Love’s many moods

Even if we didn’t already know that the Vishal Bhardwaj-Gulzar team is behind the music of 7 Khoon Maaf,the upbeat,playful Darling — currently running on all television and radio channels — indicated an album that is a winner. Expectations are certainly met — Bhardwaj once again brings out a collection that,while being unified in the tone of its music,has as many facets as love does. So the raucous Darling,performed brilliantly by Usha Uthup and Rekha Bhardwaj,is followed by the mellow Bekaraan,sung by Bhardwaj himself. There is also the classic rock-inspired O’ Mama with KK giving an energetic performance,the plaintive Yeshu (once again beautifully sung by Rekha) and Doosri Darling,which is much more reflective in its mood and features portions of the original Russian folk song,Kalinka.

The album once again demonstrates Bhardwaj’s talent for picking just the right kind of voices to go with each song. We’re grateful for the opportunity to listen to Usha Uthup again — the lady,with her bold and brassy vocals just does not get enough opportunity to sing in the industry,and it’s a real loss for music aficionados. She really tears it up with Darling; even though Uthup has to cede the rest of the song to the mellower voice of Rekha,she is the one who sets the right note. Another voice we’re hearing after very long is that of Suresh Wadkar,who sings the romantic number,Tere Liye,which is a real treat with its gentle guitar. KK,another sorely underused voice,belts out O’ Mama with very believable rockstar angst,although Suraj Jagan’s Dil Dil Hai is the better ‘rock-inspired’ song here.

Gulzar’s lyrics are the perfect complement to music — Bekaraan,dedicated to a pair of mesmerising eyes,is practically poetry. O’ Mama is a surprising little number — it takes a while to figure out that the song is about a femme fatale. Dil Dil Hai is slightly more conventional in that sense,as it talks about the contrasting natures of love. That is a problem that also plagues Awaara,sung well by Master Saleem,which is about the travails of a perpetual wanderer.

It’s not certain how popular the whole album will be; Darling and Bekaraan are already hits. While the other songs are beautiful and full of mood,they take a bit longer to grow on you.