Ismail Durbar & A.R Rahman are not only immensely talented but always at musical chairs. A decade back when Ram Gopal Varma signed Ismail Durbar for "Rangeela", he dropped him unceremoniously in favour of a established "newcomer" A.R Rahman under the pressure of music label. After a struggle, Ismail Durbar striked back with style and panache with a phenomenon called "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam". Unfortunately Ismail Durbar lost to A.R Rahman (Taal) in all awards. Ismail Durbar in an interview said that he didn't feel bad because he was losing to a superior score only. After a couple of years when "Devdas" happened, when everyone expected Ismail Durbar to sweep the awards for grand score, he lost again this time to a simple score called "Saathiya'" to A.R Rahman again. Don't know how Ismail durbar felt this time….
"Showman" Subash Ghai was hopping mad behind A.R Rahman to get him signed on the dotted line after the memorable score of "Taal". He couldn't do it for "Yaadein" which went to Anu Malik. When Ghai concieved "Kisna" he once again tried to pin down A.R Rahman for the score, but an overbooked A.R Rahman agreed to do a track, theme music & background score for the magnum opus as a token of gratitude. Now who should take the slot of A.R Rahman? The unanimous choice was Ismail Durbar. That’s how Ismail Durbar & A.R Rahman are sharing the score.
"Kisna" is fresh in a couple of ways. Not only it brings the talents of A.R Rahman & Ismail Durbar together for the first time, it also marks the new combination of Javed Akhtar & Subash Ghai. When the talents with passion combine, the resultant score is bound to be a rich creative one. Kisna doesn't disappoint the expectations that comes as a part & parcel with every Subash Ghai films.
The album has 8 tracks ( 7 songs & 1 theme music piece). I have heard (downloaded) 5 tracks only and I feel it is worth buying a CD instead of cassette or pirated downloads.
Vivek Oberoi says "Juda hoker pyar ki oonchayiyan prapth kar sakthe hain. Har pyar milan to nahin, judaai bhi to pyar hai" (We can reach heights of love by parting ways. Love is not getting together but also seperation). This sets the mood of the track "Hum hain iss pal yahan...". A soulful track which is evident that A.R Rahman has composed it, featuring his regulars "Madhushree & Udit Narayan", is surely a tough composition but handled with elan & panache. The orchestration doesn't meddle with words thus didn't tamper with the soul rich lyrics. An instantly likeable and the best of the album.
Sushmita Sen in her sensuous voice tells Kisna "Woh mehfil hai kya jahan dilwalon ke saath diljale na ho. Tum dilwalon ke kilye gaa aur diljalon ka khayal hum rakhenge" (what is the party without wounded hearts along with the romantic people? You sing for the romantic people and I'll take care of the wounds). A pause after this dialogue bit adds more suspense. Hariharan breaks the silence with a Ghazal type "alaap" gets taken over by "mujraa" type chorus "Chilman uthegi..." and he raises to higher octaves. Vast use of chorus and traditional music (which incidentally is Ismail Durbar's trademark) not only mesmerizes you but also raises your expectations to grand visuals. It will make a nice bed time listening. This song will be the next year's highest stage performed number atleast in schools.
The kids ask Kisna to join the "Antakshari". The rural wedding mileu is perfectly set in this track with kids and girls joing together for a happy celebration. They sing "Gaa aisi dhun mein gaa.." This bears the typical Ismail Durbar's stamp of traditional instruments like dholaks, chorus but also a faint resemblence to Ismail Durbar's earlier hit "Dhol taro…" from "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam". Seems he hadn't got out that tune from his mind. But considering the peppy frothiness that fills the song, we can forgive the peccadiloes.
Aham Brahmasmi…. This number is typical Subash Ghai's. Here Sukhvinder Singh croons in the higher notes throughout the song. The intresting feature of this track is the search of divinity in the inner soul rather than from the outer world. Kisna sings "Mujhme Shiv Hai… Mujhme Brahma… Mujhme Vishnu… Mujhme Krishna… phir main kahe mandir jaoon?" (I have Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu & Krishna in me… then why should I go to temple). Rather than rich lyrics there is nothing much to write about.
Grand orchestration continues to dominate in "Woh Kisna Hain.." with typical composition of Ismail Durbar. Infact this deserves to be the opening track of the album. Worth hearing while in party or driving. A lovely score about the romance of Radha & Krishna.
Theme Music comes finally with a creative intensity. A.R Rahman does it again with sheer passion. The flute dominated theme music is a soul stirring one.
Summary: The album is really intense that you can't get it fully in the first hearing. You may not like it first but it takes its own time to grow on you. But once grown you are bound to carry it for coming years - just the way "Taal" mesmerizes you even today as if it has been composed the day before. Ek dum fresh…. So don't buy tapes of this score… buy CDs…. You're going to hear for along solely for its pristine compositions crafted with passion.
