DEVDAS

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Music: Ismail Darbar
Lyrics: Nusrat Badr
Producer: Bharat Shah
Starring: Shah Rukh, Madhuri Dixit, & Aishwarya Rai

Ismail Darbar returns again with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, after an excellent debut with Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Perhaps one of the most-awaited soundtracks ever, as well as the most expensive (rights to Universal Audio were sold for 12 crores!). How well does this album live up to expectations?

Note: Before starting this review, I'd like to commence on the experiences with the Devdas soundtrack. The soundtrack to Devdas is not one that can be picked up and listened to enjoyably in the same day. It requires several days to "grow" on to you, before you pick up the style of music. After more than two weeks of meticulous analysis of the music, this review has been written with these standards in mind.

1. Silsila Ye Chaahat Ka:
The song starts off with a very nice semi-classical introduction, and quickly transforms into a simple love solo. This track is rendered by new find Shreya Ghosal, who is to sing for Aishwarya Rai. She has a very nice, classically trained voice, which should fit Aishwarya's image well. The tune changes pace often, at times being soft and slow, and other times, peaking with a quick, and almost harsh refrain. The classical-based background music complements the mood of the song well. The background beats changed with the pace of the tune, as well as add to it, in the case of the background note shifting. However, one of the best parts of the song has to be the music intervals and the background chanting of notes by the chorus. They add to the fullness and vibrancy of the song very well, and give it the right feel.
Rating: 9/10

2. Maar Dala:
The second track is rendered by HDDCS favorite Kavita Subramanium herself, who will be singing for Madhuri Dixit. Another semi-classical inspired track, this one turns out excellent, mainly because of the emotions let through in this song. The tune may not sound catchy on first listen, but slowly grows, and eventually shows the brilliance in composition. The music throughout is quite simplistic, but very effective, making the piece sound somewhat like a Qawali piece. As in the last track, the chorus is very effective, especially in the music intervals, which sounds just great. Joining Kavita Subramanium is KK, for a bit of background material and some non-lyrical singing towards the end.
Rating: 9/10

3. Bairi Piya:
Shreya Ghosal returns once again for this track, this time opposite Udit Narayan for a simple and sweet melody. The tune is very care-free and pleasant. Shreya Ghosal has the right voice for a song like this (and more serious track as well, as evidenced by "Silsila Ye Chaahat Ka"). Udit Narayan does a good job aside her as well, adding the right amount of feeling into the song. The background music is quite simple, as are the background beats, and keep the song simple, instead of adding unnecessary complexities. Most notable is the use of the word "Ish" at random times throughout, which adds a nice feeling to the song.
Rating: 8/10

4. Kaahe Chhed Mohe:
Starting out with a nice introduction by Pandit Birju Maharaj (who had sung in HDDCS), this track is a very classical-inspired track, especially in terms of rhythm and pace. Though some may find it boring at first, it's a well-composed track with great singing, both by Pandit Birju Maharaj and Kavita Krishnamurthy, as well as the support given by the chorus in the form of classical notes. Madhuri Dixit's "singing" is quite interesting, and gives an interesting contrast to the rest of the song, as it is quite fast-paced. The instrumentation is very classical-based, and one can hear most of the classical-based instruments (especially the tabla). The music this time around is composed by Pandit Birju Maharaj himself, who has penned the lyrics as well.
Rating: 8.5/10

5. Challak Challak:
Basically a drinking song, which is to be picturized on Jackie Shroff and Shah Rukh Khan. The voice of Vinod Rathod looks to suit him well, along with Shreya Ghosal and Udit Narayan. All three work well together to make for a catchy track. The tune, as stated, is quite catchy, and one that could easily be danced to. The music is very fast-paced throughout, yet maintains the flavor of the time period, especially through the background chorus. The parts where the track slows down slightly detracts from the main feel of the track, but they don't last very long. The main problem with this song is in the composition; the song fails to stand out as much more than a common dance track (save the vocalized notes and the sound effects).
Rating: 8/10

6. Hamesha Tumko Chaha:
Easily one of the best, if not the best, track on the entire album. Kavita Subramanium's singing throughout is excellent bar none. She works very well at conveying a gamut of emotions through her wonderfully sensitive voice. The tune itself is very nice, and flows very smoothly. The contrast in emotions are done very well through the music intervals. The track picks up, and sounds its best upon Udit Narayan's entry. The moment he starts singing the lines "O Preetam O Preetam Bin Terre…" the song starts to sound as its best, in a very happy mood. Udit Narayan's voice rarely has sounded better than in those few lines. The background music is very simple, and somewhat reminiscent of wedding, through instrumentation and sound effects. Though one might assume that this song is picturized on Madhuri Dixit (due to Kavita Subramanium's voice), there are a few clues that seem to point to it being picturized on Aishwarya Rai. First is the sounds of the wedding, as well as the line "jo daag tumne mujhko diya us daag se mera chehra khila", which, according to the original story of Devdas, is characteristic of Paro.
Rating: 10/10

7. Woh Chand Jaisi Ladki:
Udit Narayan continues his wonderful singing from the past song, giving wonderful rendition which sounds very sensitive and meaningful. The tune throughout is very nice and soft. The music flows very well, and is very pleasant to listen to. The background music complements the tune very well by keeping the song simple, yet not desolate. The orchestration is well-done, and adds to the pleasant mood of the song. The lyrics are very nice, and work well with the tune.
Rating: 9/10

8. Morey Piya:
Probably the most out-of-place track on the entire album, Morey Piya brings back the sensitive side of Jaspinder Narula again (who proved her worth beyond pop songs with "Na Lekhe Jao" from Fiza). Jaspinder Narula sounds great in her parts, especially the lines "Hare Krishan Raaz Radha ke Sang" and her introduction. Shreya Ghosal joins again for her parts, which turn out to be a bit more uninspired than the rest, and actually turn out a bit boring, straying away from the original mood set in the song.
Rating: 7.5/10

9. Devdas Theme:
A wonderful instrumental theme, well-composed by Monty. The theme flows very well, and captures the entire story of Devdas. Starting out with a calm and peaceful theme, while it slowly builds up, then immediately changes mood into an Arabic-sounding chant, changing mood once again into pandemonium. The track credits the singers of Rashmi Sharma, Supriya, and Raghav Chatterjee, but they do little beyond chanting (but sound great doing it). Not much more to say about the track, beyond that fact that it's well-composed and very effective.
Rating: 9/10

10. Dhola Re:
Basically the equivalent to HDDCS' "Dholi Taaro"; not the best song, but most definitely the catchiest. The song promises to be a visual treat as it is picturized on Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai in a dance competition and such competition is brought out by the two singers, Shreya Ghosal and Kavita Subramanium. Both do an excellent job "competing" in their singing. Once again, the tune is very catchy and fast-paced, making it an excellent dance number. The excitement is very apparent in this track. The background music is quite simple, while the background beats keep the quick pace up. KK adds some background support which goes by quite unnoticed (unlike his contribution to HDDCS).
Rating: 8.5/10

Overall Music and Instrumentation:
Darbar succeeds in his compositions throughout. Most of the earlier tracks on the album have a certain fullness in background music and instrumentation to them previously offered only by AR Rahman. He complements the shifts in tune of the song very well throughout and really shows off his skills as a composer (and that too only in his third album).
Rating: 9/10

Overall Singing:
The singers used throughout are very consistent as per the characters they sing for. Every singer contributes to their respective tracks very well. Udit Narayan gives his some of his best for this album, as does Kavita Subramanium. Newcomer Shreya Ghosal has a great voice, sounding very similar to Sadhna Sargam.
Rating: 9/10

Overall Rating:
Most definitely the best album released this year, Devdas is nothing short of excellent. Though not as good as his debut album, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, it still turns out to be an album not to be missed. Pick this one up as soon as possible.


Overall Rating (Not an average): 9/10

REVIEWED BY RISHI J