Geshan's Blog

It’s been a while we had not got chance to listen to the musical gems by the musical maestro A R Rahman. Ada came as a surprise to me and with the bid to remix songs as a competition this was surely going to be a power packed album. The initial TV promos are also worth while and the black background with white text and ample photos give you the overall feel of the movie. The inlays covers are descriptive, narrative and pact the punch visually and in words. Let’s scrutinize the songs in this album one by one.

The album kicks off with “Ishq Ada – Male version” impeccably crooned by Rashid Ali. From the first guitar pluck you seem be getting deeper in the quick sand in this song. The composition is groovy and lyrics define what love is and I think Raqueeb Alam has penned a passionate piece of art and the singer has done full justice to the composition and the lyric. The instrumentation is of the fusion kind with guitars up front. Next number is “Hawa Sun Hawa” featuring the silk voiced Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik in the vocals department. Nusrat Badr has written a very heart felt lyric that highlights the need of two lovers to meet and see each other. Composition and music is signature A R Rahman with some synthetic music but very well blended with earthy instruments like flute, piano, tabla etc. Consequently appears “Gumsum” sung by Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagin in a euphoric fashion. Lyric by Nusrat Badr this time reminds of spring of a new year, Rahman’s arrangement and instrumentation truly stands out in this song. It’s a feel good song with ample percussions from the conventional instruments and synthetic sounds to support the arrangement. Subsequently its time for “Gulfisha”, for this track the vocals have been lent by Sonu Nigan, Sunidhi Chauhan & Viviane Chaix. Starting with some crooning by Viviane the duo of Nigam and Chauhan have executed the song in a classy way. Nusrat again scores with his impressive lyric. Composition is relatively simple but the arrangement makes you adore this song from the first listen. After it the next song is “Meherbaan” which is vocalized by A R Rahman himself which packs a punch from the first note. Starting with a piano rhythm when you hear Rahman’s voice you just fall in love with this song. The lyric is beyond comparison by Raqueeb Alam that signifies the need of love in one’s life. A very simple composition but the passion put in this song by maestro makes it irresistible and you end up listening to it again and again.

At track 6 Chitra, Sukhwinder Singh with Naresh Iyer sing “Tu Mera Hai” penned down by Badr. Talking about achievement of love the back vocals by Naresh is the USP of this song. Sukhwinder sings in this song rather than just shouting, no offense. The composition is amazing and the instrumentation go in sync with the lyrics. Next track is “Hai Dard” vocalized by Udit Narayan Jha. Jha has done a formidable job in this song. With tragic lyrics by Badr this song has that dark feel in the composition department as well. Singer selection may be a question in this song but overall it’s a good song saved primarily by Rahman’s efforts. Again “Isha Ada” comes to view but this time the Female Version crooned effortlessly by Parul Mishra. With an unplugged experience this song resembles the male version but has its own qualities to be reckoned with. As the male version this song is also fully packed with overflowing emotions. Towards the end we have “Milo Wahan Wahan” executed in an ideal way by Alka Yagnik & Jayachandaran. Mainly the high notes are done in an unspoiled manner. Bard’s lyrics stand out in this song and the composition is also on target. The slow tempo and the right instrumentation make it easy to like this track. Last track is “Meherbaan Instumental” on guitars by Sanjeev Thomas. The sound is clean and spot on. It’s a very good style to end an album with an instrumental piece and leave the audience wanting for more and more.

On the whole, getting a gem of an album by Rahman after a while was a good experience. You can even remix “Gumsum” or “Gulfishan” as a part of the deal with Rahman and Nokia at http://www.remixrahmansada.com so try becoming a DJ.

Regarding the album Rahman strikes again, be it old new singer selection mix, composition, arrangement or the overall fell of the album. If you liked Rahman’s songs in the past this is a must buy for you.

Enjoy the stylish ada of the maestro as he will never go out of fashion.

Around 800 Words
Geshan Manandhar