BOLLYWOOD MEETS THE WEST IN THIS RARE FILMY RAHMAN ALBUM! (DIL BECHARA – Music Review)

Music Album Details

♪ Music by: A.R. Rahman

♪ Lyrics by: Amitabh Bhattacharya

♪ Music Label: Sony Music

♪ Music Released On: 10th July 2020

♪ Movie Releasing On: 24th July 2020

Listen to the songs: JioSaavn | Gaana

Buy the songs: iTunes

---

Dil Bechara is an upcoming romantic Bollywood film starring the late Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjana Sanghi in lead roles. The film is an adaptation of the 2014 Hollywood film ‘The Fault in Our Stars’, and is directed by Mukesh Chhabra, produced by Fox Star Studios and written by Shashank Khaitan. Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is the first of a series of films to be premiered on the Hotstar streaming service. When the movie was announced, what immediately sold me was the fact that none other than A.R. Rahman had been roped in to compose it’s music. This felt weirdly surprising for more than one reason. First of all, Rahman hadn’t signed a Hindi film album for a couple of years, and when he finally decides to come back, he decides to make it for a film with a new director and a young starcast. Anyway, if ‘Lekar Hum Deewana Dil’ was anything to go by (another film with  a completely new director and starcast, though connected to Imtiaz Ali) I expected the music for this film too, to be youthful and peppy. Amitabh Bhattacharya returns for the lyrics department (coincidentally, he only worked with Rahman in the past for ‘Lekar Hum Deewana Dil’!) and I couldn’t help but expect great things from the music. A month ago, the unfortunate news of Sushant’s passing away shocked the nation, and it makes this album all the more special and hard-hitting in a way. 

Special thanks to Vipin Nair at Musicaloud for making available the full music credits for the album! 🙂

---

The guitar and bass-led arrangements of Dil Bechara provide a cool opening for the album, immediately throwing you back to Rahman’s ‘Mustafa Mustafa’ (Kadhal Desam), because of the similar perky staccato-with-bass that plays throughout the song. The song’s lyrics too, remind me of the 90s Rahman’s collaborations with P.K. Mishra — flamboyant and fun to listen to, even in all their simplicity and lack of coherence. The pleasant trips down memory lane that this song takes you on though, is coupled with contemporary touches that remind me of the crazy zany stuff Rahman tried for ‘2.0’. However, it sounds more suitable in a song about a college student lamenting his friendzoned status, than in a song about machines falling in love with each other. 🙂 Keba Jeremiah’s dreamy guitars once again create some great magic in the background of the track, reminding me of that one breathtaking interlude from ‘Enna Sona’ (Ok Jaanu) where Jeremiah stole the show with his guitars. The maestro delivers the song perfectly — it marks his 28th year making music but his voice seems to have reverse-aged, and after listening to this song so many times, I cannot imagine any other singer having sung this song because Rahman’s rendition has the right amount of attitude coupled with the crestfallen nature of a friend-zoned lover. Accompanying him wonderfully is Poorvi Koutish in the background, creating an awesome harmony in the hook and the second verse. As is the case with Rahman, the tune jumps all over the place in a complex manner, especially in the second verse and I completely loved the “Birthday-dai-dai” effect, where Hriday Gattani replaces Poorvi to create another great harmony, only to have her return in the background of what I find is the best line of the song — “SMS bhi na kare/Mujhe miss bhi na kare”. Of course, full credit to Amitabh Bhattacharya for portraying the lingo of today’s college life aptly in his lyrics.

Friendzone is an retro-party themed reprise of the title track, with an amazing brass and synth-led arrangement, and including a cool mouth trumpeting bit by Hriday Gattani in the interlude. The chorus (Deepthi Suresh, Rakshita Suresh, Lavita Lobo, Shenbagaraj, Santosh Harirahan, Vignesh Narayanan, Arjun Chandy and Hiral Viradia) owns this song, and Rahman himself is overpowered by his own funky arrangements in this one. Again, the guitars (Rhythm Shaw, Dhruv Viswanath) open the song brilliantly. However, the lilt and calmness of the original version was what has me favouring that over this.

Continuing with the fun nature of the first two tracks, comes Maskhari, another one of those rare instances where we get to listen to Sunidhi Chauhan singing for Rahman. However, for me, it is Hriday Gattani who steals the thunder. The song itself opens with his vocals, and segues into a cheery ‘Matargashti’-esque string portion. The mandolin, saz and banjo by Tapas Roy really give the song it’s mirth quotient and the maestro decides to use the khanjira for percussion, giving it a distinct South Indian flavour along with the European-style strings. The composition itself is one of the most simple ones from Rahman, and Sunidhi and Hriday sing in tandem, creating a fun-filled song true to its name (‘Maskhari’ means ‘fun’ or ‘buffoonery’). Amitabh Bhattacharya, in his lyrics, too portrays the buffoonery well, and we know that it is indeed his work of writing when we listen to lines like “Fokat mein badnaam, maskhari/ dil ko de aaram, maskhari/ peeda-haari balm, maskhari”. I can’t help but notice that the “M-trio” of fun-and-frolic songs by Rahman is complete with this song; the previous two members of this trio being ‘Masakali’ (Delhi 6) and ‘Matargashti’ (Tamasha). 😁

The next of the fun-and-dance songs of the album comes in the Middle Eastern flavoured Afreeda. Palestinian singer Sana Moussa leads the song, reminding me of when Rahman roped in Arabic singer Maryem Toller for ‘Mayya Mayya’ (Guru). The song is a funky hip-hop number, and Sana’s Arabic phrases are interlaced by Rajakumari’s English rap portions and Indian classical bols. The song represents the typical experimental Rahman that we are familiar with from the entire album of ‘Mom’, ‘Wat Wat Wat’ (Tamasha), ‘Hey Kaala Bandar’ (Delhi 6) and it did not really create as much an impression on me than the other experimental tracks Rahman has been churning out over the years. A strings portion in the middle of the song is quite interesting though.

A retro-styled song that makes me wonder what would happen if Madhubala and Kishore Kumar were Hollywood actors in the 50s, Mera Naam Kizie is a lilting romantic duet delivered perfectly by Poorvi Koutish and Aditya Narayan (in his first “adult” song with Rahman? ‘Rangeela Re’ from ‘Rangeela’ and ‘Kahin Aag Lage’ from ‘Taal’ being the only songs of his with Rahman I can recall right away). Rahman weaves magic with the clarinets and oboes, and couples it with lilting strings. The playfulness of the lead singers wins half the battle, especially Poorvi’s adorable “Na na na na” interventions during Aditya’s portions (reminiscent of her “la la la” in Sanju‘s ‘Ruby Ruby’). The harmonies are wonderful, and the staccato rhythms decorate the verses just as they adorned the title song before this song. The Hinglish lyrics are cute, and conversational, making the song much more appealing. Aditya Narayan in his lower register surprisingly sounds unrecognisable. It’s a shame not many composers have exploited this side of his voice before Rahman. Poorvi on the other hand, in her inimitable husky voice, serenades through the song with an effortless style.

Harmonies make up the rest of the album, and it is a delight to listen to the next three songs, where Rahman seems to have effortlessly coupled Hollywood-style harmonies with the quintessential Bollywood custom of having love duets. It has been a long time since we have had romantic duets (good ones, at that) in our Bollywood movies, and that is why the next three songs hit even better.

Shashaa Tirupati, a Rahman regular, joins Arijit Singh for Khulke Jeene Ka, a breezy Latino-flavoured melody with dollops of vocal harmony to mystify the listeners. While Arijit brings to the melody a certain grounded nature, Shashaa’s whispery, free-spirited vocals makes the melody soar, and both of them complement each other so well, I wonder why mainstream composers (ahem, sorry, music labels) haven’t thought of this combination (other than Mithoon, but then ‘Phir Bhi Tumko Chaahunga’ from ‘Half Girlfriend’ was more of a cameo by Shashaa in an Arijit-led song). Once again, Keba Jeremiah opens the song with an enticing guitar/ukulele piece, to which Rahman adds a clap-like beat, bringing in the Latino touch. Amitabh Bhattacharya complements the melodious composition with Hinglish lyrics that perfectly capture the essence of young love as shown in Bollywood movies. The lines “Aao filmon ke be-adab gaane gaate hain/ heroine hero aaj hum tum ban jaate hain” remind me of Bollywood films like ‘Meri Pyaari Bindu’, where the protagonists bond over movies and songs, and the line would surely seem relatable to everybody in a different way. The composition for the antaras is really beautiful, and Shashaa’s humming in the background gives it an adorable polishing. Kamalakar’s flute and the maestro’s piano play an important part in each of the interludes. The entire song actually seems like a leftover from Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Tamasha’ album, thanks to the classic European/Latino touch.

Next in line is a profound romantic duet, Taare Ginn, where Rahman pairs Mohit Chauhan with Shreya Ghoshal for the third time after ‘Pagal Anukan’ (Robot) and ‘Saans’ (Jab Tak Hai Jaan). The waltzy rhythm on the charango (Achyuth Jaigopal) starts the song off on a positive note, followed by a staccato-ish vocal refrain (Jabse hua hai yeh…) that we can hear recurring throughout the song. The song eventually breaks into a dreamy Broadway-esque soundscape, and what better than the magnetic voices of Mohit and Shreya to lead the song? The harmony is stunning in this song, especially in the verse, where Mohit teks the foreground with his long-stretched notes but Shreya goes on with her fast-paced portion in the background. They even merge together for a line (Vaada hai, ya iraada hai…) only to split paths again, and that’s when the goosebumps kicked in. All the while, Rahman provides a waltzy arrangement with strings (Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra) and drums. The piano makes this jazzy romantic number all the more peaceful and soothing. There is a violin solo (Suresh Lalwani) towards the end that sets you up for the instrumental track of the album, The Horizon of Saudade, which is basically a serene reimagination of ‘Taare Ginn’ with Suresh Lalwani reprising his role on the violin, Keba Jeremiah taking the soothing guitars, and Rahman adding the piano and woodwinds to make it sound wholesome and orchestral. Much like his recent instrumentals, ‘The Oracle’ (99 Songs) and the bunch of instrumentals from ‘Beyond the Clouds’, this one too, conjures a fantastical image in your mind, one that many may associate with Disney or Broadway. The instrumental really tugs at the heartstrings and well, that’s usually what Rahman intends to do with his instrumentals.

I’ve saved my favourite song of the soundtrack for the last, and that is Main Tumhara, a really pensive and sombre piece, something that would fit into an Imtiaz Ali album effortlessly. In fact, it has all the feels of ‘Kahaan Hoon Main’ (Highway), and thanks to the voice of Jonita Gandhi, it reminds me all the more of the same. Hriday Gattani and Jonita Gandhi have previously sang together under Rahman’s music direction in ‘Maaloom’ (Lekar Hum Deewana Dil), and though that was a cute, breezy and conversational romantic song, this one is quite the opposite. Rahman’s piano chords and Navin Iyer’s flute in the first interlude set up the mood well, but most of the magic is then created by Jonita and Hriday’s wonderful harmonies. The hookline harmony is outstanding, especially when it is repeated after the first antara. The second verse consists of amazing metaphors by Bhattacharya (“Main jaado ke mahine ki tarah, aur tum ho pashmine ki tarah/ Main deewaron ki tarah hoon, tum jaise ho dareecha/ Main bageecha jo tumne seencha..”) and the best thing is the way the lines are delivered to us, almost syllable-by-syllable, as if Rahman is making us wait for the lyrical brilliance. The singers too, deliver that portion brilliantly. The song ends on an uncomfortable note, with Hriday not finishing the hookline of the song, and I loved that touch. For a film that is an adaptation of ‘The Fault in Our Stars’, though a bit profound, this song feels like the lifeline of the soundtrack and film.

---

In a masterstroke, Rahman not only refreshes the Bollywood music scenario once again (it’s so weird how every once in while, the Mozart of Madras just has to come around and do this for Bollywood music lovers), but also proves that there is no kind of album he cannot score for. Keeping true to the Parisian setting of parts of the film, he provides a European touch to most songs, but also keeps intact the Bollywood flavour, using some traditional Bollywood tropes like the romantic duet. However, this is Rahman we are talking about, and even the romantic duets in a filmy Rahman album are as non-filmy as they can get! 

Total Points Scored by This Album: 8 + 7.5 + 7 + 6 + 8.5 + 9 + 8.5 + 8 + 9.5 = 72

Album Percentage: 80%

Final Rating for This Album: सा < रे < ग < म < प < ध < नी < सां

Note: The letter which is underlined is the final rating.

Recommended Listening Order: Main Tumhara > Khulke Jeene Ka > Mera Naam Kizie = Taare Ginn > Dil Bechara = The Horizon of Saudade > Friendzone > Maskhari > Afreeda

Which is your favourite song from Dil Bechara? Please vote for it below! Thanks! 🙂

Take Our Poll