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A Soundtrack that is Fresh and Evergreen, Melodious and Memorable
How is this for a challenge? You need to compose music that upholds a glorious legacy of music going back more than a generation. You need to compose music that will seem natural on the lips of the biggest star in the nation playing a character different from any he has played till date. You need to compose music that is fresh and vibrant for a fresh and vibrant new face, who has already started to capture hearts in the few glimpses the nation has had of her. And finally, you need to compose music for a director whose previous two films were two of the biggest musical blockbusters of all time. Well, if you are Salim-Sulaiman you quietly accept the challenge and compose a soundtrack that is for the ages. And now that the music of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is finally out, one can say that they have met all the challenges and how. It’s not only a soundtrack that can stand comparison with any Yash Raj musical blockbuster, it does full justice to the talents and legacies of director Aditya Chopra and star Shahrukh Khan (who combined so memorably before with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Mohabbatein) and the potential of debutante heroine Anushka Sharma.
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is full of lilting melodies that seem to breeze past effortlessly yet almost immediately make a place in your heart. It starts with “Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai” with Shahrukh’s character passionately declaiming his love for the beloved in Roop Kumar Rathod’s soulful voice. Jaideep Sahni’s memorable lyrics, which articulate how one can see God in one’s beloved, make the soulful tune even more memorable – making it a romantic song for the ages.
The distinctive voice of Sukhwinder Singh then takes over for the peppy “Haule Haule” also featuring some of the most distinctive instrumental work heard on a Hindi film song in a while. As Sukhwinder sings optimistically about winning over his love gradually, even the most jaded cynic will admit that love is truly in the air.
We segue from the optimism of “Haule Haule” to the complete masti of “Dance Pe Chance”. Sunidhi Chauhan is her usual sparkling self in this song which foregrounds a sequence where the heroine is teaching Shahrukh’s character how to dance!
The versatile and multitalented Sonu Niigaam takes over the microphone next with “Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte” and perhaps only he could have done justice to this unique song that pays tribute to five of the greatest romantic heroes of Hindi film: Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna and Rishi Kapoor. When you hear Sonu sing, you will feel for a moment that you have been transported back to the eras of these stars, so convincing is his vocalization.
The slow and sad version of “Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai” follows next, this time in the voice of Shreya Ghoshal. It is not just a slow version of a song, though. In her poignant rendering, the song takes on a life of its own and if possible, becomes even more touching. We can predict that passionate contests will break out between music lovers in choosing one version of this lovely song over the other.
The album ends with “Dancing Jodi”, an instrumental medley of all the themes in the film. As they say in the movies, however, this is not the end. Because this is one soundtrack that takes you through such a range of emotions in such a short time that you want to go back and start listening to it all over again the moment you have finished.
As the tagline for the film says, “There is an extraordinary love story in every ordinary jodi.” But an extraordinary soundtrack like this does not come around everyday.
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is a Yash Raj Films presentation written and directed by Aditya Chopra and it releases on the 12th of December, 2008.
