Just when Bollywood music
required some stability, grace and meaning, post some horrendous songs with a
rapper promising to get Grammy and songs which definitely ensured that the
NADEEM-SHRAVAN era was coming back, Vishal Bhardwaj delivers HAIDER. Needless
to say that the expectations were soaring from this album and Bhardwaj has
exceeded the expectations, like he does, always.
There is something enigmatic about the
combination of Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar Sahab, and it has been this way since
they first collaborated for Maachis. Bhardwaj is back to complete his trilogy
of the Shakespearean tragedies post Maqbool and Omkara; this time attempting to
adapt one of the most difficult plays written by Shakespeare, Hamlet. What
is surprising is the emphasis on the music that has been laid in this film. From
adapting Faiz’s Ghazals to bringing out the best in Gulzar, from the rock
influences to the Kashmiri Rubab, this album is a gem!
AAO
NA - That Bhardwaj is no muck at Rock genre was evident
years ago when he enthralled everyone with the soundtrack of Paanch. AAO NA is
a brilliant composition, some thing which gives visibility to the album and to the
film, and despite having elements of a chartbuster song; this is a very dark
song.
The
grave calls out to the dead to come and sleep as the world is dead is
exactly what the song means. The rock influences in the song are superbly
supported with Dadlani’s vocals as he croons along seamlessly. AAO NA is haunting
and extremely catchy. Vishal Dadlani’s energetic vocals only make this song all
the more irresistible.
BISMIL – It
is this song that made me clap; clap for the brilliance of Gulzar’s command
over words. Long ago in some forgotten era, songs were written to create imageries
and situations in the minds of the listener which had to be interpreted to
understand the subtlety of the wordplay. Unfortunately, explicit seems to be
the norm of the day and hence a Desi Kalakar becomes a Superstar, meanwhile the
genius of Bismil largely goes unnoticed. Sukhwinder Singh gives this song a
very unique identity. Bismil is essentially the portrayal of the Mousetrap
portion in the original play.
Depicitng the entire
scenario with the story of two nightangles and an eagle, set in the backdrop of
Kashmir valley, Bismil surely is an example of the power of words. It is the
usage of Personification at its very best. Bhardwaj quietly lets the words
weave their magic as he perfectly sets up the composition complete with Rubab’s
Sarangi’s and Ektara’s.
KHUL
KABHI TOH – Arijit Singh is an extremely gifted
singer. Khul Kabhi Toh makes him utilise his wonderful gift of making difficult
songs sound ridiculously simple. This one isn’t the quintessential Bollywood
romantic track but is a trademark VB romantic track and is not very difficult
to identify that. The vocalist steals the show as Gulzar sits back and pens
down prosaic verses and VB sets them all into a very tempting groove. The beauty
of this song lies in the smartly composed music. The romace comes out literally
as the song progresses.
Bekaraan, Khamakha etc (all VB’s compositions)
have been already where Khul Kabhi Toh tries to be, but with lines like- jhuk
ke jab jhumka me chum raha tha, der tak gulmohar jhum raha tha, you can
hardly complain.
EK
AUR BISMIL – I could barely figure out the reason
behind putting the original composition into Arabic beats and make it sound
shabby. It may also be primarily because of the fact that the focus here shifts
from the words to the beats and hence it irked me as a listener. In all
probabilities, this song will not be included in the film and will only be used
for promotion purposes and that is good enough.
JHELUM –
Vishal Bhardwaj showcases his skills as a singer with Jhelum, a track which talks about the pathos and sorrows where
Jhelum’s struggle to find the shore serves as a metaphor for the protagonist’s
search for a goal and shelter. This one is a short track but conveys what it
intended to.
DO
JAHAAN – Suresh Wadkar sings this track along with Shraddha
Kapoor who sings certain Kashmiri folk portions in this song. This is probably
the weakest composition in the entire album with Wadkar’s vocals turning out to
be the only saving grace. The song goes off beat many a times and causes more
distraction rather than indulgence which otherwise VB is extremely capable of
with his compositions.
AAJ
KE NAAM - This is not by any means a full blown
track but a recitation of Faiz Abul Faiz’s masterfully written poem by Vishal Bhardwaj’s
favourite, Rekha Bhardwaj. I sincerely urge everyone to search the symbolic
meaning of this particular song for the Urdu used will significantly be incomprehensible
for many of the listeners. Having read Faiz’s work while I grew up, this one
connected instantly, more so because of the way Rekha Bhardwaj has recited it.
Rarely do you find a film
maker and a music director willing to adapt and resurrect such beautiful pieces
of literature for the coming generation.
Un
haseenao ke naam, jinki aakho ke gul, chilmano aur dareecho ki belo pe, bekaar
khil khil ke murjha gaye hai.
Faiz dedicated this poem to
the undying spirit of women by portraying various life situations in the
lifetime of women.
GULON
ME RANG BHARE – When Mehdi Hassan Sahab lent his voice to
the mesmerizing words of Faiz, magic was born in the form an evergreen ghazal. This
probably was the 1st ghazal that I ever listened to. Jagjit Singh
entered a bit late into my playlist. Excited as I was to listen to one of my
all time favourite ghazal being re-rendered by Arijit Singh, I pressed the play
button and trust me it has been on the loop. Playing continuously for over 3
days now, Arijit Singh holds onto his own skill sets and beautifully recreates
the magic that once was created when Mehdi Sahab had the mic at his disposal.
But the person who deserves
the applause is Mr. Vishal Bhardwaj. I have not seen anyone adapting a classic
and turning it into another classic. What remains to be seen is how he has used
Faiz’z work in a Shakespearean play.
Haider as a music album is a
gem in itself. The lyrics tell a story, the music complements it and the singing
puts out the emotion which the lyricist had in mind while penning the songs.
In
an era where the standards have literally been demolished as to what can
qualify as music, VB and Gulzar Shab come across to reassure the faith in
music. The chartbuster list would not boast of Haider’s songs but the listeners
who are willing to invest some time to listen to some genuinely creative
efforts, Haider’s playlist would be something to boast about.
For some music is a part of
life, for some, a way of life.
**4.5 STARS**
