Back where he belongs

Were glad Beera is the song with which the music album of Raavan opens. No other song on the album declares more joyously that the master,A R Rahman,is back where he belongsin the company of Mani Ratnam and Gulzar,where hes once again churned out a thumpingly good album. Of course,after the disasters that were Blue,Yuvvraaj and Couples Retreat,anything that sounds remotely fresh will be welcome. But in this case,we would say that the relief is well-deserved.

Theres no doubt that the songs follow certain trademark Rahman-isms. From the lively percussion in Beera,to the angry rock riffs of Behene de to the saccharine sweet female voice on Khili re,theres much that old Rahman hands will find familiar. Thok de killi,performed by Sukhwinder Singh,especially,triggers nostalgia for songs like Dhakka laga from Yuva and Paathshala from Rang De Basanti,with a similarly energetic chorus line and upbeat melody.
Beera,performed by Vijay Prakash,is by far the best track on the album,a paean to the Raavan-like character portrayed by Abhishek Bachchan. Karthik does a splendid job singing Behne de,which has a haunting quality that Rahman has not tapped since Rojas Yeh haseen wadiyaan. Just like the latter had echoes of the mountains and valleys of the Himalayas,Behne de mimics the turbulent flow of a river that cant be controlledonly appropriate given that the song compares love to a river that engulfs all that venture into it Behene de ghanghor ghataa/behene de paani ki tarah.

Love seems to be a bit of a villain in Raavan. Ranjha Ranjha,by Rekha Bharadwaj and Javed Ali,also expounds on the helplessness a lover feels Ranjha Ranjha na kar Heere/Jag badnami hoye/patti patti jhad jaawe/ Par khushboo chup na hoye,while Kata Kataby Ila Arun,Sapna Awasthi and Kunal Ganjawalaopens with a raucous shehnai. It compares a new bridegroom to a lamb being led to slaughter. Khili re is a rather conventional love songit has a strong classical base,but Reena Bhardwajs breathy vocals and clichéd lyrical motifs of blooming flowers turn it into a bore.

The album priced at Rs 160 will sound comfortingly familiar to fans who were dismayed by Rahmans outputs last year. On the flipside,though,Rahman does not break new ground. We like that hes not let a single voice dominate,even his favourite Sukhwinder; this is perfectly in keeping with the folk vibes of the music. But we wish he wouldve got at least one soaring,pitch-defying number for us to marvel.