Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

It was a double treat for Rahman fans on 20th as 2 of his albums hit the market on the same day, Ada and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. I have been thinking of trying my hand at music reviews. And I couldn’t find a better way to start than with a Rahman album. So here is my humble attempt at reviewing the maestro's albums. First Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.

Tu Bole Main Boloon
A typical jazz number rendered by Rahman himself. I guess this is the first time he's doing a jazz song in Hindi. (Previous ones being Hello Mister in Iruvar and Jillendru Oru Kaadhal in SoK). It is indeed a fresh change as there haven't been any jazz songs lately in Hindi. But it surely doesn't rate among Rahman's best songs, mainly coz I wonder if this song would appeal to the masses though jazz followers would surely love this song.

Jaane Tu Mera Kya Hai
This song with a sensuous mood is sung by Runa Rizvi. Runa Rizvi is the daughter of ghazal singer Rajkumar Rizvi (who happens to be a nephew of Mehdi Hassan) and previously sung in a couple of movies which went unnoticed. Though Runa has sung well, her attempts at sensuality havent quite made an impact,as it would probably have made with someone like Shreya Ghoshal. Barring that its a good song.

Jaane Tu Meri Kya Hai
Sukhwinder has one more good song this year in his kitty with the male (and a better) version of the above song. Though the tune of the song remains the same, the mood brought about is totally different!! Splendid orchestration and backing vocals, and an excellent rendition by Sukhwinder make this one of the best songs in the album.

Kabhi Kabhi Aditi
Easily the pick of the album, a perky song coming out in the fresh and different vocals of Rashid Ali. Rashid Ali is ARR's guitarist I hear, and he has sung a lesser known song, Naadhir Dhinna for Rahman in the movie Paarthaale Paravasam. The vocals are beautifully complemented by the guitar throughout the song, and flute coming in between. The first line of the song resembles the first line of Appudo Ippudo in Bommarillu, but the resemblance ends there. A very good choice to begin your morning at work with (as I have been doing for the last 2 days. :) ).

Kahin To Hogi Woh
A romantic pop song reminiscent of songs like Nothing's gonna change my love and so on, rendered beautifully by Rashid Ali and Vasundhara Das. Again the orchestration and the choral voices have added to the beauty of the song. Rashid Ali reminds me of Adnan Sami at times with his slight nasal twang and the western style of rendition. Wonder why Rahman never brought him to the spotlight earlier.

Nazarein Milaana
A very youthful and peppy song sung by a horde of singers (Swetha Bhargave, Naresh Iyer, Satish Chakravarthye, Tanvi, Darshana, Benny Dayal, Anupama Deshpande). Anupama Deshpande is a singer who used to sing for Rahman till some time back I guess. Again having a pop mood, this song belongs to the league of Please Sir in Boys.

Pappu Can’t Dance
Rahman's next offering for the discotheques, this is another of the top songs in the album. This is again sung by a multitude of singers (Blaaze, Mohd. Aslam, Tanvi, Anupama Deshpande, Benny Dayal, Tanvi, Darshana, Satish Subramanium). At parts it reminds me of Kama Kama in Enakku 20 Unakku 18. There is also a remix version of the same song. Not sure if the remix has been done by Rahman himself but in any case it has been splendidly done.

First the soundtrack of a historical movie. Now a youthful album. Rahman continues to entertain us with his variety. And as a devout Rahman fan, I couldn’t ask for more.