Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Omkara

Vishal Bharadwaj is probably the only director I know who has written and directed a movie and composed it's music too. He has always been known as a serious story teller and music composer. He caught mya ttention first with Chappa chappa in Maachis like he did of most other music lovers. However he hit it home for me with Satya and "Baadalon se" soulfully sung by Bhupender. I guess Vishaal is one of those musician who knows how to compose music worthy of and superbly suited to the likes of SureshWaadkar and Bhupender. Anyways lets go back to Omkara.

Omkara has music that blends the old and the new flawlessly. While most music directors' idea of old with new is a trashy sample from somewhere mixed with some tabla/sitar, Vishaal steps into the soul of the poetry and of the movie to create very gripping music. I'm listening to Raahat Fateh Ali Khan's "naina" which has melodious electronic and grungy background score. I notice that a lot of the emphasis is on the subtle sounds in the background and they are catching my ear the most. Vishaal sings well with Shreya Goshal on one of the tracks but you can hear a lot of his breathing that great singers effertlessly mask out. I'm sure he will get better at this. Rekha Bharadwaj (his wife?) sings soulfully in "Namak" and "Laakad" the latter of which resembles some of what we heard in Maachis. Still it has the signature depth of Gulzar's lyrics and Vishaal's music.

I can bet that "Beedi" is going to be a massive track this year. It's got the grimy soul of the country side accentuated by Sukhwindara Singh's raspy, thickly accented voice so apt for such songs. IT's another chayya chayya in the making. Sunidhi Chauhan lends her voice well on this track.

Suresh Waadkar's Jag Ja has a very melodious score and once again its the instrumentation in the background that makes it haunting.

Great score Vishaal. I can't wait to see the end product where the sounds and the sights will come together.