People often say that Rahman’s music grow on multiple listening. Even I had this opinion, but ‘Yuvvraaj’ music made me realize how rubbish that statement is. The time one takes to understand and appreciate the music depends solely on person’s music sensibilities and the level of concentration one pays to the music while listening. With so many distractions around, the attention span of people in common has obviously come down.
Over a period of time, we tend to become so dumb and want everything to be spoon-fed, we want everything quick and instant and my negative reaction to ‘Yuvvraaj’ music is a danger signal to my deteriorating concentration when it comes to listening music. I couldn’t appreciate ‘Yuvvraaj’ music on first listening, because I wasn’t listening at all, I was just hearing. That is not Rahman’s fault. For all the relentless work that Rahman puts in to give us a new music listening experience, he asks us very little in return, concentration and if we are incapable of that, at least a little patience for the songs to sink in. Though I lack concentration, I alteast had the patience and didn’t jump into any conclusion on first listening.
Rahman’s music in general or Rahman’s music in ‘Yuvvraaj’ specifically, isn’t as complex as everyone claims it to be. The 5th Beethoven Symphony that punctuates the introduction speech of Salman Khan in ‘Main Hoon Yuvvraaj’ actually misleads a listener. There is symphonic grandeur throughout the soundtrack and to strike a balance between the classical roots and modernism there is also the typical synthphony of Rahman. Ofcourse there are lot of layers of sounds which may make it sound complex. But, in music, it is not the sound that adds to the complexity, it is the layering of melodies or as they put it, it is the counter melodies that one should consider to determine the complexity of a song. In that sense, there are no such complex counter melodies here. Also, Rahman has totally avoided acoustic percussions and has used catchy synth rhythm loops to make it sound simple and easy for listening. But it is in the flow of the melody and the structure of the songs where Rahman doesn’t compromise.
Rahman has always defied the conventional structure of Indian movie songs, and it is not a big surprise that no song in Yuvvraaj sounds conventional in its structure. Phrase after phrase, the melody makes unexpected twists and turns and that is why I wasn’t able to get the overall beauty of the song on first listening. ‘Mastam’ is one of the most euphoric songs that we would get to listen in this year and yet because of the unpredictable flow of melody I found it difficult to comprehend initially. It keeps flowing without giving us a breathing space for the just-heard phrase of melody to sink in. But I must admit that the melody of ‘Aaye jhee baanke aaye’ line made me instantly and involuntarily sway my head left and right. The collective euphoria of the sound of Gluzar’s word play, Irish rhythm, the taps, claps, harmonica, strings, and choir makes oneself feel lighter and brings a smile on one’s face. This is the first song of the soundtrack to become my favorite.
’Tu meri dost’ is intricately layered with brilliant and appropriate usage of acoustic instruments. Though there is a constantly looping e-beat and lot of e-sounds and looping layers, the core emotion of the song is carried through by strings, the piano that peeps in and flute that flows in at most appropriate moments. Like say, when Rahman ends his line with ‘nisa nisa sari sari’, the flute that takes off, Harp that slides through all its strings and the piano chords that starts and continues to accompany the vocal that follows, sounds scintillating. The way Shreya hits the low with the words ‘gungunathi hai’ and ‘mila thi hai’ and that distant cry of Shreya going ‘Awaaz hoon main’ at the end of the song are heavenly.
Surprisingly, the prelude of ‘Tu Muskura’ starts with the same cello piece that we just heard in the interlude of ‘Tu Meri Dost’ and later to our surprise, it indeed is the main melody of the song. Rahman being aware of the fact that the melody in the following stanza is a little disconnected from the main melody tries to connect the stanzas with an interlude that hints the vocal melody of the following line, on strings and so when soon Alka starts to sing the line, it doesn’t sound odd or disjointed. And when Alka repeats the same melody again along with the same interlude piece played on strings in tandem, our ears become quite comfortable with the melody. And after when Javed Ali takes it off from where Alka Yagnik left to the main melody, our ears feel at home. It is these cheating techniques that make Rahman’s songs work quite magnificently. ‘Tu muskara’ then leads to a stunning climax with Alka singing the main melody as a counter melody to Javed Ali’s classical alaap and the strings playing a totally different melody perfectly in harmony with both the vocal parts.
When ‘Tu meri dost’ borrows the main melody of ‘Tu muskura’, and gives its melody in return, when ‘Manmohini Morey’ slips into the deeply moving cello version of ‘Tu muskura’ melody, one gets to understand how thematically structured and linked the songs are, by which the songs beautifully borrow melodies from each other to fill in their interludes. Not for nothing, ‘The Soundtrack’ has been written on the front cover of the lyrics booklet that comes with the CD. It is a movie soundtrack in which music leaves open ended for the visuals to take it further and complete.
‘Zindagi’ is Rahman’s beautiful tribute to M.S.Vishwanathan. Srinivas’s exquisite rendition and the natural serenity in his voice further elevate the melody that was always destined to sound divine. The backing strings and solo cello pieces are so intrinsically woven with the lead melody, and it perfectly echoes the pain as in and along with Srinivas’s vocals. The melody sits up conveniently on soft guitar strumming and soft beats. The beats will make people who may otherwise feel the melody tedious, long and boring to sit up and settle with it.
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