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Rockstar -- A R Rahman -- November 2011

Rahman's music has, in a way, defined my life. I've played the title song from Dil Se thousands of times on iTunes alone, and it's impossible to count the plays on each of the CD versions we own. I fell in love with Taal's "Ishq Bina" when it came out, and still list it as one of my favorites. I can attest that, years later, my main draw to watch each movie was the deep relationship I had formed with their soundtracks. As I got older, I fell for Lagaan, Swades, Jodhaa Akbar. 

At that point, I had sort of assumed that Rahman-saab would continue making brilliant music for the rest of my life. Except, then, Slumdog Millionaire happened. It was unarguably a turning point for Rahman's career. He won a Golden Globe and an Oscar, and truly brought Bollywood to the Western world. I thought he deserved the awards, and Bollywood music deserved a Western audience -- but did "Jai Ho" have to be the vehicle for all that? I've never been impressed with the song. It felt unnatural -- inferior to his other compositions. Just a miss, I assumed. Unfortunately, it proved to be the first in a long line of misses. A boom in publicity; a bust in real Hindi or Tamil soundtracks. 

Since Slumdog, he has composed for ten released movies. Of those, five were Hindi. Delhi-6 was easily pre-Slumdog Rahman-saab -- original, melodious, intricate. But to me, Blue, Raavan, and Jhootha Hi Sahi all fell dishearteningly flat. I could not find a song that captured my heart in any of the three -- whereas in previous Rahman works, it was difficult to find a song that wouldn't strike me. 

Still, since my lifetime experience with Rahman has been dominated by deeply-rooted positive feelings, I can't give up after just three awful Hindi soundtracks (albeit in three years). 

The fifth post-Slumdog Hindi soundtrack is last month's Rockstar, which I finally fully listened to. I'd heard excerpts on television, and hadn't really formed an opinion. Afterward, I feel that this is another turning point for Rahman-saab -- back to amazing. 

The Rockstar soundtrack itself is not amazing. However, it's a gigantic improvement over the other post-Slumdog compositions. It's not on par with anything pre-Slumdog -- or even with Delhi-6. But, at least in half the tracks, the intricacy and originality has returned.

Half of Rockstar is notable; half isn't.

"Sadda Haq" is the star of the album -- it's catchy, and a nod to a genre that's just starting to take precedence in India. The lyrics could make it the anthem for the Occupy movements. It's adequately adapted for India -- it retains the tradmark electric guitars and screeching amplifiers, but pairs them with the album's most melodious vocals and an Indian chorus. 

"Hawaa Hawaa" isn't really brilliant; it's just fresh. The majority of current Hindi music is Western pop music with partially Hindi lyrics or based on Punjabi music. Instead, "Hawaa Hawaa" is based on Czech Roma music. The plucked string patterns are scintillating, dizzying. An Eastern Mediterranean feel, combined with a hint of soft rock.

Throughout Rockstar, the instrumentals greatly overshadow the vocals. This is not to demean the singers in any way -- I typically love them. Unfortunately, their true talents did not show. All the vocals, with the possible exception of "Sadda Haq" seemed muted and blended -- not at all prominent. It effected weakness. When listening, I find myself ignoring all singing and focusing on the guitar riffs and musical patterns. 

It follows, then, that my two favorites, and the ones that I feel show the most promise, are completely instrumental."Tango for Two" and "The Dichotomy of Fame" are brilliance. Again, they both take international cues, one of my favorite aspects of Rahman in general. Tango is a beautiful genre, and one I believe can be excellently combined with Indian aspects. Tango is hypnotic; this achieves the effect. I would have liked to see more of an Indian twist rather than the classic tango Rahman chose. This works, though. "The Dichotomy of Fame" , on the other hand, employs the fusion techniques that "Tango for Two" lacks. It combines acoustic guitar with sitar and shehnai, and the melodies take shape from an equilibric mix of Western and Hindustani materials. It's a little like much that I've heard -- but not completely like anything I've heard. This is the spirit I missed in the rest of Rahman-saab's recent compositions -- and what gives me the most hope. 

The rest of the soundtrack was somewhat disappointing. "Kun Faya Kun" is a valid try -- but it is nothing but the second-rate version of "Khwaja Mere Khwaja" (Jodhaa Akbar). "Kun Faya Kun" is "Khwaja" with bad earplugs in. It lacks the spiritual energy of the earlier composition. "Katiya Karun" is neither pleasant nor cohesive... I can't classify it. The other songs -- "Jo Bhi Main", "Phir Se Ud Chala",  "Sheher Mein", "Naadan Parindey", "Aur Ho", "Tum Ho", and "Tum Ko" (the last three even have similar names) all run together. They're vaguely pleasant -- like watching miles of green fields outside your car window. It's all pretty -- but unremarkable, and boring after a while. They carry little variation on each other, sport below-average vocals, and settle into a constant line. 

Overall, Rockstar works out to be average. A mix of good and flat. Most importantly, it's a beacon of hope for long-standing Rahman fans. Three years later -- promise.