Big names, big music directors, big budget, trained singers and big orchestras…
What are you expecting from Kisna??? Still thinking…
No need to think here. Ismail Darbar is ahead of his time and ahead of so many so called music directors. ‘Devdas’ is le passé! This is music. Knowing the seven notes in music is never enough. Ismail knows more than that. He masters each of the raags, the classical alaaps, the instruments and most important; the orchestration and melody. Subhash Ghai is a wise man. He knows that Ismail Darbar will deliver the required music for this epic movie.
Then there is the heavy weight from the South: the internationally acclaimed A.R Rahman who goes into making creative music without losing any of his magical and great talent. He composes two songs and three themes. Lyrics are by Javed Akhtar.
Expect a mix of classical numbers and deep songs.
First the songs from Ismail Darbar;
Have you heard of ‘smashing classically religious raag-based bollywood number’? Confused?
‘Aham Brahmasmi’ has it all! From a classical perspective, this is inspirational! Ismail is a religious person. The chorus is like chanting from where GOD resides. The effect is spiritual. Sukhwinder Singh creates a religious mood and his continuous alaaps embellish the piece. Alka Yagnik comes to give the classically religious masterpiece the needed female vocals. Instrumentally speaking, the tabla is superb. The song starts with nice repeated beats which become addictive but never repetitive. Orchestration is first class.
The classical ‘Chilman Uthegi Nahin’ is rich in all aspects of music. Indian classical melody: ever heard of that lately? We should all thank Subhash Ghai for signing this unemployed Ismail Darbar. This is a treat to all music lovers and old music directors who are still alive. The best part is that the song is long. The chorus should be more than 30 people singing! Never heard so good tabla being played continuously in a song.
Hariharan carries the song on his shoulders while Alka Yagnik, Ayesha and Shailaja provide the female vocals while still keeping the classical feel. Kailash Kher and Rakesh Pandit impress by singing the classical bits animatedly. The singing is really good. Too good to explain. Harmonium bits and the ‘payal’ sounds transform the piece. Orchestration is difficult. How did he do it? The orchestration will teach others how to arrange songs. Excellent!!!
Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik come with ‘Tu Itni Pagli Kyun Hai’. Ordinary tune but the singing lifts the song to a better level. It’s good to see how a chorus helps to make a song catchy enough to feature in this album. Sukhwinder sings in the background with great alaaps. Alka sounds so nice.
A Mehendi song with ‘Wohi Din Aa Gaya’. Expect some dancing on screen and Alka Yagnik sings the simple lines. The chorus seems to have been directed by Rahman and when Sukhwinder makes his appearance, well, I guess that this song has been ghost-recorded by ARR. Not all songs can be good and this one is pleasant though. Orchestration is good on the whole. Listen to the flowing flute making this song having this rustic touch.
‘Ga-Tu Aisa Dhun Mein Ga’; ‘Taal’ feel to this one. Ismail singing and the rest of the singers Ayesha, Shilaja, M Salamat and Kailash Kher support him through. Simple music and tune. Will be appreciated on screen only.
‘Kahe Ujadi Mori Neend’: Purely classical. The singing by Ustad Rashid Khan is excellent. The high pitch is good and he does it without exaggeration. The chorus adds its part and the music is somehow deep and incomprehensible. Digital orchestration is programmed to follow the Ustad’s voice.
‘Woh Kisna Hai’ continues in the league of nice songs from this album. Sukhwinder Singh once again enchants us with his voice. And what a lively chorus singing different alaaps during the whole song. Notice both the male and female chorus! The music is supported by the dholaks. The provincial style is found again in this one. The orchestration is heavy but it is not disappointing
Now to the Maestro Rahman’s contribution;
Progressing music starts ‘Hum Hain Iss Pal Yahan’. The vocals are by Udit Narayan and Madhushree who sounds a lot like Sadhna Sargam. The Rahman-Ghai’s combination delivers a sweet melody which is simple and the music is in touch with the independence theme. The sounds used seem a lot like ‘Deep Forest’’s music which is mainly forest sounds with birds and insects communicating in their own language. Flowing melody and nice lyrics make this one an instant winner.
Themes by ARR: Based on the ‘Hum Hain Iss Pal Yahan’ Tune.
We all know that ARR is good when it comes to themes and here as well, he tries his usual best to play the mentioned tune in different ways.
Kisna Theme 1: Short. The flute is predominant and is accompanied by the piano, the dream’s sound and a haunting background music.
Kisna Theme 2: The longer version of Theme 1. Inspiration, inspiration and inspiration! The song was recorded at night, no doubt, when everyone is going places in their dreams. ARR was meticulously designing this ‘romantic meets nature’ piece. He chooses the sweet Grand Piano as the main instrument and this is accompanied by an alluring flute music. The song possesses a nice melody but the melody is not extended. It ends on a piano note. Orchestration is first class.
Kisna Theme (Chorus): The ‘Hum Hain Iss Pal Yahan’ tune sung with a chorus and arranged in a Theme mood.
The businessman Subhash Ghai always has a small surprise for his International audience. Nice gimmick. Sunita Sarthy grabs her first time opportunity to sing for SG’s first English track ‘My Wish Comes True’. A peaceful ballad with the likes of ‘Enya’ chorus in the background score. Orchestration is fine with excellent singing. Lyrics by Blaaze are average. Interestingly the tune is western but the flute pieces are Indian. This is a nice fusion.
Ismail Darbar didn’t get a single film offer after Devdas. This guy deserves to compose good music for good movies. He does not disappoint here. The classical songs are amazing. The class he composes is superior. All his songs are worth mentioning. His use of heavy orchestration is too good and his melodies for Ghai are very good. Rahman does his usual best although he was not given much scope to show more of his best for Ghai. Maybe the next time.
’Kisna - The Warrior Poet ’ is not an ordinary album. It is filled with classical songs, melodious numbers and great singing. Whether you are 17 or 71, this one will appeal you. If you are still 17 and you still don’t like it, I am sure you will like it when you are 71. Who knows? First time, I am giving 5 stars!