An A R Rahman soundtrack always generates a lot of excitement and the listeners more often than not, await to be swept off their feet by the musical genius of the man. So, when he teams up with the talented director Imtiaz Ali for the second time after the delightful musical, Rockstar, expectations are high. With lyrics by Irshad Kamil, one hopes that it is going to be an alluring highway, devoid of potholes and speed breakers!
Patakha Guddi kick starts the proceedings of the album and has the vocals of Jyothi Nooran and Sulthan Nooran. This one is an instantly likeable number right from the word go.The composer keeps the instrumentation quite simple right throughout the song and it feels like a tailor-made song for the voices of the Nooran sisters, who deliver a terrific performance behind the mike. It is an experimental, yet lovable song which has all the right ingredients to catch up well with the Gen-X, not that it has not done so already!
My Rating:3.5/5
One can almost feel something special coming up on seeing A R Rahman’s name as the singer for the next song Maahi Ve. Remember that in recent times, Rahman has kept the best melodies to himself! Indeed it turns out to be true in this case too. It is vintage Rahman behind the mike and he pours his heart out to create a passionate tenor. Composition wise, it might not be his best, but this one creates a space in a listener’s mind very soon, unlike the usual Rahman numbers which require quite some time to make an impact.The lyrics are simple and flow easily which matches the composition perfectly. Rahman is in top form as a singer, as mentioned before and makes this one a memorable song. No need to mention, it is already a big chartbuster.
My Rating:4/5
Jonita Gandhi sings Kahaan Hoon Main, a mellow song where the protagonist is wondering where she is stuck. The orchestration is simple, yet leaves an extremely pleasing impression. Jonita’s rendition is quite endearing, but could have been much better. Her voice does not have that x-factor which makes the song stick to one’s head.Kamil’s lyrics carry the required weight and overall, it is a nice listen, which will get better with each listen.
My Rating:3/5
Wanna mash up is the next track and Kash, Krissy and Suvi Suresh are credited for the vocals. Even after listening for many times, I could not make out what this song is about. Nothing is impressive here. Yes, not even Rahman’s music, which sounds very tedious and lousy. The only good thing about the song is its length!(3.40 mins) The less said about the singers, the better and it ends up as a sore thumb in this album. A rare slip up from the maestro.
My Rating:1.5/5
It is surprising to see the name of Alia Bhatt in the next song Sooha Saha! Rahman had said in a recent interview that he wanted a natural feel for this song and hence he went ahead with Alia herself. It is a euphonious lullaby and Alia does a fine job indeed, and her voice texture suits this song well.Rahman keeps bare minimum instrumentation and lets the voices do all the talking. Zeb adds on more weight to the song and ensures that it stays on in the listener’s mind for some time at least.
My Rating:3/5
Rahman comes behind the mike for the second time in the album for Patakha Guddi-Male version.Sadly, right from the beginning, he chooses a constipated mode of rendition which does injustice to this firecracker of a song.The original version had set the bar high and this one disappoints, even with all the heavy rock influences too. This one is a good example of a good idea gone wrong during execution. It might not be used in the film, but if it is, it would be interesting to watch how it is showcased on screen. Better singing would have been the icing on the cake.
My Rating:2.5/5
Implosive silence is an instrumental with supporting vocals by Jonita Gandhi. The title is extremely apt as one can feel a sort of silence in the song along with a feeling that it is all going to implode some way! Rahman is a master in creating such pieces and it showcases his unbridled creativity. Hear it for the sheer brilliance of the theme.
My Rating:4/5
Sunidhi Chauhan returns to the Rahman fold after a long while in the next track Tu Kuja, which has a strong spiritual flavour. Sunidhi is generally not known for such songs and she is quite mediocre in her rendition and fails to cut much ice. Even the composition is prosaic, and run of the mill, something which Rahman is not associated with. The expectation was of a chartbuster song, but we get a situational song, which wont remain in your playlists after the movie releases.
My Rating:2.5/5
The last track of the album is Heera and Shwetha Pandit is the chosen one to do the honours here. The lyrics are taken from Sant Kabir’s work. The orchestration is soothing and so is the singing. Shwetha Pandit gives it her best shot and her subdued voice and clarity makes this song quite memorable. The placement of this song in the movie will determine the distance it can cover eventually.
My Rating:3/5
In the end, it turns out that the team of Imtiaz ali and Rahman have concentrated more on creating songs required only for the particular situations and have thereby sacrificed instant appeal and have steered clear of manufactured chartbusters, which are so vital in today’s times. Patakha Guddi and Maahi Ve are already chartbusters and rightly so. But that is about it as the rest of the album does not quite have songs which have the potential to be immensely popular. But not everything can be taken from the popularity point of view and Highway has songs which are classy and superior to most of the mediocre content coming up every month in bollywood. Rahman excels once again, though he is surprisingly inconsistent with his tunes here. Overall, a commendable effort from the whole team.
Overall Rating:3.5/5