Rahman composed and S(hasha)ang it

If the four tracks from Mili in my collection were arranged in the alphabetical order, Tum Bhi Raahi would be the last.

And if they were arranged in the descending order of their durations, it would be the second – it was four minutes and 16 seconds long.

The involvement of the one and only A R Rahman in the song was not restricted to composing it, but he happened to be one of the two people who lent their voices to it too.

The other was Shashaa Tirupati.

The song was written by Javed Akhtar.

Mishra sang this title track

If the four songs on the soundtrack of Mili were arranged in the (Vish)alphabetical order, Sun Aye Mili – the title track of the film – would be the third.

And if they were arranged in the descending order of their durations, it would be the first – it was four minutes and 27 seconds long.

The song happened to be a male solo – it was, in fact, the second song in the film to which Mishra lent his voice.

The man who wrote it was Javed Akhtar, and the person who composed it was A R Rahman.

It was sung by Abhilasha

Only one of the four songs on the soundtrack of Mili happened to be a female solo.

The track was titled Main Toh Main Hoon, and the lady who lent her voice to it was Abhilasha Sinha.

Not only would it be the second if the songs from the film were arranged in the alphabetical order, but even if they were arranged in the ascending order of their durations, it would be the second, because it was three minutes and 47 seconds long.

Javed Akhtar wrote the song, which was composed by A R Rahman.

It was a Vishal solo

Mili released in 2022.

It has nothing to do with the 1975 film of the same name, but a remake of the Malayalam film Helen, which released in 2019.

My collection contains four songs from the film.

If they were arranged in the (Vish)alphabetical order, as well as in the ascending order of their durations, Jeena Hoga would be the first – it was three minutes and 41 seconds long.

The man who lent his voice to was none other than Mishra.

The song, which was written by Javed Akhtar, was composed by A R Rahman.

Rahman San(ah)g AnotheR lacklustre song

While the title track of Mohenjo Daro was the longest song in the film (a fact I didn’t mention), Tu Hai was at the other end of the spectrum – it was just three minutes and 59 seconds long.

Sanah Moidutty’s rendition must have prompted the listeners to exclaim, “Tu hai (You are) one of the voices of tomorrow”.

After all, she salvaged a track, which wasn’t just composed, but also rendered by none other than A R Rahman.

Maybe the fact that it was an intense romantic number worked against it.

Javed Akhtar penned it.

It waS a mere ABeRration

No one expected the music of Mohenjo Daro, which released in 2016, to create history, but it certainly wasn't expected to fare as poorly as it did either.

Of course, every composer has at least one dud in his discography, but A R Rahman appeared to have grabbed the albatross (read: Mohenjo Mohenjo, the film’s title track, which was six minutes and 22 seconds long) and put it around his neck.

He didn’t just compose it, but also rendered it.

Arijit, Bela Shende and Sanah Moidutty shared Sing(h)ing credits with him.

Javed Akhtar penned it.

Rahman truly raised the bAR

Khwaja Mere Khwaja, a qawwali, was the longest track on the soundtrack of Jodhaa Akbar – it was six minutes and 56 seconds long.

It was one of two songs from the film to have an instrumental version. The oboe piece was just a couple of minutes and 53 seconds long.

The song was penned by Javed Akhtar.

While the soundtrack earned A R Rahman, who didn’t just compose, but also rendered this track, numerous awards, this track wasn’t honoured in the music categories.

However, it earned Raju Khan the Star Screen Award for Best Choreographer.

Javed’s rendition was truly mesmerising

Jashn-E-Bahaara was a romantic number from Jodhaa Akbar.

The track, and its instrumental version (a flute piece credited to P M K Naveen Kumar), were of the same duration – five minutes and 15 seconds.

It was a typical A R Rahman composition that took a long time to grow on the listeners, but once it did, there is no doubt that the song was played on loop.

And the man who deserved the lion’s share of the credit for that was Javed, who rendered it.

The song was penned by the vocAlist's namesake, Javed Akhtar.

Everything, including Bonnie’s backing, wAs(l)amazing

There’s no doubt that as far as Hindi film soundtracks were concerned, 2008 was Rahman's year.

Jodhaa Akbar, his first release of the year, lived up to the expectations of the fans of the composer, whose previous two collaborations with director Ashutosh Gowariker weren’t letdowns.

Of course, no mention of the film’s soundtrack would be complete without a mention of the third member of the team – Javed Akhtar, who penned the songs.

Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah, which was five minutes and 54 seconds long, introduced the Mughal emperor. It was rendered by Mohammed Aslam and Bonnie Chakraborty.

Chakraborty rendered this adapted Son(u)g

Ekla Cholo, the Bengali song penned by Rabindranath Tagore, has been adapted on numerous occasions.

One of them featured on the soundtrack of the 2005 film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who, according to the film’s title, was The Forgotten Hero.

But by no means will that version, which was penned by Javed Akhtar, ever be forgotten.

It was composed by A R Rahman, and was the longest track in the film – it was six minutes and five seconds long.

The Son(u)g was a duet, rendered by Nachiketa Chakraborty, a singer from Kolkata, and Mr Nigam.

Kailash’s rendition was pure class

There were three versions of Mangal Mangal, the title track of Mangal Pandey: The Rising. That was a triple treat for Hindi film music aficionados in general, and fans of A R Rahman (who composed them) in particular.

They were rendered by Kailash Kher.

Interestingly, the original was just a couple of minutes and 29 seconds long.

Its Agni version was four seconds shorter than the aforementioned version.

The third version of the track – the Aatma version – was four minutes and 19 seconds long. Sukhwinder Singh joined Kher behind the microphone.

Javed Akhtar penned them.

Kavita and Reena provided Variety

That A R Rahman is invariably at his creative best when he is composing the soundtracks of films based on Indian freedom fighters is no secret, as was evidenced by the songs of Mangal Pandey: The Rising, which released in 2005.

It wouldn’t be incorrect to state that Main Vari Vari, which was four minutes and 51 seconds long, went on to become popular.

That was attributable to the fact that Reena Bhardwaj made the most of the opportunity to share singing credits with the veteran Kavita Krishnamurthy.

The track was penned by Javed Akhtar.

Undoubtedly, Madhushree rendered (Ud)it beautifully

There’s no doubt that A R Rahman Ism(a)il(e)s ahead of Mr Darbar, who composed the remainder of the songs of Kisna: The Warrior Poet (2005) when the former had to leave it midway*.

And that reflected in the popularity of one of the tracks he composed for the film – Hum Hain Is Pal Yahaan.

Javed Akhtar penned the duet, which was soothing and worth listening to on loop.

(Ud)It was rendered by Mr Narayan and Madhushree.

(*Note: Rahman was committed to composing the music of the 2006 theatrical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.)

(Ud)It was the KatcHiest track

The piece de resistance of Swades’ soundtrack was Yunhi Chala Chal, which was, incidentally, the longest song in the film as well – it was seven minutes and 28 seconds long.

It was the perfect song to play when one is on a road trip or at a jam session with friends.

And the best part of it is it gave the listeners a message (to keep going forward) without becoming preachy.

Penned by Javed Akhtar and composed by A R Rahman, (Ud)it was rendered by Narayan, Hariharan and Kailash Kher (the highlight of the track).

Udit played a PiVotal role

When a film’s soundtrack includes a song featuring kids, there’s a fear that their wish to sound like grown-ups might rob them of their innocence.

However, Yeh Tara Woh Tara, from Swades, required the little lad and lass (Master Vignesh and Baby Pooja, respectively) to sound a tad mature. Needless to say, they did.

(Ud)It was rendered by Narayan, who earned a nomination in the Best Male Playback Singer category at the Filmfare Awards (which he shared with Vignesh).

Javed Akhtar penned the A R Rahman composition, which was seven minutes and 13 seconds long.

Mr Rahman ARoused patriotic feelings

Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera, the title track of Swades, is the sort of song that is unlikely to be named even by ARdent fans of Rahman (or the film) as a song worth playing on loop. Yet, once it grows on the listeners, it was a universal favourite.

He did not just compose the song, which was penned by Javed Akhtar and was six minutes and 28 seconds long, but also rendered it.

Needless to say, he was able to play both the roles to perfection (which wasn’t a surprise, because he is gifted).

Yagnik (Al)kame, sang and mesmerised

Saanwariya Saanwariya was the shortest of the five tracks from Swades on this blog – it was five minutes and 17 seconds long.

In fact, Alka Yagnik's rendition was the highlight of the song, and it wouldn’t be incorrect to state that it was because of her that it was appreciated by the listeners.

By no means does that imply that the one who penned it (Javed Akhtar) or the (Rah)man who composed it (A R) haven’t done a satisfactory job, because at the end of the day, an outstanding song is the result of teamwork.

Gowariker proVed his singing Mettle

There is no doubt that the soundtrack of Swades, which released in 2004, was one of A R Rahman’s best scores of all time.

It wouldn’t be incorrect to say that Pal Pal Hai Bhaari, which was six minutes and 50 seconds long, was lai bhaari (a Marathi phrase that can be translated to mind-blowing).

The song was penned by Javed Akhtar.

Although Ashutosh Gowariker, the film’s director, was given importance in the title of this post, it must be stated that he was just a back-up singer.

Madhushree and Vijay Prakash rendered the track.

This track had A(l)kasual vibe

Mehndi Hai Rachnewali, the track from Zubeidaa, was perhaps a tad too casual for the liking of Hindi film music buffs.

Although it was about the pre-wedding ritual, by no means could it be called a winner hands down.

So while ARdent fans of Rahman would claim that the marriage of melody and lyrics wasn’t bad, they would probably not listen to the song, which was penned by Javed Akhtar, on loop.

Would it be incorrect to say that it was salvaged by Alka Yagnik? Probably not. And, as usual, she did a great job.

Kavita outshone the male Sing(h)er

The title of this post can’t be called anything but an understatement, because Main Albeli, the track from Zubeidaa, was the sort of song that gave the male Sing(h)er virtually no scope.

So, while Kavita Krishnamurthy did an outstanding job, it was hardly a surprise that Sukhwinder played second fiddle to her.

However, it wouldn’t be incorrect to say that the song, which was penned by Javed Akhtar, was one of the weakest songs in the film.

And for this, it would only be fair to blame the man who composed it – A R Rahman.