A few days ago I read an article featuring an interview of
Bedabrata Pain. How he and his wife were fighting a case against an electric
razor company holding them responsible for their son Ishaan’s demise. A former
NASA scientist, Bedabrata Pain has earlier produced a film “AMU” starring
Konkana sen and directed by his wife Shonali Bose.
In Chittagong,
the 16 year old Ishaan was supposed to be playing the main role. Now as the
film is ready, Bedabrata dedicates this to his son. As he said in this
interview, “someone decided to take my
surname too seriously”
Shankar ehsaan loy are back after a long time. Their last
outing was Don 2 which had little of novelty and more of repetition of the
tunes used in the first Don.
“BOLO NA” is sung
by Shankar Mahadevan. To say that this track is good would be an
understatement. It is fantastic. A totally classical song based on the raag
Baageshri, this one is a brilliant composition with equally brilliant lyrics
penned by Prasoon Joshi. The use of sitar and other instruments makes the song
even better. And of course the climactic finish to the song by some brilliant tabla rendition.
And as for Shankar Mahadevan’s singing, it is top class. The
last time I heard something like this sung and composed by him was “Sapno se
bhare naina” from Luck by chance.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all classical lovers.
“BECHAYAN SAPNE” is
sung by Abhijeet Sawant and Mahalaxmi Iyer with backing vocals by Shankar
Mahadevan, Gulraj singh and Sameer Khan. A sweet Bengali-ish tune, this one is
sung very well by Abhijeet Sawant. He is very good in both the high and low
notes. He is accompanied by Mahalaxmi Iyer, who is good, but I felt maybe
shreya ghoshal would have been a better choice for this song.
Again good lyrics by Prasoon joshi, this one will grow on
you after few listenings. It is soft and soulful.
“JEENEY KI WAJAH” is
a complex composition. Sung by 6 singers including the chorus, this one is
outstanding. The chorus will give you goosebumps (Aarti Sinha, Mani mahadevan,
Kshitij Wagh, Pooja Gopalan, Raman Mahadevan and Shreekumar Vakkiyil) and the
multi layered tune will make you fall in love with this one. Once again,
brilliant use of instruments and some very inspiring lyrics by Prasoon Joshi.
We finally have the song “ISHAAN” sung by Bedabrata Pain himself. The grief in his voice is
evident as he sings prasoon’s brilliantly penned lyrics. And he sings well. The
song dedicated to Bedabrata’s son is backed by a lovely chorus by Aarti Sinha,
Mani mahadevan, Kshitij Wagh, Pooja Gopalan, Raman Mahadevan and Shreekumar
Vakkiyil. This one will definitely move you. Honest and pure stuff.
Just like “Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se”, even here we have few
instrumental tracks by R.S.Mani & John Wilson.
“THE BATTLE” and “CHITTAGONG”
wonderfully done with rich orchestration apt for a film like this, especially
the pakhawaj in the former one.
Both songs are a treat to hear to.
“INSPIRATION” and “MASTERDA” are start off well but with
running times of only one minute each, they really don’t make too much of an
impression. Though they are good, I wish they had been a bit longer.
OVERALL a superb
surprise package from the dependable trio. While they make their mark by four
superb tracks, the guest composers give us some good instrumental stuff too.
I’ve always maintained that SEL are too good when it comes
to instrumentals and background score (BGM). Their background scores in “Dil
chahta hai”, “Lakshya” and “Wake up Sid” are evidences of how well they do with
the instruments. Chittagong
is no different. If there is one thing which stands out throughout all 4 songs of the album,
it is the instrumentation in every single song.
As far as the lyrics are concerned, need I say anything?
With Prasoon Joshi at the helm of affairs, brilliance is bound to happen.
For every music director, there will be few of his albums
which will remain close to their hearts, inspite of not being very popular
commercially. I have a feeling “Chittagong”
is that album for Shankar – Ehsaan –
Loy.
MY VERDICT – 8.5 / 10
Good write-up! The album has good instrumentation. Its been long time since SEL delivered an impressive score and this one comes close. Bolo Na, i felt, had lot of potential for further improvisation - orchestrally as well as vocally. It is good no doubt but it would have been outstanding if they made it more elaborate.
ReplyDelete"For every music director, there will be few of his albums which will remain close to their hearts, inspite of not being very popular commercially. I have a feeling “Chittagong” is that album for Shankar – Ehsaan – Loy." - Perfectly put!
ReplyDeleteSuper album from SEL. All the four songs on loop since yesterday. Btw, instrumental tracks are by R.S.Mani & John Wilson, Not SEL.
And their another album "Delhi Safari" is releasing today. Haven't heard the songs yet.
good and fantastic album by the great singer ..i love it
ReplyDeleteAgree - music straight from the heart in this one. Hope the film does well.
ReplyDeleteLove you doc. n literally love your reviews. Not because you're some awesome tech reviewer, but because you have an element that touches. Keep it up.
ReplyDelete