A Restless Mind

'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa' is another of Aamir Khan's venture into production after Lagaan and Taare Zameen Par, launching his nephew Imraan Khan in the light romantic movie. The music has been mastered by the brilliant A.R.Rahman who has kept churning out so many hits year after year that we have kept wondering when the well will dry up. 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa' is Rahman's first movie after the immensely successful 'Jodhaa Akbar' which, although not perfectly capturing the richness of the Moghul Era did trigger the usual waves of appreciation throughout the world. The lyrics have been composed by the talented scriptwriter of 'Main Hoon Na' and 'Taare Zameen Par' and debutant director of the movie, Abbas Tyrewala.

'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa' is a completely different project. Rahman returns to the contemporary world with the music for a young dynamic love story in the 'Saathiya' vein although it is much more modern.

The album starts off with arguably the best song of the soundtrack, 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Zindagi'. Sung by the refreshing newcomer Rashid Ali, it is a youthful mix of rhythm and light lyrics. This song has the potential to be a real crowd-pleaser. The music is not complex, it is not meticulously arranged to make you gasp in awe and disbelief. It instead attains perfection in another way, it just flows like a seamless river. Some might argue the music sounds repetitive judging by Rahman's penchant for unconventional sounds, but he largely compensates for that with the wonderful rendering of Rashid Ali and the coolness the song emanates. The vocalist makes as big an impression as Naresh Iyer did with his masterclass singing in 'Rang de Basanti'. Rashid Ali will be a front-runner for the RD Burman Award come next February.

Second in line is 'Pappu can't dance', a fast number and yet another which deviates from the usual deviations of Rahman. The song is a 'tribute' to Salman Khan and talks about how he likes cars and girls but does not know how to dance. One cannot help to notice the word 'saalaa' used for the first time since 'Roobaroo'. It gives the song more youthful essence, in line with the movie's theme of a young college romance. But this song does not deliver as a Rahman tune. It is rather something you would expect from Prittam or even Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, not because it is not enjoyable, but because it is simply not Rahman material. The remix which is also on the track is mainly there for nightclub djs and is totally unnecessary.

Then, we have two versions of 'Jaane Tu Mera Kya Hai', one by Jai, the actor's character in the movie and the other by Aditi, the actress's character. The soundtrack redeems itself with these two tracks, both wonderfully sung by Rahman favourite, Sukhwinder Singh and novice -although you wouldn't make that out at first until you were told- Runa Rizvi respectively. Both tracks contain melodious music remisnescent of such classics like 'Eh Ajnabi' (Dil Se...) and 'Chupke Se' (Saathiya), only with more contemporary beats. The emotion inherent in the songs are very palpable and it successfully transmits the idea of heartache and yearning in the modern world of youngsters. Yet again, Runa Rizvi is another one to watch out for. The artist has talent in abundance and will definitely feature again in another Rahman album in the future.

Hardly have we settled in a peaceful trance with the previous tracks that we are shaken up into awareness by the dynamic piece 'Nazrein Milaana Nazrein Churana'. Giving the vocals are Naresh Iyer amidst a string of newbies. The song is hip, it is easily hummable, but it doesn't mean the music is ordinary. On the contrary, there is a higher level of musical complexity compared to the other tracks, much to the delight of Rahman purists although it is far from retro. This is like 'Roobaroo' all over again and will be a huge success on the radio waves.

The last two tracks complete the album in the same way desserts leave a great taste in your mouth after a great dinner. The first one, 'Tu Bole Main Boloon', which should really have been named as the title song is vocally rendered by the maestro himself. We all know Rahman has a lot of emotional force in his voice, going by his 'Al Maddath Maula' (Mangal Pandey), 'Mera Yaar Milade' (Saathiya) and the sufi piece from 'Jodhaa Akbar', but Rahman again leaves his treaded path to engage into a cool jazz number. The lyrics are simple, the saxophone is amazingly not out of place and gives the unique feel of a Rahman track. This song, like many of the maestro's former singing performances will not top the charts but once again, Rahman excels in a fabulous musical piece, as if it could not have been sung by anyone else but the genius himself. The last song is blessed by the voice of Rashid Ali and Vasundhara Das (remember her??!!). 'Kahin To Hogi Ho' is the romantic masterpiece of the soundtrack. It is very relaxing and soothing. It deceptively sounds like a Jatin Lalit classic but it is miles better and the fresh voices of the singers contribute to a large extent to the song's excellence. A few people run the risk of being reminded of their 'pehla pyar', while others will just wish they could fall in love over and over again. But although the track impresses hugely, it is nowhere near the high standards that Rahman normally sets. But, no romantic song this year will come even close to bettering this track in terms of melody.

Rahman still rules over Bollywood. This guy is in a league of his own which only a few could dream of entering. But this album is the closest Rahman can come to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. Yes, the soundtrack is normally what you would expect from the amazing trio: youthfulness, dynamism and simple melodies. Only the absence of Shankar from the singers' list and the higher quality of the songs will shake away your illusion. But at the same time, it gives you a sense of deja-vu with the early projects of Rahman like 'Roja' and 'Sapnay' in mind. I would personally class this album as an experimental one by Rahman, a successful experiment in fact. I would not say it is a respite from the normally very complex and unconventional albums of the maestro because that is the specialty of the man, but this album comes almost like a draught of fresh air. Bar two average songs, the album is fantastic and has an outstanding chance of making the nominations for the Best Music awards.