The music of UTV Motion Pictures and Ashutosh Gowariker Productions’ Jodhaa Akbarwas formally released by the Royalty of Jaipur (direct descendants of Jodhaa) - His Highness Maharaja Bhawani Singhji, Her Highness Maharani Padmini Deviji of Jaipur and His Highness Maharaja Brajraj Singhji of Kishangarh.
Present in the magnificent Royal tent, especially erected for the unveiling, were singers Sonu Nigam, Javed Ali and Bela Shendye along with the cast and crew of the film including Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, A. R. Rahman, Javed Akhtar,Punam S. Sinha, Sonu Sood, Ronnie Screwvala and Sunita and Ashutosh Gowariker in Mumbai today. Cinematographer Kiran Deohans, action coordinator Ravi Dewan, production designer Nitin Desai, costumes designer Neeta Lulla and character artistes Raza Murad, Ila Arun, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, and writer and character artiste Haider Ali. The other guests who attended the launch included Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan and Sonakshi Sinha, Sanjay & Zarine Khan and Zayed Khan, Amar Singh and others.
Producing the music of Jodhaa Akbar has been an incredible journey for Ashutosh Gowariker. Said the filmmaker, “The experience has been fascinating, exciting and unique. One of the pleasures of working on a film is repeating your team. And if that team happens to be Javed Saab and Rahman then the process of creating music is all the more wonderful and joyous.”
Speaking on the music, A R Rahman comments “It has always been a pleasure to associate with Ashutosh on his projects. We started off with Lagaan and then Swades, both of which gave me immense creative satisfaction as a composer. It was an honour that Jodhaa Akbar was offered to me.”
The music of the film marks the launch of UTV Music, and UTV chief Ronnie Screwvala said, “A film of the magnitude and calibre of Jodhaa Akbar with its outstanding music compositions is the perfect vehicle for the launch of UTV Music.”
The "Beethovan of the East", A.R. Rahman is back with what he is best at. Yes, its composing music for period films, at which he is simply par excellante! And that is reason enough for lovers of high quality classical based music (fed up with the artificial techno-stuff) to rejoice. This is the maestro's sixth album for a full fledged period film album. The first one in the excellent line-up was, Earth (199, followed by Aamir Khan's Lagaan (2001), Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), Bose-The Forgotten Hero (2005), Mangal Pandey-The Rising (2005) and Water (2006). Quite an impressive line-up, one must say! With Rahman announcing that Jodhaa Akbar will be the last in the series, here is inviting all Rahman maniacs to feast on this musical offering by the wizard, Allah Rakha Rahman!
True to the grandeur and magnificence of the magnum-opus, Rahman's first composition is 'Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah' (Shouldn't it be Azeem-Ush-Shaan Shahenshah, Javed Sahab?) which commences with bugle and nagada sounds heralding the arrival of the most powerful Mughal Emperor, Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar. Rahman's work is magical here as he deftly creates the perfect ambience through his superb musical arrangements. Percussion wizard, Sivamani gives the song a royal battlefield touch with his Taiko and sword rhythm and makes the song a thrilling hearing experience. The tempo and rhythm is kept at a constant pace, the flow of the mukhda and the antara are kept uniform. It's the uniformity which makes this composition a delight and truly unique. The only point where it varies is where the inspiration from his own Lagaan composition 'Ghanan Ghanan' takes over for a while in the female chorus. The two male singers, Mohammad Aslam and Boney Chakraborty sing as a team and are in perfect harmony with each other.
Javed Akhtar succeeds in providing a befitting introduction to the emperor, highlighting the power and strength, the kind and generous nature as well as his loving personality through well crafted words. The mukhda – "Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah,(The great emperor), Farmaan Ravaan (Whose decree is the order of the day), Hamesha hamesha salamat rahe (Live healthy forever), Tera ho kya byaan (No words can describe you), Tu shaan-e-Hindustan (You are the pride of Hindustan), Hindustan teri jaan, (Hindustan is your life), Tu jaan-e-Hindustan (You are the life of Hindustan), Marhaba, Marhaba (Welcome & Hail thee, Hail thee)". Javed Akhtar also uses the local dialect of the North to give the song an authentic feel. A truly 'azeemushshan agaaz' (great beginning) to an 'Azeemushshaan' album! 'Marhaba! Marhaba!'
Ashutosh prefers to call his magnum-opus an epic romance between Emperor Akbar and his beloved wife, Jodhaa, and it therefore provides Rahman ample opportunity to create two of the most wonderful love ballads of recent times.
Magical sitar and rubab sounds embrace the listeners and commence the first one 'Jashne-E-Bahaaraa' that one falls in love with instantly. The combination of the sitar, rubab and beads is fantabulous. Although it's a romantic love song, it is a touch different. What we mean is that its not the usual run of the mill number that can fit into any romantic situation. It has been specially crafted for the movie. The lyrics suggest that it is a situational love track. The fact that initially Jodhaa resented her marriage to Akbar is presented in a beautiful manner, through words which are simply superb, and Javed Akhtar deserves all the accolades possible - "Kaise kahen kya hai sitam, Sochte hain ab yeh hum, Koi kaise kahen woh hain ya nahin hamare, Karten toh hain saath safar, Faasle hain, Phir bhi magar, Jaise milte nahin dariya ke do kinare." Javed Ali is simply superb, as he tunefully renders the spellbinding composition.
Sitar and rubab once again commences 'Jashn-E-Bahaaraa-Instrumental' though its backbone is some excellent flute piece by Navin (Rahman's favourite). It is definitely a novel effort and makes for a pleasant change from the mundane instrumentals of today.
According to the lead actor Hrithik Roshan, Jodhaa Akbar has the most romantic and intimate moments (sans the kiss of course!), and the next composition 'Inn Lamhon Ki Daaman Mein' is a testimony to those beautiful moments shared by the Emperor and his beautiful wife. The number starts as a simple love song, with Sonu excelling in the genre which has become his very own. But as Rahman's trademark magnificently executed crescendo takes over, the listeners are as always left awestruck with the massive arrangements, which only the maestro is capable of. The crescendo highlights the passionate relationship well. The chorus with its background taans and also singing and the lull that follows the mukhda are all breathtakingly beautiful. 'Madhur' (sweet) sounding Madhushree joins in the duet and sings in chaste Hindi(the princess is a Rajputani, remember!). Kudos to the musical genius!
After two beautiful love songs, its time to go spiritual with the Sufi qawwali, 'Khwaja Mere Khwajaa'. Rendered by the maestro A.R. Rahman himself, its an authentic qawwali, the kind heard in the shrines and dargahs. The musical instruments like harmonium, tabla, daf, along with well knit taans and sargams by the chorus will be appreciated by the connoisseur of this type of qawwali, who love it pure and unadulterated. The result is a superb devotional track that tugs at the heart, such is Rahman's rendition. It is a situational number. As is well known that Akbar visited the shrine of the famous saint Salim Chisti (Fatehpur Sikri), wept, pleaded and prayed there to be granted a son who would inherit his empire. His prayers were granted and he was blessed with son Salim, the next Mughal emperor after Akbar, known as Jahangir. But the lyricist Kashif has referred to the saint as Khwaja Moiunddin (Ajmer)/'Gharib Nawaz' and this is a big error on the part of the whole team, as Akbar visited the shrine of Khawja Salim Chisti and not that of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.
The qawwali also has an instrumental version, and the instrument predominantly used is the oboe, a woodwind instrument (modified version – bassoon) played to perfection by Leighann Woodard, along with the sitar and organ sounds. This is a musical wonder from A.R. Rahman which can be labeled as an Indian Philharmonic orchestra. A real treat!
After the soulful qawwali, its prayer time once again, with 'Man Mohanaa', a bhajan or a devotional number, dedicated to Lord Krishna, God of love, also referred to as "Kanha" or "Man Mohanaa" (charmer of the heart), as in this number. It is obviously a situational track, sung during troubled times of war and revolt. The extremely talented, but underrated Bela Shende moves the soul with her rendition and makes this first, somewhat average composition (the tune has been heard many times before) from Rahman a soulful experience. In the context of the movie, the number will serve an important purpose in showing that Jodhaa was a woman of substance and she stuck to her own faith and religion and the emperor respected her faith.
So those were our impressions of Jodhaa Akbar, the audio album which finally hit the stores after many postponements, but when it did, the wait was definitely worth it! Rahman has done it again and his fans are savoring his masterly compositions. But isn't that always the case, even when it is served on time? Definitely and surely a must buy, as it may not be a classic, but will surely become one in the days to come!
Music maestro A.R. Rahman is ready to build a music conservatory in
Chennai for young talents who want to learn Western classical music.
He has already acquired land for it.
"It's near the Chennai airport. And we plan to start work on it very
soon," Rahman said. He says starting a music conservatory is a dream
he has nurtured for years.
"I feel young talented musicians in our country, who are interested
in Western classical music, have no place to learn. We need to
cultivate a taste for Western symphonic music so that an average
musically-inclined young musician would be as enthused about learning
the violin as the sitar," said Rahman.
The land purchase puts Rahman's dream plan into third gear. "We would
soon be working round-the-clock. I want it to be one of the best
music schools in our country."
Speaking on his latest music soundtrack in Hindi, Rahman said, "I
wouldn't even want to compare my output in 'Jodhaa Akbar' with what
Ashutosh Gowariker and I did in 'Lagaan' or 'Swades'.
"Or, for that matter, what Rakeysh (Omprakash Mehra) and I did
in 'Rang De Basanti' (RDB). We've done what we liked without thinking
of the outcome. You've to go by your instincts in every form of art.
I've never intentionally tried to break the mould. I've tried to do
what's right."
Two of his old scores are also ready for release. "Two years back
Abbas Tyrewallah's 'Jaane Tu Jaane Na' and 'Adaa' by Tanvir Ahmed
were recorded. These will come in the next two months."
And, of course, there's Subhash Ghai's magnum opus `Yuvraj'. "It's
got Western classical vibes, but the sound is very Indian, very
mellow."
He says his music in Ghai's "Taal" helped him earn Punjabi fans. "I
think 'Taal' took me to the Hindi-belt masses. I ceased to be
different. Before that I was seen as this oddity from Chennai. Of
course, 'Rangeela' got its own glory. But 'Taal' is the one that
created a hardcore Punjabi audience for me."
He also has Mehra's "Dilli 6" coming up. "It's turned out very well.Who can say how it will be accepted? Did anyone expect RDB to become
so big? Even a small idea can change the world.
"When I came into Hindi cinema with 'Roja', the whole road was empty.
A lot of people are still doing good work, but not consistently. Good
work can be done even on YouTube on the net. So let's not blame the
lack of opportunities for the inconsistent musical output."
Malayalam director Adoor Gopalakrishnan says, "TV has corrupted
popular tastes. I'd have to agree with that. I feel the film medium
deserves much better. Even I get pulled into projects which are not
right."
Ask Rahman whom he considers a path-breaker after himself and he
quips: "Why do we need a path-breaker? One never intends to be a path-
breaker. If it happened I'm fortunate.
"Right now we need more experimental melodies in film music. The
problem is that the minute you start composing a soundtrack, you're
thinking you'll do what sells in the charts. Your intention becomes
diluted. It's more about marketing than creativity.
"Which songs should go on the shelf, which should go into the pubs -
these questions should come after you create the music. And there's a
diminishing respect for creative people. Stars get all the respect
because they bring in the audience. But what about other creative
people?"
But Rahman is hopeful. "It will all taper off. We'll have more talent
coming in."
AR Rehman, the musical genius has acquired land near Chennai Airport for his upcoming Music Conservatory. Now he is ready to build a world class building in that land for young talents, who want to learn Western classical music. The land purchase puts Rehman's dream plan into the next stage.
Rehman said, "Yes! finally, I got the land just near Chennai Airport. And we plan to start work on it very soon. I have immense pleasure to start a music conservatory that is my dream for years."
"I feel young talented musicians in our country, especially those, who want to learn Western classical music, have nowhere seriously creative to go. We need to cultivate a taste for Western symphonic music so that an average musically-inclined young musician would be as enthused about learning the violin as the star. We'll soon be working round-the-clock. I want it to be one of the best music schools in our country," he added further.
Speaking about his next assignment for Rajini, he said, "It is my pleasure to score music for one of the best actor in the world. The songs of Shivaji created a new record. I'm trying to some different sound for his Robot."
I just got my new Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 sound card which I ordered from US last month. After listening to it for more than 4 hours, I must say I am really impressed by the sound quality. The sound card has a new feature called 24 bit Crystalizer. Creative claims this feature can repair the damage that MP3 and WMA compression causes and intelligently enhance high and low frequencies for cleaner music playback and more realistic movie sound. I thought of this a usual sales pitch by companies. Boy, I was wrong!!! It does work as it claims.
If you really want to feel the difference, you should listen to old ARR albums like Roja, Bombay, Kadhalan, Duet, Indian, Thiruda Thiruda etc... in this sound card with the Crystalizer turned on. It takes the songs to a whole new level. Those old songs sound like they were recorded only yesterday. I could hear tons of minute effects which I can swear I never heard before. Truly great. I also tried some movies with heavy action scenes. The gun shots and explosion sounds never sounded this great.
This sound card is a must buy for all music lovers, particularly ARR fans bcoz this card gives you the potential to explore his multi-layered compositions. Of course you need great speakers too. I have a 4200W PMPO Mercury 5.1 Speaker set.
The other love song is the magical In lamhon ke daaman mein, one of Rahman’s most structurally ambitious compositions and easily this album’s standout. Hearing Sonu Nigam (with the backing of a robust chorus) seesaw expertly between crescendo and decrescendo, between moody meditation and defiant declaration, it’s as if a committed, if weak-willed, lover grew a spine of steel through the course of the song, then flopped lovesick on his mattress again, then roused himself once more, then decided it wasn’t worth the trouble and slipped back into supine romantic longing. There’s so much character in this song, it’s as if stage directions were written into its crevices.
, followed by Aamir Khan's Lagaan (2001), Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), Bose-The Forgotten Hero (2005), Mangal Pandey-The Rising (2005) and Water (2006). Quite an impressive line-up, one must say! With Rahman announcing that Jodhaa Akbar will be the last in the series, here is inviting all Rahman maniacs to feast on this musical offering by the wizard, Allah Rakha Rahman!
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