Kylie Minogue Goes Bollywood With "Chiggy Wiggy"

Early this year the Bollywood musical style rolled into the pop charts when the Pussycat Dolls collaborated with A.R. Rahman on a version of the Academy Award winning song "Jai Ho!" from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Now one of the world's biggest pop stars, Kylie Minogue, is collaborating with producer A.R. Rahman and singer Sonu Nigam on her own venture into Bollywood music making. Kylie Minogue is credited with worldwide album sales in excess of 60 million as well as seven #1 singles in the UK, two top ten singles in the US and a Grammy Award. The song "Chiggy Wiggy" will be included on the soundtrack for the upcoming film Blue which is due in theaters in October 2009. Check out the video below with one of the film's stars Akshay Kumar. 

Courtesy: about.com

GHAJINI: Sonu makes an exception for Rahman

When the first visuals of the melodious romantic track, "Guzarish", from the Aamir Khan–Asin starrer, GHAJINI were aired, almost everyone was unanimous that the melodious number was rendered by the king of love ballads, Sonu Nigam. To an extent they were right, and to an extent wrong! Right in the sense that the hauntingly beautiful humming in the beginning of the soundtrack is indeed by Sonu and wrong because Prasoon Joshi's lovely lyrics have been sung by Javed Ali of "Jashn–e–Bahara", (JODHAA–AKBAR) fame.

Sonu is there only as a guest vocalist, lending his unique appeal to the song which can be called its USP as well as its highlight and also forms the background music in the promos. The extremely choosy and busy Sonu has made this (a sort of singing guest appearance!) an exception for the music maestro A.R.Rahman, whom he shares a great bond with ever since his DIL SE days right up to YUVVRAAJ .

The much anticipated GHAJINI audio is expected to be released/launched today.


Courtesy: glamsham.com

Akon-A.R. Rahman to collaborate?

Looking at his fame in Asian countries, especially in India, Akon has decided to release a special album which would be a conglomeration of bhangra and hip-hop. And to accomplish this, he is rumoured to have contacted A.R. Rahman.

Kollywood grapevine says that Akon had sent his manager to contact A.R. Rahman and discuss this idea. It also confirms that Akon's manager and ARR had a positive round of discussions and agreed to work together to release an exclusive album which will be a mixture of Afro-American and Indian music.

Akon is also said to have contacted Sonu Nigam, famous Bollywood playback singer who is touted as the "next Mohammed Rafi", for a similar project. Well, if this project takes off, it would be lovely to hear Sonu's mesmerizing voice serving as the background to Akon's rap.

Akon rose to fame in India with the song 'Mr. Lonely', an international chartbuster featured in his debut album Trouble and this magic was repeated in 'Smack that' (Konvicted). His 'Belly dancer' from his debut album 'Trouble' did well too, making Akon an international symbol of hip-hop music.

Courtesy: starboxoffice.com

Rahman – The January Secret.

The month of January seems to turn the Musical Wizard on; there is a special connection between Rahman and January. Whenever he has had an album or a movie release in January it has for sure gone on to rock the charts for months, maybe an entire year altogether. Not impressed, well then the last three Januaries (2006, 2007 & 2008) have been nothing but Rahman, not in Kollywood but definitely so in Bollywood.

2006 - On the 26th of January, the movie Rang De Basanti released. Now if you have not heard Rang De Basanti (which is quite close to impossible) then you possibly do not know that Rahman is very close to the best in India when it comes to delivering high energy Punjabi numbers. The Rang De Basanti song which had Daler Mehendi in full throttle with the desi drums for company pumped adrenalin into the farthest corners of our body. Then there was the ‘Paathshala’ which might be called the ‘School of Rock/Rap’ for Indian film music, something never heard or tired before. Then Khalbali with the distinct Arabic feel that made you want to dance. And of course, there were the signature Rahman melodies, Roobaroo (the song that unearthed Naresh Iyer) and Tu Bin Bataayein that left a lump in your throat- January 2006.

2007 - We need not tell you what was unleashed in January 2007. For the ones not so fortunate with their memory- Guru. Another Mani Ratnam-Rahman combo that gave us everything that we needed for our hearing pleasures. Maiya Maiya, again an Arabic touch but very cleverly tweaked to suit our tastes. But then this was just the average part of an album that had two lilting melodies- Tere Bina and Aye Hairathe, the latter especially making us linger on in the sweet symphony of Hariharan’s voice as it blended with the subtly used tables. Not to forget the thundering background music that gave us the thrill.

2008- The music is just catching on in some parts of India but Rahman has definitely scored a hat-trick of hits in successive Januaries. Jodha-Akbar has sealed the love story of Rahman and January (Jodha Akbar Music was released in January). It may not be the ‘first time love’ kind of songs but Rahman has given one of the finest albums in recent times. Jashn-e-Bahara is definitely the most ‘melting melody’ that has come out since Aie Hairathe- the perfect use of Sonu Nigam’s sweet voice. ‘In Lamhon Ke Daaman’ too makes us lose ourselves in layers of finely crafted sound. But the cake is really taken by the instrumental versions where the flute replaces the vocals-mesmerizing. And for the thrill, hear Azeem-o-shaan shahenshah with its resounding drums.

So, what’s for January 2009- we cannot wait.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

'Each song in Jodhaa Akbar has its own potential'

The last song to appear in Jodhaa Akbar, Inn Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein, is one of the most haunting songs composed by A R Rahman.

But like many of his fabled compositions, this one will also take time to make a lasting impact. The song is used mostly in the background, as Jodhaa and Akbar make love for the first time.

The number is sung by Sonu Nigam, and Madhushree who, in recent years, has emerged as one of Rahman's favourites.

The composer says the song challenged him considerably.

"It comes in the climax of the film," he says. "It was very important to have the song right. If it is too slow, it will bring the whole energy down. If it is too fast, it won't do justice to the situation. The end of the film shows Jodhaa finally loving Akbar for the first time since their wedding."

He had to play 'a kind of dynamic composition where it starts on a soothing note, and then goes to the big chorus,' he says.

"It has a full journey in it," he adds. "I think it is very good."

Many cannot understand how a big historical film like Jodhaa Akbar has only five songs. Old classics like Mughal-E-Azam and Pakeezah have quite a few songs in them.

"Numbers don't count," Rahman answers bluntly. "Roja, Dil Se, Bombay and Guru each had five songs. The real songs in that film were five; others were used in the background.

"Each song in Jodhaa Akbar has its own potential," he continues. "So we kept them simple. We did not want to overload things."

The music of Jodhaa Akbar is not confined to songs alone, he asserts.

"Once the film is released, they (UTV, the film's producer) may release the soundtrack, with the theme of the film and other compositions," he says.

"I take composing the background music for a film to be a very serious business," he continues. "There are a lot of people, who do just five songs and leave it for someone else to compose the background. You need 20 times the energy (of composing songs) to produce the background score. You need three to four months."

The time he took to compose the background score for Jodhaa Akbar, he adds, he could have used to compose songs for five to six films.

"It (the background score) is a commitment to the movie," he continues. "It is all about artistic honesty. It also helps you grow musically. In this film, I loved doing the background music because of the depth of the subject and interesting situations."


But on many occasions, when a filmmaker tells him the film's story, he knows in his heart, that he should not take up the film.

"When I am doing a song," he says, "the director has to live with the song and when I am doing a film's background music, I have to watch the film and have to live with the film all my life."

That is why he rejects many films, he adds.

Working for the third time with Gowariker reinforced Rahman's admiration for the filmmaker.

"Very few people recognise the kind of warmth in music, the pulse, the soul of the music," Rahman says. "He is one of them. Mani Ratnam and Subhash Ghai also are like him. Ashutosh has the talent for spotting fine music. There are so many ideas that he has to consider while working on a film. But to pick the right things and give them to the people, to present them in a very dignified way, is very important to him.

"There is no use in us in composing beautiful stuff and then getting it thrown away, without any respect to the music," Rahman continues. "It is very important for a director to sit and like something, and challenge the composer from time to time. Ashutosh does it."


Courtesy: Rediff.com

Jodhaa Akbar music review

Composing for a period film in present times is no easy task. One has to walk the tight rope and balance the musical moods of the era bygone with the present taste of music buffs, which, unfortunately, is heavily inclined towards anything techno and rap.

AR Rahman walks the thin line. His compositions in ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ have a mere glimpse of what would have been the musical culture in Mughal times. And it also attempts to cater to the present popular tastes. This way, the music album of ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ ends up neither here nor there. The compositions are good, but they are not great.

Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah is a powerful song hailing the Mughal emperor Akbar. The number, sung by Mohammed Aslam and Bonnie Chakraborty, is heavy on beats and has a pleasing orchestra in the background. Rahman shows his musical wizardry with sounds that create images of rattling swords and chains. Also unmistakable in the song is the theme melody of ‘Lagaan’ that plays a number of times.

Jashn-e-Bahara could have been a much better song had Rahman chosen a better singer than Javed Ali, who surely sings the right notes with skill, but doesn’t have much emotive appeal in his bland vocals. Still, the song, set on an Arabic tempo, carries Rahman’s subtle magic. The tender notes of rubaab, mandolin and santoor form the backdrop of this soft romantic track, set to poetic lyrics by Javed Akhtar.

However, the Jashn-e-Bahara instrumental version on flute is a delight to the ears.

AR Rahman is back to what he does best in Khwaja Mere Khwaja, a sufi qawwali with a dash of techno touch. The song, an ode to Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti of Ajmer, has Rahman himself wielding the microphone and jarring the senses of a listener with his emotive and evocative vocals. Though the song relies liberally on tabla and harmonium, the techno flavour ruins the purity of this devotional track.

The instrumental version of this song takes you by surprise. How Rahman keeps the same melody but changes its timing and structure just slightly to suit the Oboe and accompanying orchestra shows his command as a composer.

In Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein is a lilting track about the gradual passing of intimate moments. Sonu Nigam and Madhushree’s impressive singing adds to this slow-paced song a mellowness that is broken by raucous chorus. Javed Akhtar’s words paint the imagery of two lovers sharing their most special moments together. It is a song that makes an impression only after repeated hearing.

Mann Mohanna is a devotional track addressed to lord Krishna. Supported by tabla and heavy orchestration, this song, sung by Bela Shinde, is a plea to the lord from a despondent woman.

All in all, the songs of Jodhaa Akbar are below the usual standard of a genius like AR Rahman.

Courtesy: Apunkachoice.com