Phir se ud chala’s tune almost feels like a free-form flight, beautifully accentuated by Mohit’s vocals, George Doering’s mandolin and a literal take-off half-way into the song. Jo bhi main and Sadda haq offer anthemic tunes – the former with a moody rock base and the latter as a bombastic, angst-laden outburst with particularly expressive guitar work by Orianthi. Kateya karun is a highly addictive and sweet reworking of the traditional melody with beautiful vocals by Harshdeep Kaur and gorgeous guitar by Keba Jeremiah! Rahman, Javed Ali and Mohit join to produce the mesmerizing Kun faya kun with Keba’s guitar doing the talking again!
Sheher mein‘s gimmicky character depiction of Jordan as a nonconformist seems forced even amidst its largely likeable tune, while Aur ho‘s deeply pensive tune gives Mohit a chance to expand significantly beyond his range, almost to the level of Dil Se re. Even Hava hava has Mohit exploring fresh, exciting avenues in an eclectic, Spanish-style package. But, except Dilshad Khan’s sarangi, Tum ko sounds at best like a Yuvvraaj leftover; a very similar story with Tum ho too, strangely. Naadaan parindey sees Rahman lead the vocals along with Mohit, even as the tune and the orchestration seem to have minds of their own. Tango for Taj and The dichotomy of fame both offer thoroughly involving instrumentals, with the former playing a punchy jugalbandi with accordion and piano, even as the latter mixes shehnai and guitar in a haunting, melancholic package. The meeting place ruminates on Rumi’s lines appropriately with Ranbir’s voice.
Rockstar’s music is a rare occurrence where the music seems to be have been imagined (by the director) and conjured (by the composer) superbly in-sync with the film’s plot. As an expression to the film’s protagonist and as a soundtrack, Rahman’s work here is unparalleled!
Keywords: A R Rahman, Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Imtiaz Ali, Irshad Kamil, Rockstar music review, #300
Note: Rockstar’s soundtrack deserves to be (only) the 3rd 300 worder on Milliblog. Its listeners are bound to explore and discover many nuances as they listen and immerse themselves in this soundtrack.
