MUSIC REVIEW: Yuvvraaj

At a recent press conference for his film Yuvvraaj, Subhash Ghai made a passing but significant reference to Chicago, one of classic Broadway musicals which was also adapted to the big screen (Richard Gere, Renee Zellweger, Catherina Zeta-Jones).

The soundtrack of Yuvvraaj is perhaps the perfect mirror of his inspiration.

It would be no exaggeration to say, AR Rahman's virtuosity and Gulzar's lyrical mastery have come together to give us the year's most innovative album so far. With a superb blend of Western and Indian classical, pop and disco, Rahman evokes the grandeur of a symphony at one time and the vibe of a pulsating dance floor at the other.

The album explodes with the all-too familiar opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (performed competently by the Chennai String Orchestra), interspersed with Salman's introduction: Main Hoon Yuvvraaj and flows into Tu Meri Dost Hain: (Benny Dayal, Shreya Ghoshal, Rahman).

This song introduces us to the signature style of the soundtrack and its recurring theme, and glides on the wings of beautiful lyrics.

Sample this:

Awaaz ka dariya hoon

Behta hoon main nili raaton mein

Main jaagta rehta hoon

Neendh bhari jheel si aankhon mein

Awaaz hoon main…

The arrangement is neat, the choice and use of instruments impeccable, and the melody, if not easy to hum, certainly grows on you.

Hop, skip and jump to Shano Shano, an out and out dance track (remixed version by Ember later in the album). Once again, Rahman chooses not to go for an overproduced track, though the temptation could be really high. This one is a very funky pop number sung by Sonu Nigam, Srinivas, Karthik, Timmy, Sunaina, Vivienne Pocha and Tina. Not really 'out there', Shano does have its moments though Nigam's voice is bit of an incongruity here.

LISTEN: Yuvvraaj songs