The only songs that touch
a chord nowadays are either copies or nostalgia music
repackaged as remixes. A list of the best film music during
the year just gone by:
1. "Veera-Zaara":
When he got the late Madan Mohan's son Sanjeev Kohli to
rearrange some of his father's unused tunes, Yash Chopra
attempted a unique experiment. The gambit paid off. And
with Lata Mangeshkar to sing the songs, the album just
couldn't go wrong. It didn't.
Lataji-Roop Kumar Rathod's
"Tere liye" is the best love ballad I've heard
in the last five years. Lata Mangeshkar's other duet "Do
pal" with Sonu Nigam is also a gem meant to sparkle
long after "Dhoom" stops at the box office.
2. "Kisna": At
yearend came the redoubtable Subhash Ghai's mammoth sounds
in "Kisna". The sound design and the epic cadences
in this sumptuous feast for the senses fill us with hope
for the future of Hindi music. The romantic grandeur of
the tracks, plus composer Ismail Durbar's ability to evoke
classic images through the brilliant orchestration add
up to an album that belongs at the top of the shelf. A.R.
Rahman's ballad "Hum hain iss pal jahan" is
another one to hold close to the heart.
3. "Murder":
Anu Malik gave Mallika Sherawat a grand entry song. The
minute she swung her hips to the undulating beats of "Kaho
na kaho", a star was born. "Bheege hoont tere"
was again a marvellous tune tempting lovers to do forbidden
things in their free time.
4. "Mughal-e-Azam":
Old, as they say, is gold. It's also better than bold.
Don't you prefer to hear Lata Mangeshkar sing "Mohabbat
ki jhoothi kahani pe roye" than "Kabhi mere
saath koi raat guzar" ("Murder")? Naushad's
entire soundtrack was re-recorded in digital stereophonic
sound. The cleaned-out harmonies didn't diminish the pleasure
of hearing Lata Mangeshkar's voice creeping into a compelling
crescendo in "Pyar kiya to darna kya". A gem
of an album.
5. "Meenaxi":
A.R. Rahman has two major Hindi soundtracks in 2004. While
his output in Ashutosh Gowariker's "Swades"
was nowhere near his output in the director's "Lagaan",
for M.F. Husain's abstract and enchanting journey into
a woman's heart, Rahman designed ripples of beauty. From
the stunning qawwali to the heart-stopping "Yeh rishta
kya kehlata hai", Rahman reaffirmed his place at
the forefront of the race.
6. "Phir Milenge":
After a spectacular 2003 topped by the chartbusters in
"Kal Ho Na Ho", Shankar-Ehsan-Loy had a tame
year. None of their soundtracks did well. But "Phir
Milenge" where the trio shared compositional credit
with Ilaiyaraja's daughter had one track to die for. "Jeene
ke ishaare mil gaye", sung with glorious gusto by
Shankar Mahadevan. More than the tunes it was Prasoon
Joshi's life-sustaining lyrics that stood out in this
album. No wonder Sanjay Leela Bhansali got Joshi to write
the promotional song for his prestigious "Black".
7. "Main Hoon Na":
Anu Malik's tuning acumen may have come under a cloud,
thanks to the tediousness that has crept into the music
industry. But Malik continues to be a chart-rocker. His
songs for friend Farah's film were so feisty, fun-filled
and funny that we tended to excuse the lack of forward-thrust
in the tunes. The qawwali done to the backbeat sound of
Boney M's "No More Chain Gang" was a hoot. But
it made us whistle. Sonu Nigam's title song wasn't half
as evocative as "Kal Ho Na Ho". But it worked.
Ditto album.
8. "Pancham Beats":
The only compilation in this year's Top 10...and what
a brilliantly devised compilation! The commodious and
utterly compelling album features the timeless trio of
Gulzar, R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle in conversation on
the favourite songs that they created.
And yes, the collection
also has the cosy threesome commenting on and listening
to the songs that Asha's sister Lata Mangeshkar and Burman's
favourite Kishore Kumar sang for Gulzar and R.D. Burman.
It all added up to an enchanting journey into the heart
and soul of one of the most enduring and endearing musical
collaborations in Hindi cinema.
9. "Dev": Aadesh
Shrivastava has been doing exemplary work for two years.
Last year he gave us much reason to rejoice with his songs
in "Chalte Chalte" and "Baghbaan".
In "Dev", Shrivastava collaborated with Govind
Nihalani who worked with A.R. Rahman in his earlier foray
into star-studded commercial cinema "Takshak".
"Rang deehni" has Kailash Khar to create a ravishing
tune done up in trendy shades of raga Darbari. Sonu Nigam
is unrecognisable in "Tujh sang". In the song
written by director Nihalani, the versatile singer scales
new heights of emotive expression.
Kareena Kapoor turns singer
in the quaintly assembled "Jab nahin". Lyricist
Nida Fazli's words are like fresh air blowing through
a corridor filled with memories and other intangibles.
Kareena hasn't just recited a few poetic lines, but actually
sung the entire song... and carried the notes with extreme
care and delicacy. "Dev" isn't an album about
gimmicky sounds. It pulls no punches and yet manages to
wallop a smart blow on our sensibilities. The versatile
and virile sounds include my favourite track "Allah
hoo" where Shrivastava gets vocally ambitious in
the seductive company of the inimitable Asha Bhosle.
10. "Paap": Anu
Malik's songs were pretty powerful in their impact specially,
"Intezaar, intezaar", which had a hugely haunting
feel to it. Again like "Murder", a lot of the
zingy music was imported from Pakistan. Ali Azmat's "Garaj
baras" and Shahi's "Man ki lagan" were
not Anu's songs for sure.
The 10 Best Songs Of 2004:
1. "Tere liye"
from Veer-Zara; Sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Roop Kumar
Rathod. Music by the late Madan Mohan.
2. "Uuf kya jadoo mohabbat hai", title song
of film by the same name; Sung by Sunidhi Chauhan; piano
by Richard Clayderman; Music by Sandesh Shandilya.
3. "Hum hain iss pal yahan" from "Kisna";
Sung by Udit Narayan and Madhushree; Music by A.R. Rahman.
4. "Kitne ajeeb rishtey hain yahan pe" from
"Page 3"; Sung by Lata Mangeshkar; Music by
Shamir Tandon.
5. "Do pal" from "Veer-Zara"; Sung
by Lata Mangeshkar; Music Madan Mohan.
6. "Intezaar" from "Paap"; Sung by
Anuradha Paudwal; Music by Anu Malik.
7. "Allah hoo" from "Dev"; Sung by
Asha Bhosle and Aadesh Shrivastava; Music by Aadesh Shrivastava
8. "Aao na" from "Kyun...Ho Gaya Na";
Sung by Sadhana Sargam; Music by Shankar-Ehsan-Loy
9. "Bheege honth tere" from "Murder";
Sung by Kunal Ganjawala; Music by Anu Malik
10. "Bepanaah pyar hai aaja" from "Krishna
Cottage"; Sung by Shreya Ghosal; Music by Anu Malik
