If there was one music director who has rarely (if ever) let me down, that would have to be Vishal Bhardwaj. I’ll even go so far as to say that I look forward to his music more than even A.R. Rahman’s these days. Now, I know that many of you will scream or look with tilted eyebrow at me for making that statement, but read me out first. Let’s take a look at Vishal’s album list. “Ishqiya”, “Kaminey”, “Haal-E-Dil”, “U,Me Aur Hum”, “No Smoking”, “Omkara”, “The Blue Umbrella”, and “Maachis”. All these albums show us dat here is a composer who is truly able to create a fusion of classical Indian music with modern music in a way that creates something new. Now, the talented composer/director is back with his latest, “7 Khoon Maaf” featuring lyrics by his frequent partner, the legendary Gulzar sahib, the expectations are, if moderately said, are humongous .
The album starts off with the already hit and super-catchy “Darling” which marks the return of Usha Uthup to behind the mike and also Vishal’s wife and Super talented Rekha Bhardwaj. Both the lead singers have been towards a unexplored territory in this song and given the song an undeniable endearing quality. To top it Gulzar have written some crackling lyrics….. {khadim ko dil pe to ikhtiyar karne do…… WOW !!}. Winner all the way !!
Second to come is “Bekaraan”, a typical Vishal number, very close to his last outing behind the mike “kaminey”… what a song that was !! Anyways “bekaraan” has a different feel altogether about it, a soft romantic track with again superb lyrics by Gulzar sahib. Nice track but not sure how many will love it, Strictly for Vishal fans.
Third to arrive is “O’mama”. A song which you’ll either fall in love with or will completely refuse. Rendered with vocals by one of my fav. Singer KK, the song is a heavy rock number. An interesting attempt where KK shows his expertise yet again. He has sung this song with such style and attitude, you wish to hear him perform live in front of you. A song with a classic rock feel, this is surely a track to help show off your speaker and amplifiers to your neighbors.
Fourth track of the album is undoubtedly the best track of the album and my fav. too “Awaara”. The song starts with a very simple sound but has a dark and grim feel about it. Master Saleem has a Rahat fateh ali khan tone to his voice that has resonates in such a manner that you end up in an different world altogether. And Gulzaar sahab k to kya kahne janaab……… beautiful lyrics !! Take a bow Vishal Ji, You’ve outdone yourself with this one !!
Suresh Wadkar has been a constant feature in most of Vishal Bharadwaj's albums and this time he sings the fifth track “Tere liye”. An unlikely choice, but this song is more about the beautiful poetry in lyrics than the vocal. Neither bad nor brilliant.
Sixth song of the soundtrack is “Dil dil hai”, an out-and-out rock offering, sung by Suraj Jagan. This is for fans of Hard-Rock with all that screaming and Head –banging stuff. Awesome lyrics….{sau jannato ke kabil hai,…ye doobton ka sahil hai,….ye jahilon ka jahil hai.. …,}.Interesting track but surely not for all !!!
The seventh and final original track on the album is the dark disturbing “Yeshu” sung by Rekha Bhardwaj. A devotional track that isn’t bad by any means but doesn’t have a repeat value.Hear it if you must !!
The album is rounded off with “Doosri Darling”. Rekha Bhardwaj gets a second chance to shine. If the Original belonged to Usha Uthup, this one surely has her name written all over it. A nice re-imagining, but I would still prefer the original over this one.
The album ends up with “O’mama acoustic”. Instead of the rock-n-roll of the original track, this time we are offered KK accompanied solely with by an acoustic guitar. It’s soulful and surely worthy of multiple hears, to appreciate how good KK sounds unplugged.
All in all, “7 Khoon Maaf” is another strong album to add to Vishal Bhardwaj’s already impressive list of soundtracks. It’s one of those rare albums that something for everyone. A sure delight for music-lovers.
Best tracks – Awaara, Darling, O’mama(acoustic), Tere liye
