Delhi 6 Music Review (Dilli 6)

What a pity - this single available poster I searched out on the net for Dilli 6, does not have the maestro's name on it as a part of the main credits. Anyways, in short, A.R.Rahman has hit all other composers for a clean six with the Dilli 6 album. Here's a short review of all the songs, in the order that I listened to.

Masakalli - Mohit Chauhan

Originality, and freshness, in instrumentation and tune, and vocals. Mohit Chauhan is the newest talent on the block to be unveiled by Rahman. (Apparently he sung in Jab We Met too, but this song will get him recognition, I bet.) Watch out for him as this song climbs up the charts and stays up there for a good while from now. Instantly likeable, and on repeated listening you tend to notice the background instruments and vocals - this man Mohit has got the metallic tinge to his voice, the likes we saw in Kailash Kher and Javed Ali- he is somewhere in between the two. I absolutely went fida over this song.

Maula Arziyaan - Javed Ali, Kailash Kher

Astounding. Brilliant. Devout. Goosebumpy. Powerful. Five words to describe this song. The twosome I referred to before, come together to give this splendid number, ( I reckon its a Sufi style devotional song on the lines of Khwaja from Jodha Akbar ). This song is going to be played ages down the line for the definition of a devotional composition. Eight and a half minutes of bliss, and beautifully rendered verses. May generate tears of happiness, in my case it did.

Rehna Tu - A R Rahman, Benny Dayal, Tanvi

Sung by Rahman himself, the first impression this song gives you is that its one of those "forgettable numbers" you hear while dining at a restaurant. Truth that it is just not that. Goes up and down, stops when you think it would'nt, and the last two minutes define the difference between Rahman and other composers. I just cannot think of anyone who would thrust in an instrumental like that in such a song other than Rahman! Modern music to start off with, Arabic in between, and Classical to end it! Loved it on repeated listening, and the last two minutes I went ballistic with Rahman on the Continuum. Please tell me the raga in which the last classical piece is set in, I love it!

Delhi 6 - Blaaze, Benny Dayal, Vivinenne Pocha, Tanvi, Claire

A good title song for a movie, works wonders for its publicity , like we saw with Sivaji and many other Rajni movies. This one delivers, bigtime. Set keeping in the partying-multiplexing generation in mind, the familiar grooving and mixing associated with DJ-ing make this number a good peppy one to listen to. Nice rhyme scheme for the lyrics :)

Hey Kaala Bandar - Karthik, Naresh, Srinivas, Bony Chakravarthy

Reminds me of "Kama Kama" from the Tamil movie "Enakku 20 Unakku 18", and more recently "Behka" from Ghajini in the way the lyrics are tinkered with to set in the tune. Nevertheless, this one is also a party track, but Rahman would not leave it at that would he ? Starts off with a "Desert Rose"ish vocal, and later he brings in some competition between the singers Karthik, Naresh, Srini and Bony and it ends up being quite a lot to reckon with on first hearing. Glaring similarity to "Dil ka rishta" from Yuvvraaj (in the humming) notwithstanding, repeated listening makes things clearer - this one is the "in" thing for ringtones. Overall, good work.

Genda Phool - Rekha Bharadwaj, Shraddha Pandit, Sujata Majumdar

Newbies at it again. Rahman uses a completely new set of singers for this composition, which is kind of the Ila Arun type lusty numbers. Effortless on the singing, and not a huge effort for the ears to take- this one meanders on, decent number. Not the best one, but is passable.

Noor- Amitabh Bachchan

This one's poetry, rendered by Amitabh Bachchan. I do not know why its been included in the album, but the verses are nice :)

Bhor Bhayi - Shreya Ghoshal,Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Gujri Todi

One of the best numbers in the album, this one's branded Hindustani from second one. Brilliant singing by Shreya Goshal with good backing by the Ustad. If you are a classical music person, this one will entice you to no end. It is just an immense pleasure listening to Bhor Bhayi! Rahman should be lauded for venturing into this one.

Aarti (Tumre Bhavan Mein) - Rekha Bharadwaj, Kishori Gowariker, Shraddha Pandit, Sujata Majumdar

As the title reads, its a Mangal Aarti song- makes for good listening, and is otherwise not a mainstream composition. Characterized with good vocal-instrument synchronisation.

Dil Gira Dafatan - Ash King, Backing: Chinmayee

Reminds me of some old Hindi song, but I liked this somehow. Its different, slow, got a beautiful guitar accompaniment throughout , thrumming into the ears- grows into a joyful symphony full of little nuances. Ash has sung it very well, Chinmayee impresses in the little that is given to her( I just wish she had a song for herself :( ) I just hope this does not go into the background score in the movie. It somehow feels like the type of song when parting with home and sundry. The surprise of the album, is this. I didn't expect it!

On the whole, Arabic, Classical, Hindustani, Modern music. Peppy numbers, sad ones, mangal aarties, classical, party tracks, symphonies - got to be A.R.Rahman's best work in a while. Notches above Yuvvraaj in its range and reach- splendid on the ears. This man has proven he is worth his weight in Golden Globes.

Delhi 6 - 9.5/10.

(make my previous rating of 9/10 for Yuvvraaj, 7 on 10. Rahman has pushed the scale up further with Delhi 6. )