Benny and Co definitely capitalised

The title track of Delhi-6, also called Yeh Dilli Hai Mere Yaar, was undoubtedly a catchy number, but it was probably not the sort of track that a person who doesn’t live in the city, or hasn’t been there, could relate to.

While Prasoon Joshi penned it, the French portion was penned by Vivienne Pocha and Claire, who shared singing credits with Benny Dayal, Blaaze and Tanvi Shah.

Yeh A R Rahman ki composition thi mere yaar, and needless to say, he did an outstanding job.

The song was three minutes and 36 seconds long.

It was among Rahman’s BesT

Just when the listeners start thinking, “This is A R Rahman's best to date”, the maestro, who has surprises galore up his sleeve, comes up with one that makes them go, “Woah, this is superb!”

That was certainly the feeling they got on listening to Rehna Tu from Delhi-6.

The track, which was six minutes and 51 seconds long, was penned by Prasoon Joshi.

Rahman's role in the song wasn’t just limited to wielding the composer’s baton, but he rendered it too.

The legend was joined behind the microphone by Benny Dayal and Tanvi Shah.

Mr Chauhan sang a (Mo)hit

Masakali, the name of a dove in Delhi-6, inspired what undoubtedly went on to become a very popular track in the film.

Of course, the song, which was four minutes and 50 seconds long, wasn’t universally appreciated, but it earned the Airtel Mirchi Music Award for Best Song of the Year in 2009.

Prasoon Joshi, A R Rahman and Mohit Chauhan bagged awards in the Best Lyricist, Best Music Director and Best Male Vocalist of the Year categories, respectively, at the aforementioned ceremony.

Chauhan also bagged the Filmfare Award in the Best Male Playback category.

This Short Song was MemoRable

Only a genius of A R Rahman’s calibre can be appreciated for a track with a traditional feel and modern treatment.

Folks, the song in question was none other than Genda Phool from Delhi-6.

It was just a couple of minutes and 50 seconds long.

Prasoon Joshi penned the song, which earned Rekha Bhardwaj the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer, in addition to nominations in the same category at the Star Screen Awards and the International Indian Film Academy Awards.

She was joined behind the microphone by Mahathi, Shrraddha Pandit and Sujata Mazumder.

The vocAlists were chosen Kherectly

Arziyan was the longest song on the soundtrack of Delhi-6, which released in 2009 – it was eight minutes and 41 seconds long.

It was tailor-made for both the vocAlists (Javed and Kailash Kher). So it was no surprise that they were nominated in the Best Male Playback Singer category at the Filmfare Awards.

The track, which was penned by Prasoon Joshi, merited repetitions (to allow it to grow on the listeners). And once it did, it deserved listening to on loop.

In a nutshell, it could be described as the quintessential A R Rahman composition.

This track had BRagging rightS

Kaise Mujhe was certainly the best song on the soundtrack of Ghajini, and one of A R Rahman’s best compositions in the first decade of the 21st century.

It was also the longest of the four tracks from the film on this blog – it was five minutes and 46 seconds long.

The soundtrack also featured an instrumental version of the song. It was four minutes and a second long.

It was penned by Prasoon Joshi.

The track was rendered by three singers, including the composer. Benny Dayal and Ms Ghoshal Sh(rey)ared singing credits with him.

Nigam was the guest vocAlist

Although Guzaarish, from Ghajini, was rendered by Javed and Mr Nigam was credited as a guest vocAlist, it wouldn’t be incorrect to state that it was the latter who gave the Son(u)g Alift.

However, that does not imply that the former didn’t do a good job.

It was the second song in the film to have a remixed version. And coincidentally, the remixed version of this one was also as long as the original, which was five minutes and 29 seconds long.

The track was penned by Prasoon Joshi and composed by A R Rahman.

No critic could laud Karthik

It would not be incorrect to state that Behka was the weakest song on the soundtrack of Ghajini.

By no means did the track deserve a remixed version. But it was one of the two songs in the film that had one.

Interestingly, both the original and the remixed version were five minutes and 13 seconds long.

It would obviously be fair to blame Prasoon Joshi, who penned the track, and A R Rahman, who composed it, for the failure.

But was Karthik to blame too? The answer is definitely. After all, he rendered it.

Suzanne wasn’t quite D’Mello one

Ghajini, which released in 2008, had an unforgettable soundtrack.

Aye Bacchu was the shortest track in the film – it was three minutes and 48 seconds long.

Its beat perhaps ensured that it was one of the songs that one would dance to at the parties at the end of the year (the film released on Christmas Day).

The song was penned by Prasoon Joshi, who seemed to have made the most of the opportunity to step out of his comfort zone, and composed by A R Rahman.

It was right up singer Suzanne D’Mello’s alley.

Rahman and Naresh definitely (Rooba)ro(o)cked

Roobaroo, from Rang De Basanti, wasn’t a universal favourite, but the track, which was four minutes and 43 seconds long, made its mark as far as awards and nominations were concerned.

Naresh Iyer bagged the National Award for Best Male Playback and was nominated in the same category at the Filmfare Awards and the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards. 

He shared singing credits with A R Rahman, the composer. He was nominated in the Best Male Playback category at the IIFA Awards.

Prasoon Joshi earned Filmfare and IIFA nominations in the Best Lyricist category.

Mehndi renD(Al)ered this (Chi)t(h)rack spiritedly

Rang De Basanti earned A R Rahman the Filmfare Award, the International Indian Film Academy Award and the Zee Cine Award in the Best Music Director category.

He was also nominated in the same category at the Star Screen Awards.

The title track of the film, which was penned by Prasoon Joshi, was six minutes and three seconds long.

The song was rendered by Daler Mehndi, and, to be honest, only he could’ve done justice to it, given his inherent gusto.

However, it was a pity that K S Chithra had to play second fiddle.

It found MANI young takers

The statement that has been made in the title of this post was certainly not a surprise, because Paathshala, from Rang De Basanti, was a song for the youth.

It was the longer of the two versions of the track – it was three minutes and 40 seconds long.

The shorter version, titled Paathshala (Be A Rebel), was 31 seconds shorter and had different lyrics.

Both the versions were penned by Prasoon Joshi and composed by A R Rahman.

They were rendered by Mohammed Aslam and Naresh Iyer. 

The Be A Rebel version featured Blaaze’s rap.

(Rah)Man, Lata’s rendition was touching!

Lukka Chhupi was the longest song on the soundtrack of Rang De Basanti – it was six minutes and 36 seconds long.

It was the second song from the film to be longlisted in the Best Original Song category at the Academy Awards.

Although it failed to bag the award, the track, which was penned by Prasoon Joshi, instantly struck a chord with both mothers and their kids in India.

That was undoubtedly the biggest feather in the cap of A R Rahman, who didn’t just compose it, but also shared singing credits with Lata Mangeshkar.

It wasn’t worth RAviNg about

There are some songs that are catchy despite not being anything to write home about.

One of them was Khalbali, the second longest song on the soundtrack of Rang De Basanti, which released on India’s Republic Day (January 26) in 2006.

It was six minutes and 19 seconds long.

While the Hindi portion of the track was penned by Prasoon Joshi, the Arabic portion was penned by Nacim, who shared singing credits with A R Rahman (who composed it) and Mohammed Aslam.

It was longlisted in the Best Original Song category at the Academy Awards.