Atrangi Re/ film soundtrack

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Atrangi Re/ Hindi film soundtrack

Music: A.R. Rahman

Label: T-Series

Rating: ***

Music director A.R. Rahman began 2021 on a fairly good note with the film 99 Songs, creating an impact with 'Jwalamukhi', 'Humnawaa' and 'Soja Soja'. In Mimi, he had a semi-hit in the item number 'Param Sundari', though the rest of the soundtrack didn't create much of a dent.

Now, we have the much-awaited Atrangi Re, a setof seven songs featuring, in typical Rahman style, a varied mix of singers, with Irshad Kamil doing the writing. Individually there are some good numbers but what's lacking is the X Factor of the ARR of yore.

The sequencing is such that you begin with an overdose of drum-heavy songs, beginning with  Daler Mehndi's 'Garda', which has lines about some "chhora' and the punchline "Arrey garda uda diya re". Shreya Ghoshal comes up next singing "Haay chaka chaka chaka chak hai tu, hai chaka chaka chaka chak hoon mein", which uses both shehnai and nadaswaram. Whatever the words mean, Sara Ali Khan's dancing and the street choreography lift the song.

'Tera Rang' by Haricharan Seshadri and Shreya is another semi-classical Radha-murali song. It's been wonderfully executed and both singers follow the nuances. However, it's thematically reminiscent of Shreya's 'Muraliya', released earlier this year by Salim and Sulaiman Merchant. That song was a stunner, and even though the composition is different, comparisons are natural, with Shreya being the common factor.

'Little Little' seems aimed at college girls who will go 'how cutteeeeee'. Sung by Dhanush and Hiral Viradia, it has lines like "Love me little little little little little", rhyming 'dear' with 'near' and 'fear'. Oh dear! The drums go haywire at the end but luckily you're brought down to earth on the next song 'Tumhein Mohabbat', a ballad sung soulfully by Arijit Singh. Some signs of classic Rahman here.

Arijit is joined by Shashaa Tirupati on 'Rait Zara Si', which has a strong melody line, subtle flute and imagery-filled lyrics, but misses a strong hook. Rashid Ali is backed by a flamenco flavour and some supple back-up choruses on 'Toofan Si Kudi'.

The thing about these songs is that you like them while they're playing. However, there's little that sticks behind. Each time a Rahman soundtrack is released, one expects nothing short of a miracle. You get fleeting moments of wizardry, but the complete package has been eluding us for some years.