Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Happy Birthday A.R.Rahman


Its my idol A.R.Rahman's birthday today. And as been the ritual every year, am gonna post a blog on him on this special day. Its been a great year for the maestro's fans with a handful of releases keeping them busy all through the year. In his 16th year in the industry, he proved that when it comes to all round brillaince, there's no one above him. He crossed boundaries not only within the nation but also international with equal ease. So, in Tamil he gave us the sweet 'Sakkarakkatti', which contained the soothing melody 'Marudhani', the fun song 'Elay' and the dance floor hit 'Taxi Taxi'. In Hindi, the vareity he dished out last year is just mindblowing. In 'Jodha AKbar', he gave us tracks of epic proportions like the tribute to Akbar, 'Azeem O Shehanshah', the romantic ballads 'Jashne Bahara' and 'In Lamhon Ki Daaman Mein'. My favourite from the album is the heavenly 'Khwaja Mere Khwaja', which is easily one of the best songs of the year.

When we thought Rahman has gone into the history mode, out came the young and peppy 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na'. 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi' ruled the airwaves for a longtime with its instantly catchy tune, a thing not normally associated with a Rahman song. He experimented with pure jaaz in the track 'Tu Bole Mein Boloon'. 'Nazrein Milana' saw him at his youthful best. Mind you, here is a man who just turned 43. Another notable track was 'Kahin To Hogi'. Close on the heels of 'Jaane Tu' came the yet unreleased movie Ada's music. Its an album which been in the workshop for about 4 years. So it is aptly titled 'A.R.Rahman's musical journey' and you could notice the change in the vareity of songs. He came up with an idea in which he let the song 'Gulfisha' to be remixed by the public and the best ones were given prizes. My picks from the album would be the melodic 'Hawa Sun Hawa', Chitra's 'Tu Mera Hai' and 'Meherbaan' sung by Rahman himself. P.Jayachandran, the malayali singer did a good job with his first hindi song 'Milo Wahan Wahan'.

Next up was 'Yuvvraaj', a great soundtrack wasted in an utter crap movie. To tell the truth, I still hate the song 'Shano Shano' from this movie and wish Rahman had never done that song. Except for that minor aberration, the album provided a parade of Rahman's class. The hindustani tinged 'Manmohini Morey' is the pick of the album. Its been a long time since he did something in this mould. 'Zindagi' sung by Srinivas creates a pleasant mood. Then there were
the chart toppers 'Tu Meri Dost Hain', 'Tu Muskura' and 'Dil Ka rishta'. Cellos, orchestras and western choruses were used a lot in this album. Its the 2nd time, after 'Taal' that the so called 'showman of Bollywood' Subhash Ghai is wasting Rahman's songs with his inept movie making.

Then came the soundtrack of the year for Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire, about which I wrote a lot here. Hope a lot more will be written about it in the future. The year ended with 'Ghajini'. Comparisons with Harris Jayaraj's Tamil original were inevitable. Rahman did match the brilliance of the Tamil version, in his own style. The best track is of course 'Kaise Mujhe'. 'Guzaarish' garnered a lot of airplay and the video added to the effect. 'Bachchu' had rockish elements. 'Behka' was another experimentation spree especially with the peculiar vocals starting at about 1:32. And I loved the way the song changed completely with the introduction of the drums at 2:13. 'Lattu' didn't impress me much. Towards the fag end of the year, we were treated to the video of 'Jiya se jiya' from his new album 'Connections'. The video featuring A.R.Rahman and Sivamani has the 'free hugs' campaign as its main theme. Eagerly awaiting for the release of this album. In between, Rahman did short jingles like the theme for Hyderabad airport and also the one for T20 Champions league.

Yes, this all happened in the same year. Now, did I hear someone telling he's losing touch? Yes, its the same as someone saying the same about Sachin Tendulkar. Have to use this cliche, 'Form is temporary but class in permanent. And we are talking about a man who oozes class. Hope he'll bring us more gems in the coming year.

Previous posts on Rahman
My meeting with Rahman
Glimpse of Rahman
Rahmantic day
Rahman's unknown masterpieces
Rahman 2005

your crusader Praveen

14 comments:

vimmuuu said...

Happy Bday to our God (well thats what I refer him !)

That was a wonderful post, man !

I had the oppotunity to meet him as well. you can read it here :

http://vimalsparadise.blogspot.com/2008/07/when-i-met-god.html

Also, if you have time, please do check some of his songs that I have sung, and theres vellai pookkal also :). Below is the label link to all the songs.

http://vimalsparadise.blogspot.com/
search/label/My%20version

I am blogrolling you right away. Havnt ransacked your blog yet, but you are an ARR person and we are all following the same religion !

Unknown said...

You didn't mention about Mastam Mastam, from Yuvvraaj, a track somewhat in the same mood like 'The Road Goes On' from LOTR. The Road Goes On ... happens to be a superb track, my fav in the LOTR album.

Happiest B'day, Rahman!! :-)

- Another hardcore Rahmaniac

Unknown said...

Forgot to say this: A great Round-up of Rahman's, for a tribute!!

--xh-- said...

ARR did dish out some fantastic numbers this year.. Yuvraaj - yeah, nice songs, but crappy movie...

but i think u missed my favorite song by ARR - Jiya se Jiya... i so love that song and the video....

Anonymous said...

i first saw him play the keys for illayaraaja when he was vinod...

he has become a great icon now...
it is my grandpa's birthday too..

and it is epiphany too.. the twelfth day of christmas..

Anonymous said...

He is the best...frm the time of roja till date..he is the icon, for all those music lovers and he is still experimenting. The best part is we know whn we hear its music........... YES ITS REHMAN'S

Praveen said...

@vimmu
read ur posts and have commented thr..
its always gr8 to meet rahman fans..
and yeah will chkout the songs too soon.

@akhil
yeah..I missed 'mastam mastam'..
btw, whr did u get the lord of the rings soundtrack from?am still in search of that

@xh
Guess u dint read the 2nd last para...have written about 'jiya se jiya' there.

@chriz
his old name was not vinod..its dileep:D

@devil incarnate
yeah..thts rite. he has a unique style which is identifiable

Unknown said...

Jabri,
Some of them are on youtube (The Road Goes On..., as well), look around. :-)

You can listen to them online here.

Kartz said...

Cliché or not, that adage suits him so damn well. :)

Happy Birthday to Rahmaniac's world over! :D

Peace.

Usha Pisharody said...

Belated wishes to the Maestro :)

And indeed, the Coming of AR Rehman infused a new life into musicdom at large, not just here, but elsewehere too. The Man has that Midas Touch in Music, doesn't he? A firm favourite here too!

Usha Pisharody said...

Here's something for you.. :)

Praveen said...

@akhil
thnks 4 the links

@kartz
yeah..so true

@Usha
yes..ofcourse he's the ONE with midas touch
and yeah ..thnks 4 tht award

Anonymous said...

whre is my comment????

Praveen said...

@swats
am sure I approved ur comment yday..
donnow whr it went:(..or did i reject it accidently?..:(:(:(:(