Asha’s rendition B(hos)lew everyone’s minds

While the majority of Hindi film music buffs heard Mujhe Rang De, die-hard fans of Asha couldn’t be B(hos)l(am)ed for wondering whether the Hindi word for colour was misspelled.

It seemed as if A R Rahman, who didn’t just compose the track from Thakshak, but also sang it, wanted the legendary singer to give him a glimpse of her range, and to everyone’s delight, she complied.

As far as showcasing multiple talents was concerned, how could Sukhwinder be far behind? This track was one of the two songs in the film that the Sing(h)er penned.

This was an under-Rat(ho)(e)d gem

It is imperative that a die-hard A R Rahman fan listens to his songs on loop, or else they won’t grow on him/her. The music of Thakshak was no different.

Khamosh Raat, the romantic track from the film, was no Silent Night (although that is what it could be translated to). But it was certainly a great pick for a man with a plan to serenade his ladylove.

One of those deceptively simple songs that have become the composer’s trademark over the years, it was rendered by Roop Kumar Rathod.

It was penned by Mehboob.

Mr Mahadevan (Chi)nailed this track

To the listeners whose heads were a jumble trying to find out the meaning of the word Jumbalika, it can only be said that it was a track from Thakshak (1999). It was undoubtedly catchy.

It was reused from Jumbalakka from En Swasa Kaatre, a Tamil film which, incidentally, released the same year.

While the Tamil song was a male solo*, the Hindi version was a duet, rendered by Shankar Mahadevan and Alisha Chinai.

Jumbalika was penned by Mehboob.

Both the songs were composed by A R Rahman.

(*Note: That track was sung by Rafee.)

Udit and Alka stood Ta(a)l(l)

By no means was (Ud)it a surprise that Mr Narayan and Alka Yagnik rendered the title track of Taal.

After all, they had been milaoing taal se taal since their breakthrough at the end of the previous decade.

In fact, it earned the latter the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback.

The track, which was six minutes and 18 seconds long, was penned by Anand Bakshi.

It was composed by A R Rahman.

The Western version of the song was rendered by Sukhwinder Singh. It was just a couple of minutes and 34 seconds long.

Alka joined the (Jo)gifted Sukhwinder

Sukhi isn’t just Sukhwinder Singh’s nickname, but also what he invariably gives his fans a reason to be.

And that is precisely what they felt when he rendered Ramta Jogi from Taal.

The one who shared singing credits with him was Alka Yagnik.

It would be unfair to compare this track with the other number sung by the pair in the film.

However, it must be stated that it was a shorter track – it was six minutes and 17 seconds long.

The song, which was penned by Anand Bakshi, was composed by A R Rahman.

Sukhwinder sang a (Ri)challenging number

By no means was Ni Main Samajh Gayi a chartbuster, but it was certainly one of the most difficult songs on the soundtrack of Taal.

It was also the shortest of the seven tracks from the film on this blog – it was four minutes and 33 seconds long.

The song, which was penned by Anand Bakshi, was composed by A R Rahman, whose penchant for challenging his Sing(h)ers is well-known.

But, to the listeners’ delight, Sukhwinder, who rendered the track, did a marvellous job. And so did Richa Sharma, who joined him behind the microphone.

Singh could Har(iharan)dly be heard

Clichéd as it may sound, everyone wants his/her partner to say, “You are not in front of me. But that is besides the point. You are near me.”

That was what Nahin Saamne, from Taal, could be translated to.

The next couple of lines of the song, which was six minutes and four seconds long, went, “Yeh alag baat hai, mere paas hai tu.”

It was rendered by Hariharan, who was joined behind the microphone by Sukhwinder Singh (who was barely heard).

The track was penned by Anand Bakshi and composed by A R Rahman.

Suniye, because the Sing(h)ers rocked

Apart from the fact that Kariye Na, from Taal, also began with the letter K, it had another thing in common with Kahin Aag Lage – it was also seven minutes and 15 seconds long.

Of course, the two tracks had a couple of other similarities – they were penned by Anand Bakshi and composed by A R Rahman.

Sukhwinder Singh and Alka Yagnik rendered a couple of songs in the film, and this was the longer of those.

By no means would it be incorrect to say that they gave everyone a reason to be Sukhi.

The (Bhos)legend sang ARocking number

Asha is a singer who has (Bhos)left an indelible mark on music aficionados, regardless of age.

And, to their delight, nothing curbed her enthusiasm even when she was in her mid-sixties, as was evident from her rendition of Kahin Aag Lage from Taal.

She was joined behind the microphone by a couple of singers – Richa Sharma and Aditya Narayan. While the former was a teenager at that point, the latter was a pre-teen.

The track, which was seven minutes and 15 seconds long, was penned by Anand Bakshi.

It was composed by A R Rahman.

It wAS an awesome Son(u)g

It is interesting to note that Ishq Bina was originally composed for a film titled Shikhar.

When that film was shelved, it featured on the soundtrack of Taal, which released in 1999 and was a shikhar (peak) scaled by A R Rahman.

Seven minutes and 45 seconds long, it was the longest song in the film.

It earned Anand Bakshi the Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist in 2000. It was his fourth and final Filmfare trophy.

The Son(u)g was rendered by Mr Nigam, who was joined behind the microphone by Anuradha Sriram and Sujatha Mohan.