<i>Devaki</i>

Courtesy: Joginder Tuteja, IndiaFM

Internationally acclaimed award winning film Devaki has been in news for quite a few months now, though it is still waiting for its India release. The film recently bagged the Best Feature Film Award at the Asheville Film Festival, North Carolina, U.S.A. and has been screened at number of international film festivals. Starring Suman Ranganathan and Perizaad Zorabian in lead roles along with Arvin Tukker and Ram Kapoor, it is a Bappaditya Bandopadhyay film with music by Sameer P, Bikram Ghosh and Amar Haldipur.

Album of Devaki constitutes of an astounding 18 tracks. While majority of them are situational background tracks by P. Sameer, there are just 3 of them that are songs per se. First song to come is 'Dhuaan Dhuaan' written by Sanjeev Tiwari. A situational item song to mark the beginning of the album, 'Dhuan Dhuan' is a Bikram Ghosh composition that is rendered by Jojo. An ordinary song that would cater only to the frontbenchers, it would have required some real demand of situation to put such a conventional number in a movie like 'Devaki' that is being publicized as the one that caters to international audience.

Along with Bhavika Parihar, Jayshree Shivram sings the second consecutive item song 'Dil Naiyo Naiyo' appearing in the album. For an average listener and moviegoer, the mood and feel of the track is almost the same as that of 'Dhuan Dhuan' and the result is similar too. This time around it is the turn of Amar Haldipur to compose the track and though this Irshad Kamil written track is catchier, it is still hardly a consolation. Quite ordinary!

Combination of Bikram Ghosh and Sanjeev Tiwari return for 'Tohre Bahiyan Mein'. Sung by Jojo and Suprotik Das, the track is set in rural India but at least is not yet another item track. The song has a rustic 'interior India' flavor to it and is purely situational. From hereon Sameer P takes over completely with a series of background theme pieces. First to come is 'Bidaai' that appears in two parts. The first part lasts only for a few seconds but the second part is a little longer. It has a chorus singing in the background where a girl is being sent off to her husband's place by her friends. It is for those who like hearing tracks attached to rural India with a strong 'country' flavor. To give the number its due, it is quite easy on ears and has a relaxing effect on you.

One expects 'Celebration' to begin on a real 'celebration' mode but that's not the case as a flute marks the beginning of the track. Soon other instruments join in as well but the mood is still sober yet effective. And for a change there are no 'dhols' [like traditional Bollywood celebration numbers] that are otherwise absolutely essential for a track like this. 'Journey' has a 'ghungroo' prominently used throughout that could be symbolic to a walk while 'Love Shades' is the first theme piece that gets into an urban mood. With melodious vocals by a female going extremely well with a soft piano, it is short and nice. Ditto for 'Opening Windows' that has a feel of seduction around it.

'Pathos' that comes next is indeed sad but one thing is for sure that it would fit quite well in the narrative due to its poignant feel. 'Transition' is again slow moving and has a tremendous combination of guitar and violin that makes it one of the best musical pieces of the album. 'Virha Theme' appears in two parts and, as the title suggests, is about separation. Quite touching and effective! 'Nimbooda' is a short piece with a folk rendition by male singers. Surprisingly the tune as well as the lyrics are exactly the same as the one in 'Nimbooda' from 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', hence causing suspense around whether Ismail Darbar was just 'inspired' when he composed the hit track? In fact this track sung in a rustic manner by all the male voices makes it quite an interesting composition.

'Rendezvous', as the title suggests, is about a journey and the way it has been structured, it appears to be a journey into unknown. It is slow and haunting with just a few instruments used to create a mysterious atmosphere. 'The Past' that has been composed as western theme music follows next and is a little livelier with a 'journey' into the past. 'Unwind' continues in the same mood as the overall theme soundtrack of Devaki but towards the end suddenly becomes completely western with a pop feel to it. Well, we trust the film maker to have thought of something interesting to give such a sudden twist to the track.

As mentioned in the beginning, Devaki has three songs [that can be best ignored] and rest all as background pieces. There is very limited segment of audience who would want to hear an entire album comprising of such tracks. A strong rural feel to the album further makes the album appeal only to a miniscule audience. Still Sameer P deserves to be complimented for capturing the rural flavor well and presenting it as a part of the album.