MUSIC REVIEW: Rahman's Delhi-6

[soniya]

The promos of Delhi-6 began with a song called Masakali. Evidently the makers seemed to think it to the best song of the ten tracks. It has been sung by Mohit Chauhan and has some really cute lyrics and music to go with them.


But listening to the album you realise that perhaps, just perhaps Arziyan could have been a better track to introduce us to this film. Sung by Kailash Kher and Javed Ali, the song beautifully captures the essence of the locality called Delhi 6.


In fact the song actually transports you to Old Delhi where every day seems to be a celebration. The sufi strains are soothing and symbolic. Chances are even though you may not have seen the area you'd probably be able to paint a picture of what it must be. Arziyan is clearly the most touching song of all in Delhi-6.


As a matter of fact, it could have well been the opening track of the album. But it isn't.



Delhi-6 opens with Tumre bhavan mein, a devotional number that makes you wonder if you're listening to a Rajshri film album. The song doesn't make you feel spiritual let alone divine. It's Arziyan that does it instead.


Track number three Bhor Bhaye is an interesting song because Rahman uses the late Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's vocals and juxtaposes them with Shreya Ghosal. The song fails to strike a chord as the two voices don't seem to complement each other. Also it's not one of those songs that will go a long way – primarily because it tries desperately to balance the classical and popular.


The song that follows is called Delhi VI. It's a club number of sorts and lining it immediately after Bhor Bhaye makes you want to shoot the music arranger dead. The two songs are like chalk and cheese and could have well been kept apart. It's been sung by Benny Dayal, Tanvi, Claire and Vivinenne Pocha and is supposed to be a title track… certainly doesn't do justice to it.


Dil Gira Dafatan is supposed to be a soft romantic track. Sung by Ash King with backing vocals by Chinmayee is not one of Rahman's best romantic tracks. Agreed Prasoon Joshi has written fairly decent lyrics but it lacks the trademark AR Rahman touch.


Cut to Genda Phool, which is arguably one of the better compositions. Sung by Rekha Bharadwaj, Shraddha Pandit and Sujata Majumdar it has very interesting lyrics about a woman's in her in-laws house. Listen to it, this one's probably number two to Arziyan.


Hey Kaala Bandar is what the next song is called. I've heard it over five times so far and honestly I can't for the life of me understand just what has hit me. Definitely the worst track of the album.


Noor is not exactly a song but a 50 second long clip of Amitabh Bachchan">Amitabh Bachchan's voice. I'm not going to say anything else. It's a song worth waiting for if you are one of those who don't like to skip tracks.
Keeping in with the tradition of lending his voice, AR Rahman sings the last song – Rehna Tu. It's typically Rahman, which is not necessarily good all the time.


Verdict: Delhi-6 definitely has some hummable tracks. But we've heard better from Rahman (read Jodhaa Akbar). 2008 was a great year. And possibly the composer should now take a break before surprising us yet again.

Rating: 3/5

Delhi-6 | Music: AR Rahman | Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi | Label: T-Series