Music Review: ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’
It seems the highly anticipated ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ will finally release this year. Aamir Khan has been missing in action since the super expensive disaster of ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ (2018) so a lot rests on the shoulders on this forthcoming film for the Mr. Perfectionist of Bollywood. Khan is known to be leading superhits being the leading man for five highest grossing Indian films in his career so one should expect nothing less than massive fireworks from ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ and returns to the screens this year as an autistic Sikh character while also producing this movie. The film is an Indian remake of one of the most iconic films of all time ‘Forrest Gump’ (1994) starring Tom Hanks and will also star Kareena Kapoor as his leading lady. Advait Chandan directed Khan’s last major hit ‘Secret Superstar’ (2017) and he will once again be leading this project that could be momentous for Bollywood overall. The trailer for the movie has not been released as yet but the team are already driving interest in the film by getting the music out. Music director Pritam who delivered a fab soundtrack for his biggest ever hit ‘Dangal’ (2016) is leading the music here along with the brilliant Amitabh Bhattacharya on the lyrics. For a film concept that is so artistic, emotive and spans across many decades of the character, one expects the soundtrack here to have a lot of depth and comfort here combined with storytelling.
Kahani is the first song of the album and a simple beautiful number to start the soundtrack that in many ways sums up the movie. The song is a masterpiece in simplicity and tells the story in such a delicate way with a soothing sound that stays ringing in the ears for a long time. The lyrics are so beautifully penned that they flow like water and have a wonderful poetic balance. The thought in each line provokes the listener to think and dig deeper to the essence and beauty of life. Pritam’s music around these brilliant lyrics help bring out the effect of each word. The music has a crescendo that grows on the listener without the use of what sounds like any major instruments, but in reality there is a whole strings and keys ensemble behind it delivering a perfect symphony. The music reminds one of the music of ‘Barfi!’ (2012) and particularly the songs Kyun & Saawali Si Raat in their musical treatment and composition. The lyrical arrangement is very close to these songs too and there is a close attachment towards Bengali music built within the music of Kahani. Rock band Agnee’s lead singer Mohan Kannan delivers the vocals here and does is really well going completely the opposite way to a rock song. He sounds a lot like Pappon but handles it exceptionally well creating a lot of depth in the song. His deep voice has a consistency throughout the range of the notes while still being very emotive. Bhattacharya has delivered something truly gorgeous here that when combined with Pritam’s musicality it transports one to a whole new world. This song is not your typical commercial superhit but a genius one that can impress critics and impress masses at the same time. 4.5/5
Aamir Khan himself opens the next song Main Ki Karaan? giving the first peek into the character of Laal Singh Chaddha. With a few lines one gets to hear how he speaks, thinks and his tender characterisation. This is a first love song about that moment of first sight that is impossible to forget. The greatness of this song rests with Sonu Nigam voicing this with a beautiful soft innocence that almost sounds like one is inside a dream. His execution of each line through his vocal tone is truly worth a listen. The lyrics are written in short sentences of a few words each and that really puts more focus on the vocals to deliver the magic of the selected few words and drive the emotion, and perhaps Nigam is the best choice ever to do this. Once again simplicity is the key in the lyrics of Bhattacharya but this time he captures the purity and innocence of the moment without getting tangled in an attempt to impress. Pritam too leaves it quite barren without using any overpowering music here and uses ambient sounds with strings ensemble including guitars, whistles and a sombre clarinet solo. The overall musicality has a jazz aspect to it but then he drops Romy in with a high pitched sufi solo in the vocals that initially stands out from everything else in the song but after a few listens it blends in. This song is more commercially viable compared to the opening song being a romantic one and truly a great one at it as it really makes one reminiscence when listening to it thus building a stronger connection with the listeners. 4/5
More singles from ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ will be reviewed on this page when they become available.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
