Taare Zameen Par Music Review

By: Joginder Tuteja, IndiaFM
Saturday, November 10, 2007

Now this one has arrived almost 'chupke se'! While most other biggies featuring the top bracketed actors/film makers make a lot of noise (sometimes deserving, sometimes not so deserving) for both the movie and the music release, Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par has silently arrived in a subtle manner, just like the simplicity the movie itself conveys. With Prasoon Joshi doing the lyrics, one expects a sensitive outing ahead. From Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, who have enjoyed a great 2007 so far, one expects nothing but a high quality score in Taare Zameen Par.

Remember the tinkle sound in 'Meri Duniya Tu Hi Re' [Heyy Babyy]? Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy take a cue from the same sound to carry forward the title song Taare Zameen Par. Tothe credit of the composer trio, Shankar Mahadevan who takes the onus on himself to come behind the mike and supporting vocals of Bugs Bhargava, Dominique Cerejo, Vivinenne Pocha that the song turns out to be a heartwarming outing.

It is a difficult song to create due to various reasons. a) It is slow moving which means that beats cannot camouflage/overtake the melodious intent of the song, b) It requires a singer of high caliber to croon since the focus is entirely on voice due to hardly any instruments being in the background, c) Prasoon Joshi's lyrics follow a poetic route which means double the effort for the composers to think innovatively. Still, the end product is such that even if it won't be sung aloud by a man on the street (that was never an intent to begin with), Taare Zameen Par would make for an emotional cinematic viewing.

Singer Raman Mahadevan builds on the melodious feel of the album with 'Kholo Kholo' which is about opening up the world around you and breathing all the air in the beautiful surroundings. Very urban and belonging to soft-rock, 'Kholo Kholo' has a guitar as it's base instrument which works wonders with Raman's smooth vocals. A.R. Rahman and Gulzar saab would definitely approve the kind of great job that Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Prasoon Joshi do. Even better than the title song, 'Kholo Kholo' is number that you would love to hear in isolation in a repeat mode!

Aamir Khan begins 'Bum Bum Bole' with some funny sounding gibberish which is meant to appeal to the kids due to it's playful setting. A track which appears to be created for a setting where Aamir Khan interacts with number of kids in the school and makes all of them play with each other, 'Bum Bole Bole' takes a rhythmic mood. Different in style when compared to the first two tracks in the album, this Shaan sung track should appeal to children due to it's situational setting.

It's the sound of an alarm which opens 'Jame Raho', a song that takes a listener through the journey of a student from waking up in the morning to going to school to studying hard and achieving success. Boasting of a rock setting, the song is such that it could easily have fit into the mould of a sports anthem number as much as an inspiration for the soldiers on the border!

Crooned quote well by Vishal Dadlani, who seems to have become almost a regular with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for singing at least one song for most albums for them, 'Jame Raho' is an entertaining number which mixes some English words with primarily Hindi lyrics.

10 singers (yes, 10 singers) come together for 'Bheja Kum', a two minute rock track which starts with the words 'Idiot, why can't you'. A spoof on the kind of scolding that children get on scoring less marks in exams, 'Bheja Kum' has a big team of Shankar Mahadevan, Bugs Bhargava, Shankar Sachdev, Raaj Gopal Iyer, Ravi Khanwilker, Loy Mendonsa, Amole Gupte, Kiran Rao, Aamir Khan and Ram Madhvani coming together to sing a line or two (in case just speak a few words) to showcase (albeit in a lighter vein) the kind of tension that a kid goes through!

With 'Maa', Shankar Mahadevan gives himself another good solo after the title song Taare Zameen Par. A serene number which just like the title song depends entirely on the singing and the basic composition instead of arrangements added on in the recording studio, 'Maa' is a heartfelt track about a child looking at sharing with his mother his fears, shortcomings and affection for the ones close to him. With the most simple and yet effective lyrics heard in the album so far, 'Maa' is another superb piece of work after Taare Zameen Par and 'Kholo Kholo'.

Guest composer Shailendra Barve makes his presence felt with his only track 'Mera Jahan'. Rendered superbly by children Auriel Cordo and Ananya Wadkar who, after their English rendition, set the base for Adnan Sami to take over the proceedings, Mera Jahan' reaches it's crescendo the moment title words appear in the song. Musically the song carries a similar rock style as 'Bheegi Bheegi Si' [Gangster] and if you have liked the numbers heard in 'Life In A..Metro', it would be hard to ignore 'Mera Jahan'.

Amole Gupte, Creative Director of Taare Zameen Par, has the last word with his piano composition for 'Ishaan's Theme' bringing the album to an end. A four minute long musical piece which boasts of international standards and carries a pensive feel to it, 'Ishaan's Theme' belongs to the kind that you hear in 5-Star hotel lobbies. Smooth, serene and infectious, this sound of piano is just the right finale for an impressive soundtrack of Taare Zameen Par.

The moment one is through with the album, the first thought which crosses the mind is that of 'Aah, thank goodness no remixes'! Aamir Khan, Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy and Prasoon Joshi make a zero compromise album which stays honest to the film's theme and bring in as much variety as one possibly can in the music for a film belonging to a genre different from regular romance, action or drama. No item song, no 'pyaar-mohabbat' saga and moreover nothing which becomes preachy, Taare Zameen Par boasts of a soundtrack that stays true to the film's spirit and promises to thoroughly involve a viewer while the music is on in theaters.