Music Review of Ghajini by Aakash Gandhi

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GHAJINI
Music Review

Source: avstv.com
By Aakash Gandhi
Reviewer’s Rating: 7/10

The soundtrack of Aamir Khan’s forthcoming film, GHAJINI, marks the return of maestro A.R. Rahman for the fifth time in 2008. Needless to say, he’s had himself a very prolific year. What is even more astounding are the towering heights of musical superiority that he has showcased and maintained throughout the year. Mentioning that A.R. Rahman is a class apart would be an understatement.

In January we experienced the deliverance of one of Rahman’s most ethereal and epic soundtracks to date – Jodha-Akbar. Fast-forward to May, and we were caught off-guard by a diminutive project titled Ada…A Way of Life, which boasted of a playfully nostalgic Rahman. A couple days later, we were softly caressed by the youthfully poignant Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na. Continuing his remarkable trend of excellence, October witnessed the delectable sounds of Rahman smudged synergistically within today’s commercial genres. While each work distinctively showcased a wide-array of tones and styles, they all succeeded in preserving Rahman’s signature touch…”Vintage Rahman” as its come to be known.

However, the streak ends with Ghajini.

Guzarish opens with the soothing hums of Sonu Nigam, who features as guest vocalist. He sets things up for an extremely breezy composition. Reminiscent of a sluggish Euro dance mix, Rahman superimposes a fetching melody courtesy the vocals of Rahman’s newfound favorite, Javed Ali. Rahman spices the arrangements up with certain Arabic percussions/strings. On the whole, he tends to stick with a uni-rhythmic composition. All in all, the song is appeasing for the first 4-5 exposures and will slowly begin to fade soon after.

Aye Bachchu is Rahman like we’ve hardly ever heard before! With metal influences, the song carries with it a high-level of attitude thanks to the use of the distortion and lead guitars that feature all-across this invigorating track. Rahman’s melody is a sneaky one. Initial reactions may be that the melody is too loud and over-active. However, with just a few more exposures it becomes highly engrossing. Suzanne D’Mello’s hyperactive vocals fit the piece flawlessly, while Joshi’s words pack just as much punch as the voice singing them. Verdict: Although far from the spectacular heights of A.R. Rahman, the number is surprisingly attractive at face value.

Kaise Mujhe is Ghajini’s strongest offering, with a hauntingly poetic melody by Rahman and some bewitchingly romantic lyrics penned by Prasoon Joshi. In the backgrounds, Rahman sticks with arrangements that are highly percussion and drum-centric (reminiscent of the styles of Monty Sharma). He adequately limits the arrangements to place more importance on the composition’s physical presence, which is soulfully inhabited by Benny Dayal and Shreya Ghoshal. The pair renders a stunning duet. Rahman’s instrumental highlights, which include sitar, clean guitar, strings, oboe, and piano to name a few, serve as the aesthetic icing on this very ornate cake.

Behka introduces a lounge-esque flavor into Ghajini. Despite a valiant effort to stir up new musical emotions, Behka fails to hold your attention. The arrangements are your run-of-the-mill stuff with the horn and sax riffs doing little to class things up. Rahman’s melody has its moments, yet lacks the Rahmantic brilliance that we’ve come to love and admire. Vocalist Karthik and lyricist Prasoon Joshi do justice to their roles. Verdict: Albeit a decent composition, Rahman is unsuccessful in scratching beneath the surface to inject his trademark ingenuity.

The mediocrity continues with Latoo. Rahman provides us with another depthless composition that’s all show and no go. Lined with pounding beats and acoustic dance styles, Rahman provides little space for creative interjection, placing all the more emphasis on melodic value. Unfortunately, the melodic riffs are unsustainable in their attempts to continually earn your attention. Not to mention the endless chorus lines, which begin to grind on your nerves. That being said, Shreya Ghoshal is spectacular with her performance, pouring just the right amount of electricity into her rendition. Verdict: Should make for a nice show on screen…nothing more.

The soundtrack closes with the instrumental reprisal of Kaise Mujhe, the best track on the lot (and obviously Rahman feels the same way since he’s chosen to reprise it). Although the arrangements remain idle and unchanged, the piano layered acoustics and flute do a ravishing job in expressing even the slightest of nuances in Rahman’s masterful melody. I only wish we were blessed to hear more of vintage Rahman in the rest of Ghajini.

With only one truly soul-stirring composition (Kaise Mujhe), it is safe to say that Ghajini derails Rahman’s excellent record in 2008. Despite a superficially appeasing album, Rahman is incapable of delving deeper into his sound to expose the soul…the beauty…the poetry that is his music. The mysterious X factor that has made Rahman a living legend has surreptitiously vanished amidst the thumping harmonies and brisk melodies of Ghajini. We can only wait until it returns to once again ravish us…sooth us…bless us…

Aakash Gandhi is Managing Editor and Senior Writer for PlanetBollywood.com. He also freelances for the Asian Variety Show at avstv.com.

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There Are 51 Responses So Far. »

Qalandar 25 November 2008
10:49:45 am

Very good review aakash. I’m at a disadvantage as I won’t listen to the music until I get a CD, but will definitely re-visit once I do. Comprehensive stuff…

satyam 25 November 2008
11:01:20 am

Good review Aakash even if I disagree on many scores (including the Ada soundtrack). At a commercial level though I suspect this soundtrack will outsell Yuvvraaj and JA. And looks to be the right fit for the film. This isn’t ‘major’ Rahman by any means but I find it a very good soundtrack.

satyam 25 November 2008
11:02:20 am

I still consider the two love songs and Ae Bacchu to be the best in the album though Behka will probably become one of the bigger winners here.

satyam 25 November 2008
11:04:44 am

I would also submit that JA itself is more the Ghajini kind of album allowing for genre differences where there is a lot there is ‘good’ but perhaps nothing that is really ‘new’ for Rahman. I wouldn’t say this for Yuvvraaj (incidentally one of the points I’ve not heard so far on this is the extent to which the album also in many ways exhibits a Ghai music genealogy on numbers like Dil ka rishta, shano, perhaps even manmohini much as Taal did.. the point I’m trying to make is that there is a Ghai thread that runs through even his collaborations with Rahman).

satyam 25 November 2008
11:08:38 am

I also prefer Swades (quite underrated this one) to JA.. with the Ashu/Rahman combos my order I think is:

1)Lagaan
2)Swades
3)JA

And I’m not sure Swades is really inferior to Lagaan.

With Aamir/Rahman included I would place MP topmost (too early to give Ghajini a ranking..).

satyam 25 November 2008
11:14:13 am

The only significant Rahman I’ve never taken to at all despite many attempts is Rangeela. The next one I like less relative to its strengths is RDB.

goodfella 25 November 2008
11:17:36 am

Oh I loved the Rangeela soundtrack. I think it’s pretty underrated and a terrific Hindi “debut” for Rahman.

satyam 25 November 2008
11:19:37 am

Yes everyone likes it but somehow I’ve never warmed up to it..

Gabber 25 November 2008
11:20:37 am

I do not think same music by a different music director for the same film would have generated so much appreciation.
I listened to all its song once and overall liked it in a limited way- Aamir khan and ghajini’s story was working big time for making me feel good about the music.
But not sure if I would have liked this music without these two factors. However this music is surely better than that of other biggies released recently.

My love(or infatuation???) at first hear for Dasvidaniya has grown after watching the movie recently. But one movie’s music has grown after a watch – Dostana. What a lovely film and lovely music.

Dostana along with Rock On deserves applause for giving a good entertainer for teen audience. Not sure how many teens we have on NG, but surely these two will stand out for them followed by JTYJN and SIK. All cool flicks.

satyam 25 November 2008
11:26:10 am

I didn’t like the Dostana music Gabber though it’s alright with the film.. also liked the film less than you did.. had the second half been like the first one the film would have been a riot! Still when I think great comedy I am usually thinking (in the contemporary age) the Munnabhai series.

Gabber 25 November 2008
11:42:31 am

Satyam, I am absolutely sold on Dostana and beleive me so were the audience (mostly college going).
This film is one of those redefining moments for teens in terms of style statement, redefining ‘coolness’ and making certain jokes laughable even with girl friends.
Songs like desi girl and jjane kyon and maa kaa laadlaa are absolutely fab. They were no so before the watch but an absolute winner after. And yes, I laughed in Dostana more than in Munnabhai….and that’s not to say that Dostana was better but just that it was a film that made me laugh more….in fact the most this year. Undoubtedly the best comidy flick this year.

rks 25 November 2008
11:56:39 am

Dostana songs rock on big screen. “Maa ka ladla bigad gaya” (both versions) and Desi Girl ignite the screen. But I know they have small shelf life.

A C H I L L E S 25 November 2008
11:58:20 am

This is a fine ‘music review’ by all means (though one can disagree with this set of opinions) … not one written by someone who hardly has any basic knowledge about music in the first case! A welcome respite from paid 5/5 reviews or claims on picturization or predictions on sales.

Agree on the point about the overall superficial pleasantness … which is a rarity from Rahman … too much workload can force the maestro to churn out such junk music like those of Pritam or alikes.

On the discussion about movies accepted by the youth/teens … JTYJN and RO are the only loved ones (the likeness of Dostana will reflect on the trending and its too early to judge) … JA is the only other movie that was well liked to have trended very well … but it was accepted mainly by the mature audience and families more than the youth … ‘A Wednesday’ was another movie patronized by similar audience (though on a much smaller scale).

SIK, GR and Race are the top trash hits (and in that order) in this year … or a better way is to say ‘poop’ hits.

Gabber 25 November 2008
12:09:37 pm

true rks. shelf life may be small for songs like dostana but is definitely one of the most decorated one right now till one finds a similar track – cool, fun and unpretending.
BTW, Rock On songs are still rocking and am not sure when will its life end?
Songs of RNBDJ has really not grown up on me and ghajini looks unlikely despite being better.

Back to what Satyam and goodfella were discussing –

Rehmaan’s Swades and lagaan and Rangeela were very good.
However my all time fav AR Rehman tunes remain Rehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein (Madhavan, dia and saif) and Dil Se closely following it.

1. RHTDM
2. Dil Se
3. Roza
4. Swades
5. Lagaan
6. Bombay
7. Taal
8. JA
9. Rangeela
10. Guru

Qalandar 25 November 2008
12:15:07 pm

RKS: Agreed on Maa ka Laadla; Desi Girl was a big bore for me on screen

Gabber: Rehna hai Tere Dil Mein was by Harris Jayaraj (a famous music composer from the Tamil film industry; the music was basically a re-recorded version of the Minnale soundtrack (Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein is a remake of Minnale)).

rks 25 November 2008
12:15:49 pm

“RHTDM” is not by Rahman?

Qalandar 25 November 2008
12:19:57 pm

Nope: but it/Minnale is one of my favorite Harris Jayaraj albums. The song Vaseegra/Zara Zara is one of the songs of the decade for me.

Jayaraj displays a marked ARR influence, but I don’t mean to single him out. Virtually all the post-ARR Tamil film composers do so, as do the “newer” Bollywood composers like Vishal-Shekhar and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (these typically branch off from the “later” ARR).

Qalandar 25 November 2008
12:21:28 pm

If you liked Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein, check out Kaaka Kaaka, another superb Jayaraj album (in particular the song Ondra Rendra, a tamil re-working of Jayaraj’s own Hindi song “Mein to, aashiq yaar hua” (not sure of the exact words))…

satyam 25 November 2008
01:07:20 pm

Gabber: I’ve never seen an audience in NY laugh as hard as it did in the first half of Dostana though it was 95% under 35 (which probably goes to your point).

satyam 25 November 2008
01:07:57 pm

Achilles: Absolutely this is a valid review of the album. The Raja Sen one seems completely implausible.

satyam 25 November 2008
01:14:16 pm

Dil Se remains all said and done the Rahman gold standard in Hindi to my mind..

satyam 25 November 2008
01:16:16 pm

Qalandar: Though I keep changing my mind about this Ondra renda is probably my single favorite harris moment.

Also it worked very well at that point in the film. Kaakka Kaakka had a soul and wasn’t just mindless violence like an Aaru. It had a certain emotional resonance to it. I think this is the quality Aamir is trying to capture in his Ghajini even beyond what the original had.

rks 25 November 2008
01:21:49 pm

Just saw SB comments. Chat Box is normally inactive in afternoon (1:30 PM PST onwards). One regularity is presence of kanwal .

satyam 25 November 2008
01:58:43 pm

Rks: I’ve given the SB some more comments to get hysterical with! LOL!

jayshah 25 November 2008
03:33:18 pm

Nice review. I agree Kaise Mujhe is the best of the lot.

jayshah 25 November 2008
03:41:23 pm

I am reverse opinion on Latoo and Aye Bachchu. And agree giving 5/5 for this Rahman album is a serious call for the nut house.

rks 25 November 2008
04:39:04 pm

It’s masti in hard times

Arun 25 November 2008
05:53:24 pm

Thanks Aakash! 7/10 is a fair rating. I like ‘Latoo’ more though and ‘Kaise Mujhe’ has grown on me as well.

Gabber 25 November 2008
06:14:35 pm

Thanks Q for suggesting Kaaka Kaaka. will check that one online. Harris Jayraj, this name I am hearing for the first time, despite having listened RHTDM songs atleast a thousand times.

Satyam, now that RHTDM is out from ARR list, then Dil Se is an unrivaled winner for ARR.

Talking about Aamir khan film’s music, my favs are:

1. JJWS (Pehla Nasha )
2. QSQT
3. Dil
4. Lagaan
5. Rangeela
6. DCH
7. Raja Hindustani

Must say that of all the three khans, Aamir’s film has shortest list and none of his recent films had gems though few tracks in fanaah, RDB, Sarfarosh are outstanding.

Som 25 November 2008
06:30:08 pm

Good review here!! Kaise Mujhe is the one which has tremendously grown on me and I have started to believe this is the best song of the lot.The songs which are not working for me despite few hearings are Latoo and Aye Bachchu.Still an average album for me..

I am not aware of Rahman’s works in Tamil, have not heard any of his works, so taking into consideration whatever he has done in hindi,my top 5 Rahman’s soundtracks will be:

1- Dil Se
2- Rangeela
3- Taal
4- Roja
5- Guru/Lagaan

Qalandar 25 November 2008
06:50:24 pm

Yeah Gabber, Pehla Nasha is one of the few non-ARR songs from the 1990s for me that never grows stale…another personal favorite from the early 1990s is “Dekha Teri Mast Nigaahon Mein” (Asha/Sanu; Khiladi)…

Som 25 November 2008
07:00:11 pm

Has Paul Schrader’s “Adam Resurrected” already released or it’s due?

satyam 25 November 2008
08:59:48 pm

My latest assessment of Ghajini is only better than the last time around. Still think Guzarish and Kaise Mujhe are the two best in that order. I’ve really taken to behka now. Of the two item numbers I again still prefer bachchu to lattoo. With Lattoo the song gets better in the stanzas and transitions. The most interesting number in the album might be kaise mujhe. But the more one listens to it the more one gets the blockbuster feel here (to the soundtrack).

satyam 25 November 2008
09:02:19 pm

By the way seeing the behka preview as well as the Guzarish one I think this soundtrack will indeed really work in a huge way with the film. I loved the Guzarish preview to begin with. There was something here that really worked for me without my necessarily being able to put a finger on it..

ideaunique 25 November 2008
09:47:16 pm

Latoo song has Shreya at her “masti”est best

ideaunique 25 November 2008
09:49:19 pm

“Palak kyun bhadke re….dil kyun dhadke re….”
I am latoo at the moment

ideaunique 25 November 2008
09:50:38 pm

what are those words in between antaras “nazaiye”, “thodo thodo sumbave”, “majari majara simbave”?….

neelu 25 November 2008
11:22:50 pm

Thanks for your review Aakash. I found this a tad disappointing for a Rahman album, though better than Yuvraaj. For me the lyrics are verging on tukbandi and that is what drags the album down too. Situationally the songs may click well – although the garish colors in Behka and the various hairdos seem quite gimmicky.

Zen 26 November 2008
04:42:45 am

Ghajini quite easily trumps Jodha Akbar soundtrack and I higly regard that soundtrack, in fact the best of the year til Yuvvraaj surfaced. I never cared much for the pedestrian Azeem o-shaan as it was instantly catchy but at the same time giving you the drift that it will fade from memory soon. The standout was Kwajaa and both In Lamhon and jashne bahar were excellent but then er.. that’s it.

Coming to ghajini, Latoo is an instant classic, this number is one heavy weight, constantly inventive, wickedly suggestive and hands up anyone who can hum it the end. You just can’t, because of the layers… anytime a stanza starts its like a whole new great tune in itself, and that background mishmash of words, damn like a rave. Hats off, rahman, you’ve pulled out another wonder.

Kaise mujhe is great but not outstanding as the love songs in Swades and RDB (pyaar bin bataya) do match it. It is too atypical apart from strings underlying the tone at certain points. As I listened to it, I suspected that for people who like the simple love songs, they will prefer it to everything.

Guzarish and Bhekha are both great and I like the former more right now but think that bekha will soon overtake it in my preferences. Bekha does sound a bit like Dildooba (Khakee) but it’s much more like complicated, slow, fast, slow … Zany too in all the right places

The experimental aye bachu remains just that, experimental, a lot of noise pollution and a chorus that just doesn’t jel with the rest of the song, and I love heavy metal. In all songs that I’ve heard Zara Jhoom lyrics, they are better than this track. The weakest link.

Zen 26 November 2008
04:48:02 am

“Palak kyun bhadke re….dil kyun dhadke re….”
Lol! say that again, too many high points in this wonderful track. And that background beat that the whole song is built on is just so effing funky… are those drums or what?

Zen 26 November 2008
04:51:54 am

Overall i would rate rahmaan this year as:
1. Yuvvraaj ( no weak track and some middle bits of tu meri dost are unbelieveable, it wants to make you rush and see how it plays on the drama in the film. Too many great tracks, di ka rishta, manmohiney, Tu muskura, even zindagi and the other one)
2. Ghajini
3. Jodha Akbar
4. Jane Tu

sandy 26 November 2008
05:03:19 am

“Coming to ghajini, Latoo is an instant classic, this number is one heavy weight, constantly inventive, wickedly suggestive and hands up anyone who can hum it the end. You just can’t, because of the layers… anytime a stanza starts its like a whole new great tune in itself, and that background mishmash of words, damn like a rave. Hats off, rahman, you’ve pulled out another wonder.”

Wow Zen, that’s quite a summation!

sandy 26 November 2008
05:06:20 am

Agree on Aye Bachoo being the weakest ONLY by the standard of this outstanding album.

satyam 26 November 2008
06:36:38 am

I would disagree very much on Azeem (JA) Zen.. how can you possibly consider this pedestrian?!

satyam 26 November 2008
06:50:19 am

The one thing that is certainly clear at this point is that enough people are loving Ghajini at this point. I heard from some folks in India and I got a similar reaction. The last Rahman I got a similar reaction on was Guru.

The same goes for the film. I think the previews so far have been extremely successful. And Behka seems to be an outright winner. People are really taking to the song and the video. Not my favorite song by any means here (though I do like it) but I think there is also a bit of Aamir khandala (Ghulam) genealogy here.

Ironically (even sadly for my tastes) Ghajini in many ways is the most different film around. Yeah even more than TZP! Because no one makes serious masala movies in Bollywood anymore! Not comedies like BnB or OSO or whatever, but a really serious dramatic masala movie. This is the biggest risk around!

Zen 26 November 2008
07:09:55 am

Satyam, only pedestrian in the sense that the chorus and singing the title line represents the crescendo of the song. songs where the chorus are the best thing about them I tend to term ordinary. But then, as you know more than me, in every ordinary rehmaan compositions there are extraordinary moments.

satyam 26 November 2008
09:18:24 am

Totally off topic but India have beaten Eng yet again. This is not surprising but everyone pretty much batted well and Sachin got in another half century! Sehwag missed out on the century of course.

jayshah 26 November 2008
09:22:46 am

England are so *^%^&*$%^$%^£$”

They don’t even deserve one day status. Looks like a complete thrashing today.

satyam 26 November 2008
09:25:08 am

yeah it’s completely amazing that they haven’t been able to win one game here!

Som 26 November 2008
09:28:42 am

I missed it.I missed it.Had it not been for this fractured shoulder,would have been a treat to see India thrashing England on live at Cuttack.

jayshah 26 November 2008
09:28:59 am

England decided to put Ravi Bopara, a batsmen at number 8 after a bloody allrounder in Samit Patel in first few games. There is no balance in the side. Its full of players more worried about playing in India next year in IPL then playing this year

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