Without doubt Veer Zaara has been the most eagerly awaited album of the year. After all, melody sans heavy orchestrization and credibility of Yash Chopra was always something to look forward to. And yes, we were all very keen to hear the maestro Madan Mohan’s music after a hiatus of three decades.
I do not know whether it is the weight of expectation or the physical absence of the composer at the time of recordings, but the end result is that Veer Zaara fails to live up to the hype. Let me analyze it song by song.
Tere liye - Lata Mangeshkar, Roopkumar Rathod
Without doubt the pick of the album, the melodious opening bars of piano offer soul to this song. The choice of Roopkumar Rathod comes as a pleasant surprise; I reckon it is a conspicuous effort to create a Talat Mahmood type of mellifluous effect. Lata Mangeshkar sings with the special gusto that she has always reserved for RK and Yashraj banners. The result is mesmeric.
Main yahaan hoon - Udit Narayan
No matter who the composer is, there is always a track or two in every film of a big banner that is conspicuous of its style. When Subhash Ghai dumped Laxmi-Pyare and opted for Nadeem-Shravan for Pardes, it did have songs like ‘Jahan piya wahan main’ and ‘ho gaya hai mujhe pyar’ which were neither typical of LP nor NS: they were typical of Subhash Ghai brand. Likewise, the song “Maina yahan hoon yahan’ has the trademark Yash Chopra stamp on it (and has ample scope for master hamster SRK to do what he does best: ham!).
Yeh Hum Aa Gaye Hain Kahaan - Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan
Another number with a conspicuous Yash Chopra flavour, this song is melodious and hummable. But I feel the instrumental version of this track would be more popular than the lyrical version.
Do Pal - Lata Mangeshkar, Sonu Nigam
This track is the irritant of the album, it sounds like a Anu Malik type of song, very similar to the Akele hum akele tum type of stuff.
Aisa des hai mera - Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan, Gurdas Mann, Pritha Majumder
Just like Mrs Yash Chopra (Pamela) did the honours for the Punjabi touch in films like Kabhi Kabhie, Chandni and DDLJ, we have Gurudas Mann roped in for the rustic Punjabi touch. One feels a sufiana Hans Raj Hans would have been a better choice. The song disappoints, what with a combination of a few hit Punjabi folk tunes roped in. I guess the song finds it way in the album because the Punjabi touch is expected to boost the market viability of the album. Otherwise, blokes like Aadesh Srivastava are already making their mark with ‘few Punjabi hit tunes churned together’ job for films like Major Saab and K3G; therefore Madan Mohan’s name should not have been dragged into this ‘from here and there’ effort.
Kyon Hawa - Lata Mangeshkar, Sonu Nigam plus Commentary By Yash Chopra
Yash Chopra fails to do a Amitabh : commentary in midst of a Lata number. The poetic vigour in the commentary though is wonderful (in the Kabhi Kabhie league!). The song as such is theek thaak, neither too melodious, not otherwise.
Hum To Bhai Jaise Hain - Lata Mangeshkar
The most conspiculous part of this album is NOT the music of Madan Mohan, in fact the album is conspicuous by Lata’s high handedness. Now had Madan Mohan been alive, he would simply not have allowed Lata to sing this number that has Asha Bhonsle written all over it! The song has a OP Nayyar type of feel to it and Lata seems to have used her good offices with Yash Chopra to snatch this Asha song. Asha by the way has no songs in this album and even though Lata happens to be my all time favourite, I sorely missed Asha in this album.
Aaya Tere Dar Par - Ahmed Hussain, Javed Hussain, Mohd. Vakil
There are two ways to interpret this quawwali: one, vis-à-vis the quawwalis that we happen to hear these days, and two, vis-à-vis the quawwalis that have been composed in earlier films. As per former line of comparison, it definitely impresses and compares well with the one composed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for Milan Lutharia’s Kachche Dhaage. But if one delves on deeper analysis, it pales in comparison to the ones that Roshan composed in his haydays. It is best to close your eyes and enjoy the effects of this quawwali, otherwise it would appear to be a rejected tune of Laila Majnu-Madan Mohan’s last work in his lifetime!
Lodi - Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan, Gurdas Mann
If ‘Hum to bhai jaise hain’ showed Lata’s high-handedness, this number confirms it! As a Punjabi, I can tell you that Asha’s pronunciation of Punjabi words is superior to Lata’s, and Asha’s absence haunts you given the bubbly effervescence of this number.
Overall, I feel that this album is somewhat slow by contemporary parameter, but is thankfully more melodious and less noisy that its contemporary counterparts. The soul of the album, though, does not last all along and seems to have gotton bogged don by Yash Chopra’s commercial requirements.