Sony Music
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has given us
some stupendous soundtracks in the past
in form of Rang De Basanti and Delhi-6.
AR Rahman and Prasoon Joshi were his
able henchmen in those two ventures.
While Prasoon has stayed on, Rahman has been replaced by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
The good news is that they have
connected well with Mehra's musical's
sensibilities and have given us a score
that stands true to the film's subject and
is pleasing to the ears at the same time.
The album starts with Gurbani sung with
a heartfelt fervour by Daler Mehndi. The
soulful number is over too soon and one
wishes the devotional track had more
length. The next track, Zinda, which runs
in the background of the film's promos and has gained popularity, marks the
playback debut of Shankar Mahadevan's
son, Siddharth Mahadevan. The youngster
has proven to be a chip of the old block
and his vibrant voice is helped by a rock
infused orchestration to provide us with a pulsating anthem.
Pakistani Sufi singer Javed Bashir, who
made a name for himself in the MTV Coke
studio, is the apt choice for Mera yaar.
The instrumentation is kept minimal and
Bashir's haunting voice takes the lead and does full justice to the Sufi lyrics.
Maston ka jhund is a situational number
that buoys you with its get-up-and-go
energy. Divya Kumar's booming voice
looks tailor-made for this inspirational
song.
Another Pakistani singer, folk artiste Arif
Lohar makes his presence felt in the title
song Bhaag milkha bhaag. The guitar riffs
in fusion with Arif's trademark chimta
and iktara take you to another plane.
Siddharth Mahadevan sings its rock version, which despite being pleasant
sounds too polished in front of Lohar's
raw rendering.
Now comes the fun, Slow motion
angreza, which is a bhangra married to a
waltz. This is another situational number whose true meaning will only be
deciphered once we get to see the
visuals. From the looks of it, it feels like a
rustic Sardar is wooing a firang girl in his
own inimitable way. Loy Mendosa sings
the opening bars and one wishes he sang more often. Then Sukhwinder Singh takes
over and one can feel the laughter in his
voice as he sings the unusual lyrics.
The semi-classical Rangrez, with its
predominant tabla and sitar arrangement
is an aural treat reserved at the latter end of the album. Javed Bashir and
Shreya Ghoshal do justice to the soulful
lyrics. The track is not something we
usually expect from S-E-L and is a happy
reminder that the trio haven't lost their
ability to surprise us.
All-in-all, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a sort of
comeback album for S-E-L, a reminder to
their detractors that they can't be
written off that easily.
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