translation – unfortunately it isn’t even remotely as poetic as the song itself. The movie is spoken in a very Haryana-UP Hindi dialect but Gulzar’s lyrics are part Urdu and the song is sung in a raunchy tone with a very UP villager feel (all of urdu’s z’s are replaced with bhaiyya jjs in the song).
Oh and sasuri is just a kind of rude, slang term a UP-ite would use to address someone (I’m told – I’m an ex-Bombayite and we use “saala” instead).
Naa ghilaaf naa lihaaf Naa ghilaaf naa lihaaf Thandi hawa bhi khilaaf sasurriiiii
No sheet Or even a blanket Even the cold wind blows against us sasuri [sasuri here refers to the cold wind]
Itni sardi hai kisi ka lihaaf lei lay Jaa padosi ke chulhe se aag lei lay Jaa padosi ke chulhe se aag lei lay
It’s so cold, borrow someone’s blanket Go steal the fire from the neighbor’s kitchen
Beedi jalay ley jigar se piya Jigar maa badi aag hai
Light your beedi with my heart/spirit my love A great fire burns in it
Dhuan na nikaali oh labh se piya aa ah Dhuan na nikaali oh labh se piya Yeh duniya badi thaag hai
Don’t blow smoke from those lips my love This world is a cheat [smoky]
[chorus]
Na qasoor na fatoor Na qasoor na fatoor Bina jurm ke huzoor mar gaye
Without fault, without tendency [to crime] Without any crime, killed, killed
Aise ek din dupeheri bulai liyo rey Baandh ghungroo kachehiri lagai liyo rey Bulai liyo rey bulai liyo ley dupeheri Lagai liyo rey lagai liyo rey kachehiri
Call me like this some afternoon Tie my anklets, bind me to the docket Call me call me, in the afteroon Bind me bind me, to the docket
Angeethi jalay ley jigar se piya Jigar maa badi aag hai
Light the coal burner with my heart my love A great fire burns in it
[instrumental]
Na to chakuon ki dhaarr o na daranti na katar Na to chakuon ki dhaarr na daranti na katar Aisa kaate ke daat ka nishaan chod dey Ye katai to koi bhi kisaan chod dey
Not the slice of a knife or [other cutting instruments] Cut so deep that they left marks like a bite This knife even a farmer wouldn’t use
Ho aise zaalim ka chod de makaan chod dey re Billo Zaalim ka chod de makaan chod dey re aise Zaalim ka ho aise zaalim ka Aise zaalim ka chod de makaan chod dey
Such a tyrant, leave such a tyrant’s home Billo Such a tyrant, such a tyrant Leave his home
Na bulaya na bataya Na bulaya na bataya Bandhe neend se jagaya hai re Aisa chonke lihaaf mein naseeb aa gaya Woh elaichi khilai ke kareeb aa gaya
Not called, or told Woken from my bonded sleep With a sudden jolt inside my blanket He fed me an elaichi and came close to me
Koyla jalay ley jigar se piya Jigar ma aag hai
Light the coal with my heart my love In it burns a fire
Hoy hoy hoy…
Sasure literally means mother-in-law. It is a derogatory term. You generally call something/someone sasuri if they are irritating and not pliable.
Na bulaya na bataya Na bulaya na bataya Bandhe neend se jagaya hai re Aisa chonke lihaaf mein naseeb aa gaya Woh elaichi khilai ke kareeb aa gaya
It’s not Bandhe, its Manhe. The sentence simply traslates to “He woke me from slumber”
Ho that Beedi song is a rockin great number, in my all time faves for sure, its brilliant. And wow Omkara has reinstated my belief that Bollywood can have the occaisonal movie that is as good if not better than its Hollywood contemporaries. Everything about that movie was brilliant. It’s the biggest shame that it didn’t do as well as a great movie like that deserves, where as that !@#$%^& KANK is breaking records. Anyway yes the KANK songs were pretty damn bad but not as bad as the movie at least :P. “where’s the party tonight, on the dance floor,” and I’m thinking, the parties are going to occur when this stupid movie finally ends… but no, it dragged on so long, Shah Rukh had to cry, Rani had to cry, everyone in the audience felt thus inclined to throw popcorn at them. I wish that movie would die. Enough of my ranting… thank you for your post. 😀
ur really bloody idont want comments bitch
Anyone want to take on translating “Namak ishq ka” from Omkara? My interpretation of the lyrics is that it’s really shockingly dirty for a bollywood movie, yet really great because it’s poetic…
fantastic song
Songs in Kabhi Alvida nahin karna are not just atrocious, one of them is particularly racist, worships white women and in general panders to white supremacy. That song Rock and Roll Sonye would make white supremacists, Nazis and the KKK very happy. I am very disappointed with Amitabh Bachhan contributing to this brand of racism and they wonder why lily white contestants in the UK Big Brother Show are racists. For all I care, Bacchan might have had Emily Parr or Lucy Buchanan among the white dancers when he praises the virtues of white skin…outright insensitive and disgusting.
Rahman is beyond comparison, anyone here trying to justify his jealosy wont succeed. ANd yess he doesnt need to make club numbers he has teh courage to stick to the tradition and yet succeed which is rare nowdays!!! RDB numbers are superb superb , u have no taste of quality music if u cant like roobaroo and lukka chuppi.
you can download here from mp3fundoo.com
Pingback: how can sms be a tool to help people at the time of disaster? - Find out why SMS marketing makes MORE sales than email marketing BY FAR! - What is SMS Message?