[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Six years on, I still get goosebumps hearing this little anthem of Yuva. It inspires me each time with the ideals of the film’s protagonist, Michael Mukherjee.
You may recognise this as an instrumental variant of Dhakka Laga Bukka, which opens with Rahman singing his heart out:
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
A glimpse of Rahman composing for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bombay Dreams.
I’ve often struggled to name my favourite song by Rahman — there are simply too many to choose from. But when it comes to naming my favourite score, I’ve never hesitated — I’ve always chosen Swades. This choice isn’t without considering other great scoring moments in Bombay, Dil Se, Rhythm, or Rang De Basanti, for example. What sets Swades apart is its consistently good music throughout the score.
I feel Rahman strongly connected with the story of Swades — he could not have composed such a stirring score any other way. I recall him being frequently overseas during the production of this film, and this no doubt affected his compositions. It is also the reason why I love this film’s score more than anything else — the story struck a chord deep within, and the music only strengthened the bond.
My words here will convey little unless I show you a few scenes from the film. The film’s distributer, UTV Motion Pictures, kindly made available a few HD scenes on YouTube, and I’ve picked two of them here for its music.
Easily my favourite theme from the score (played from 0:49 to 1:54 — the rest you may watch at your discretion). Not so easy is deciding why I like this piece so much: is it the Taal (rhythm) or the Raag (melody)? I feel it suits the scene’s subtle exchange of feelings.
A defining moment in the film with pulsating music of tension, hope, triumph and celebration.
I could go on, but I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t watched the film. Just download the entire background score (password: “arr”, courtesy of rahmanism.com). These tracks were painstakingly extracted without the voices by Kaissiom.
Rahman’s most vibrant score has to be Meenaxi. It’s a tale of three cities (Jaisalmer, Hyderabad, and Prague), and its music is tuned to the three distinctive cultures.
Suresh Kumar of backgroundscore.com panned the film’s weak narrative, and I agree with him. But I must elaborate on the film’s visuals and the coming-together of three celebrated artists.
The film’s director, M. F. Husain, is a renowned Indian painter; the cinematographer is arguably India’s best: Santosh Sivan; and the composer is A.R. Rahman, who you know all too well. These three talents came together to capture the charm of three beautiful cities: Jaisalmer, Hyderabad, and Prague. The end result is visually and musically rich, worth experiencing for this sake alone, regardless of the weak screenplay.
