Yuvvraaj Music Review: A Musical Delight

Subhash Ghai's films have always boasted of top notch music and songs from his earlier films like Saudagar, Karma, Karz, Khal Nayak, and of course Taal have been chart toppers which have survived the test of time and remain as fresh today as the day the soundtracks released. Taal was the first time Subhash Ghai and A R Rahman came together and they created what could arguable be the best film soundtracks of contemporary Hindi cinema. Like Taal, Yuvvraaj too has a musical backdrop to the film and it is not surprise that we see Ghai repeating Rahman again even though Kisna's music was unable to garner the same response as Taal, in spite of having a couple of strong melodies. The music of Yuvvraaj doesn't disappoint even though it falls a bit short of being as mesmerizing as Taal, Yuvvraaj is a top notch soundtrack.

The first song in the album is Tu Hi To Meri Dost (the first track is a monologue of Salman Khan as Yuvvraaj which uses Beethoven's symphony quite effectively and makes for a great start) sung by Benny Dayal, Shreya Ghosal and Rahman. A beautiful melody and overall a great composition which gives an orchestra feel with lovely strings creating a romantic number which is instantly enchanting. The lyrics are equally romantic and sheer poetic lyrics suite the mood and tone of the song. The crescendos are amazing and after a long time we are listening to a composition with such elaborate arrangements and the use of an orchestra.

Shano Shano sets a different mood from the earlier track as this is more of a contemporary, pacy dance number. Very young, fresh with lyrics that have a combination of Hindi and English (and some lyrics which don't really have meanings) this is a number for the dance floor. But don't miss the small yet beautiful alaap in the song. Although this song is more based on electric studio arrangements, it yet maintains the feel that a musical should have. The remix version is even peppier and features Ember, a great listen as well.

The strings again form an integral part of the composition of Tu Muskura which has been sung beautifully by Alka Yagnik and Javed Ali. Another very romantic number, even softer than Dost and although this may not be the most romantic melody of recent times, there is something about the song that really works. The lyrics compliment the composition and establish a perfect mood for the song. The orchestra in the background adds to the grandeur of the song; a superb combination of melody, arrangements, lyrics and flawless singing. The Indian classical towards the end of the song blends with the rest of the composition perfectly and its effect gives the song a unique ending.

Mastam Mastam is more of a stage theatrical, musical number akin to a Broadway musical, a style of music we got a flavour of in Shirsh Kunder's Jaanemaan. This is a fun song which will surely be picturized as part of a stage show and it definitely has the right dramatics in the songs to suit the requirements. Sonu Nigam is as usual flawless as is Alka Yagnik and the support vocals. In spite of not being a loud grand song in terms of composition as it has a certain innocent simplicity, Rahman yet manages to retain the grandeur that is present in all of the earlier songs. The lyrics tell a story within the song and hence one can expect stunning choreography in the picturization. More than the last minute of the song is only instrumental and yet you don't miss the vocals at all.

Zindagi brings another mood to the album as it is a conversation with life, a moment of reflection. The composition is simple yet meticulous with small details; the accordion, the violins, the varied tempo when Srinivas sings this song could very well be the hidden diamond of the entire album. Rahman has a knack for discovering brilliant singers and Srinivas is another find who first sung for Rahman for the film Bombay.

Three great singers, Sonu Nigam, A R Rahman and Roopkumar Rathod come together for Dil Ka Rishta a song which would seemingly be picturized on Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan and Zayed Khan and yet the composition is so powerful, you hardly notice the singing at time! The song begins with a full scale orchestra complete with crescendo and tempo pick up. The music is so enchanting that you do not even realize that two minutes into the song the vocals have yet to begin. The Indian classical amidst the western classical orchestra is splendid and this is by far the grandest song of the entire album such that you do not mind its almost eight minute's length. The ?passion and aggression? lyrics are mixed in well but this song is such a brilliant musical score that you at times almost ignore Gulzar's apt lyrics.

In an album which has boasted mostly of western classical with only dashes of Indian classical thrown in for a few bars, Manmohini Morey comes as a surprise as it is an India classical number, sung by Vijay Prakash with a bit of fusion in the composition.

Yuvvraaj is one of the best musical scores in a very long time. The compositions are brilliant but even Gulzar's lyrics match the mood of each song and ensure they do not bring down the melody. Rahman, Gulzar and Ghai together are a formidable team and although Yuvvraaj is overall just a notch below Taal (Taal's songs all had a certain soul that create sheer magic), it is several notches above most of the albums in recent films.