MUSIC REVIEW: KISNA (2004)

Music by: AR Rahman and Ismail Darbar
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Singers: Udit Narayan, Madhushree, Alka Yagnik, Sukhwinder Singh, Ayesha Darbar, S.Shailja, Ismail Darbar, Hariharan, Kailash Kher, Rakesh Pandit, Ustaad Rashid Khan, Mohammad Salaamat, Sunitha Sarathy

When AR Rahman and Subhash Ghai teamed up to bring the world TAAL, it was an album that shook up indian music and cinema at its roots. With a true mix of indian classical, modernized and fusion elements, the album changed the scene of what is known as indian music forever. It can also be said that with the immortalization of the Taal album, AR Rahman himself became immortal in the hearts of indian music listeners. It is as such impossible to describe the expectations that have been placed on Ghai and Rahman's follow-up KISNA. While Rahman's increasing popularity overseas have not allowed him to complete the full soundtrack, Ghai has roped in Ismail Darbar, another powerful music director, to give the both of them the composers edge. With Javed Akhtar writing the poetry of this eagerly awaited film, does the album meet these overwhelming expectations?

The album begins with a soulful drum and flute, highlighting the short yet powerful "Kisna Theme" composed by AR Rahman. It gives the feeling of an epic and opens up the album in soulful fashion.

It follows into the tour-de-force of the album "Hum Hain Is Pal Yahan". Rahman's best has been brought out again and it gives off a romantic, soulful and crystalline feeling. Udit Narayan and Madhusree bring the song to life, and are complemented so well by a classical style background rhythm and Javed Akhtar's poetry. The drum beats and nature filled background reminds us of the soul that went into Rahman's work in Taal. The rhythm, voices and composition stay with the listener much longer after the song has ended. True and classic Rahman here folks!

To pick up the flag from Rahman, Ismail Darbar makes his entry into the album with "Woh Kisna Hai". Sukhwinder Singh, Ayesha Darbar, S.Shailja and Darbar himself lend their voices to the song, which is filled with imagery of Radha and Krishna. Sukhwinder brings energy to this village style song, and is complemented well by a powerful classical raaga style background along with strong drum percussions. Akhtar's lyrics are of a classic age and draw beautiful images about Radha and Krishna. The soul continues….

Sukhwinder Singh's alaap introduces "Tu Itni Pagli Kyon Hai" and hands off to Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik to take over the rendition of this playful number. The classical instrumental background is unmistakeable and ear-pleasing as Darbar's background instrumentation complement Narayan and Yagnik very well. Akhtar's playful lyrics draw the fine line between simplistic and true poetry and are pleasing. Darbar's ear-pleasing instrumental background truly makes the difference in the song, and brings out the best in both artists.

Sushmita Sen's charming voice opens up "Chilman Uthegi Nahin" as the much publicized qawwali khatak number begins. The song also features renditions by Hariharan, Alka Yagnik, Ayesha Darbar, S. Shailja, Kailash Kher and Rakesh Pandit. Alka holds the main part of the song, but what takes over is the classical edge of the song. The song has the feel of Darbar's previous work in Devdas, but Darbar takes it a step further in introducing the quickening pace of the Qawwali, which is a treat to classical music listeners everywhere. It is definetely quite a beautiful number and will be remembered as one of the highlights of the ablum and hopefully of the film!

The pace lightens with "Woh Din Aa Gaya", a light hearted song sung by the bride to-be and her friends about her upcoming marriage. The classical instrumentation only amplifies the excellent rendition efforts of Alka Yagnik, Sukhwinder Singh, Ayesha Darbar and S. Shailja. Yagnik sounds absolutely angelic while Singh's powerful voice echoes through the background. Akhtar's lyrics capture the essence of the light mood very well. The classic rhythm in the background brings the song up to a much more beautiful level.

A spiritual number with classical background opens with Sukhwinder Singh's powerful voice. "Aham Brahmasmi" has spiritual poetry by Akhtar complemented well by classical religious and spiritual chanting courtesy of Ismail Darbar. Sukhwinder also brings this largely situational song to a stronger level. Another situational number, which has roots largely on the classical scale "Kahe Ujadi Meri Neend", brings the legendary singer Ustaad Rashid Khan to the rendition helm. It does have the feel of Darbar's work from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam but stands out due to its classical edge. However, these numbers will be appreciated by the classes who can understand the rich classical ragas that these compositions bring.

The mood lightens again, and with "Ga, Tu Aisi Dun Mein Ga" one thinks of Ghai's "I Love My India" which opens with a children filled chorus. Taking the helms of the song is Darbar himself, Ayesha Darbar, S Shilaja, M Salaamat and the powerful Kailash Kher. This type of light hearted number does have the feel of Ghai's previous works, and one can truly see this through the light-heartedness that the song brings. Once again the classical style background complements the entire song very well.

AR Rahman returns to the music direction helm of the album through composing the second theme song. The piano and flute interludes in the background take the listener to a nature filled area, where a picture can be painted, and yet, there are no lyrics or no singers to speak of. The song truly calms the heart and paints a beautiful picture.

Upon hearing Rahman's "My Wish Comes True" one would think that the song was created and composed for a hollywood style movie. Blaaze writes the lyrics for this beautiful romantic crossover song. Sunitha Sarathy is truly Indian music's answer to Celine Dion, sounding like the legendary singer in her rendition. The subtle drum beats in the background add a true indian fusion element to the song. A true crossover song!

The album ends with "Hum Mile Na Mile" rendered by the chorus as a theme song to the album. A true climactic number, the song brings a powerful ending to an incredibly powerful album.

It is rare that we find an album that brings so much to the music listener and yet leaves them yearning for more. If there is an album that can be called an album full of soul, it must be reserved for KISNA. Not only has AR Rahman brought back his brilliance to this album, but Ismail Darbar was able to keep the soul of the album alive. It is as if Ghai left the music for his own directoral movies back at Taal, and this is truly a worthy follow up. In a year that has seen so much for indian music, with albums such as Veer Zaara, Swades, Yuva, Dev and Meenaxi, KISNA bows out the year of indian music so beautifully. In this reviewers opinion, It is THE BEST ALBUM OF 2004 and will truly hold a beautiful place in the hearts of music listeners. Sensational!

Rating: 9.5/10

Reviewed by Alikhan Ladhani