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BizAsia Music Review: ‘Fitoor’

Amit Trivedi made it to BizAsia‘s top five soundtracks of 2015 countdown with ��Shaandaar�۪ (2015) and so the expectations are bigger and better from him in 2016. The initial feelers on screen and in the aural domain are quite strong for his next piece of forthcoming work called ��Fitoor�۪, directed by Abhishek Kapoor of ��Rock On!�۪ (2008) fame. Starring newly single Katrina Kaif and talented Aditya Roy Kapur, this will be yet another overly romantic stories based around Charles Dickens’ novel ‘Great Expectations’. Set in the beautiful Kashmir valleys the shots look amazing and the musical landscape of the film will have those typical Kashmiri musical elements as well. With lyrics by Swanand Kirkire who has been rather quite in 2015, it would be good to see what he puts forth collaborating with the musical innovations of Amit Trivedi.

Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur Fitoor 340x

Arijit Singh opens the album in a truly blissfully beautiful melodic way with Yeh Fitoor Mera. A purely acoustic opening with acoustic guitar leading the way, xylophone and deep orchestra building up slowly in as the crescendo builds up. Arijit complements it perfectly with starting off soft and then taking it all the way to the high notes in a seamless and perfect tonality. The lyrics are simply gorgeous with strong Urdu influences. The deeply emotional happiness of the character and the madness for love is quite neatly weaved together by Kirkire. ���Kaise Suni Tune Meri Khamoshi, O Parvadigaara�۝. ���Ye fitoor mera rehmat teri. Ye fitoor mera maine badla re mera naseeb. Ye fitoor mera chaahat teri�۝ are some of the most amazing lines that touch a listeners heart string. The advancement of the song into a soft rock ballad with a deep orchestra behind is beautifully put together by Trivedi. Some great drum work too on the song. Perhaps this could easily be the song of all lovers this Valentines as it has a mix of all the required commercial elements. Simply love it!

Amit Trivedi gets on the mic next with Pashmina which is yet another soulful love song but with a strong Kashmiri musical influence. His raw tonality works well for this song which has some soft and some really strong feelings represented in the lyrics. Yet again with good use of Urdu the thought of this song is a lot deeper than Yeh Fitoor Mere which is a lot more commercial to this song.

���Pashmina dhaagon ke sang

Koi aaj bune khwaab aise kaise

Waadi mein goonje kahin naye saaz

Ye rawaab aise kaise�۝

The use of flute and soft jazz drums & bass rule this song that gives it a Mumbai�۪s Jazz by the Bay feel but with a lot more soul to it. The composition is flawless and the use of orchestra puts the listener right the middle of the beautiful mountains of Kashmir. This song has musical precision and is a must listen in every mood.

Haminastu is sung by Zeb Bangash who is a folk Pakistani singer who one can not help but love every time you listen to her on Coke Studio albums. She combines Turkish, Pashto lyrics and instruments in an effortless way for the mainstream way. She starts this song with what sounds like Pashto lyrics and brings in strong Urdu lyrics in an urban mix of traditional instruments blended with a huge orchestra creating a mix of musical genres. The folk voice of Zeb is so strong and haunting at places in the song that she can give one goose bumps. The ambience is really strong in this song with the use of Santoor and Rabaab. The Rabaab solo at the end is perhaps one of the best heard in Bollywood ever! Although the lyrics are deep and uncommon for a listener to get on board with, the melody and music is so amazing that it sucks you in. Purely a situational song, it works well in the film and for a discerning listener.

A lyrically simpler song with Zeb Bangash accompanying Nandini Srikar plays next called Hone Do Batiyaan. Pure female lead gives a very different touch to this song with two very soulful voices that have a hint of folk to their rendition. The classical arrangement is very prominent on this song that is mesmerising to hear. Some amazing Rabaab solo work yet again blows you away as you keep listening to this song. The lyrics are poetic genius with an extraordinary thought put forth by Kirkire. Some amazing lines..

���Kone mein dil ke pyaar pada hai Tanha.. tanha.. dilon ki dil se Hone do batiyaan�۝

���Seene mein chhupke dhadhke dil Tanha.. tanha.. dilon ki dil se Hone do batiyaan�۝

Trivedi lets the lyrics and the two beautiful singers lead the song all the way on a very simplistic drum beat accompanied by keyboards and excellent Rabab solos. The song lacks musical depth intentionally and that is what really works for this song and is yet another amazing song truly worth a listen.

Aditya-Katrina in 'Fitoor'
Aditya-Katrina in ‘Fitoor’

Sunidhi Chauhan and Jubin Nautiyal feature next on the album on Tere Liye. Yet another love song with deeply emotional and simple lyrics that are easy to sing along to. Jubin�۪s voice is very deep with a soft touch to it that makes it super romantic while Sunidhi does a great job in taking the soft tonality route with her dynamic voice. Her pairing with Jubin is something maybe out of the ordinary and I am not sure if it works but they both deliver good performances individually. The lyrics are the best part of the song that have romance flowing through every word with a progression and flow as smooth as a stream.. but with the calmness of a lake. It�۪s surprising why this is not one of the lead album opening songs as it is lyrically very strong and simplistic with no complicated Urdu words. Perhaps the arrangement is a bit clich̩d but it still has the uniqueness and smoothness to it that goes well for the song.

Rangaa Re (Hindi) is sung by Chauhan again with Trivedi this time. A romantic ballad yet again, Rangaa Re is a more 2016 in its instrumentation with no regional or traditional music touches to it. The alternative electronic urban vibe is quite consistent throughout the song and complements Chauhan�۪s voice quite well who has got a little more room to go to the high notes in this song which she is the best at with her powerful voice and vocal abilities. Trivedi�۪s vocals for the last verse match up better with Chauhan�۪s vocal quality on this song and is thus a lot more vibrant together. He is always better with more non-traditional stuff and thus he gets to do it well on top of showcasing his innovative electronic hooks like he always does on his albums by bringing something new to it. The lyrics are interesting and strongly romantic yet but not with anything spectacular. But if a more modern urban music is your thing and this will perhaps be your more preferred romantic song on the album.

Rangaa Re (English) is a repeat of the earlier song with English lead lyrics in the voice of Caralisa Monteiro along with a repeat of Trivedi�۪s Hindi vocals for the last verse. Her vocals have the softness of a Jazz singer and also the strong range of a female rock singer on the high notes which she delivers effortlessly. Kirkire does a good job with the English lyrics as well on par with his Hindi & Urdu lyrics to bring out the deeply dreamy feelings for this one. The English lyrics actually sound a lot more passionate and warm compared to the more conservative Hindi lyrics. Overall, this is a good alternative version of the song to have on the album.

FINAL WORD

��Fitoor�۪ as an album has nothing more than romantic songs on it. If you are looking for variety of genres then you would be hugely disappointed. But within the romantic genre itself there is tons of variance and depth that Trivedi delivers in what seems to be effortless and coming straight from the heart. His musical precision is extraordinary with beautiful compositions throughout in every song! Not one song lets you down but rather gets better as you listen ahead. There is musical quality and the recording of each instrument and conducting the orchestra has been done like a maestro going from a range of Kashmiri musical influences to mainstream Bollywood and alternative urban beats. Yeh Fitoor Mera, Pashmina, Tere Liye, Rangaa Re are all brilliant to listen to in their own individual right. And it�۪s not just music.. the lyrics on each song are a piece of superlative poetic talent from Swanand Kirkire. Hats off to the man for the standard delivered by him on this album. Arijit, Sunidhi, Trivedi, Jubin, Nandini, Zeb and Caralisa all deliver precise vocals on each song which is a complement back to Trivedi for getting the best out of each one of them. Overall this is a stunningly romantic album perfectly in time for Valentines and thus would make a great gift to give to your partners and do some ball room dancing to. Must listen to OST!

BizAsia Showbiz Rating ��� 8.5/10