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By
Joginder Tuteja, November 5, 2007 - 14:25 IST
 Now this one has arrived almost 'chupke se'! While
most other biggies featuring the top bracketed
actors/film makers make a lot of noise (sometimes
deserving, sometimes not so deserving) for both the
movie and the music release, Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen
Par has silently arrived in a subtle manner, just like
the simplicity the movie itself conveys. With Prasoon
Joshi doing the lyrics, one expects a sensitive outing
ahead. From Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, who have enjoyed a
great 2007 so far, one expects nothing but a high
quality score in Taare Zameen Par.
Remember the tinkle sound in 'Meri Duniya Tu Hi Re' [Heyy
Babyy]? Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy take a cue from the same
sound to carry forward the title song 'Taare Zameen
Par'. To the credit of the composer trio, Shankar
Mahadevan who takes the onus on himself to come behind
the mike and supporting vocals of Bugs Bhargava,
Dominique Cerejo, Vivinenne Pocha that the song turns
out to be a heartwarming outing.
It is a difficult song to create due to various
reasons. a) It is slow moving which means that beats
cannot camouflage/overtake the melodious intent of the
song, b) It requires a singer of high caliber to croon
since the focus is entirely on voice due to hardly any
instruments being in the background, c) Prasoon
Joshi's lyrics follow a poetic route which means
double the effort for the composers to think
innovatively. Still, the end product is such that even
if it won't be sung aloud by a man on the street (that
was never an intent to begin with), Taare Zameen Par
would make for an emotional cinematic viewing.
Singer Raman Mahadevan builds on the melodious feel of
the album with 'Kholo Kholo' which is about opening up
the world around you and breathing all the air in the
beautiful surroundings. Very urban and belonging to
soft-rock, 'Kholo Kholo' has a guitar as it's base
instrument which works wonders with Raman's smooth
vocals. A.R. Rahman and Gulzar saab would definitely
approve the kind of great job that Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
and Prasoon Joshi do. Even better than the title song,
'Kholo Kholo' is number that you would love to hear in
isolation in a repeat mode!
 Aamir Khan begins 'Bum Bum Bole' with some funny
sounding gibberish which is meant to appeal to the
kids due to it's playful setting. A track which
appears to be created for a setting where Aamir Khan
interacts with number of kids in the school and makes
all of them play with each other, 'Bum Bole Bole'
takes a rhythmic mood. Different in style when
compared to the first two tracks in the album, this
Shaan sung track should appeal to children due to it's
situational setting.
It's the sound of an alarm which opens 'Jame Raho', a
song that takes a listener through the journey of a
student from waking up in the morning to going to
school to studying hard and achieving success.
Boasting of a rock setting, the song is such that it
could easily have fit into the mould of a sports
anthem number as much as an inspiration for the
soldiers on the border!
Crooned quote well by Vishal Dadlani, who seems to
have become almost a regular with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
for singing at least one song for most albums for
them, 'Jame Raho' is an entertaining number which
mixes some English words with primarily Hindi lyrics.
10 singers (yes, 10 singers) come together for 'Bheja
Kum', a two minute rock track which starts with the
words 'Idiot, why can't you'. A spoof on the kind of
scolding that children get on scoring less marks in
exams, 'Bheja Kum' has a big team of Shankar Mahadevan,
Bugs Bhargava, Shankar Sachdev, Raaj Gopal Iyer, Ravi
Khanwilker, Loy Mendonsa, Amole Gupte, Kiran Rao,
Aamir Khan and Ram Madhvani coming together to sing a
line or two (in case just speak a few words) to
showcase (albeit in a lighter vein) the kind of
tension that a kid goes through!
With 'Maa', Shankar Mahadevan gives himself another
good solo after the title song 'Taare Zameen Par'. A
serene number which just like the title song depends
entirely on the singing and the basic composition
instead of arrangements added on in the recording
studio, 'Maa' is a heartfelt track about a child
looking at sharing with his mother his fears,
shortcomings and affection for the ones close to him.
With the most simple and yet effective lyrics heard in
the album so far, 'Maa' is another superb piece of
work after 'Taare Zameen Par' and 'Kholo Kholo'.
 Guest composer Shailendra Barve makes his presence
felt with his only track 'Mera Jahan'. Rendered
superbly by children Auriel Cordo and Ananya Wadkar
who, after their English rendition, set the base for
Adnan Sami to take over the proceedings, Mera Jahan'
reaches it's crescendo the moment title words appear
in the song. Musically the song carries a similar rock
style as 'Bheegi Bheegi Si' [Gangster] and if you have
liked the numbers heard in 'Life In A..Metro', it
would be hard to ignore 'Mera Jahan'.
Amole Gupte, Creative Director of Taare Zameen Par,
has the last word with his piano composition for 'Ishaan's
Theme' bringing the album to an end. A four minute
long musical piece which boasts of international
standards and carries a pensive feel to it, 'Ishaan's
Theme' belongs to the kind that you hear in 5-Star
hotel lobbies. Smooth, serene and infectious, this
sound of piano is just the right finale for an
impressive soundtrack of Taare Zameen Par.
The moment one is through with the album, the first
thought which crosses the mind is that of 'Aah, thank
goodness no remixes'! Aamir Khan, Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy
and Prasoon Joshi make a zero compromise album which
stays honest to the film's theme and bring in as much
variety as one possibly can in the music for a film
belonging to a genre different from regular romance,
action or drama. No item song, no 'pyaar-mohabbat'
saga and moreover nothing which becomes preachy, Taare
Zameen Par boasts of a soundtrack that stays true to
the film's spirit and promises to thoroughly involve a
viewer while the music is on in theaters.
Rating:- ***
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