My Name is Khan: Music Review

2010 is turning out to be great in terms of music. While Veer was unexpectedly good, Ishqiya was HUGE and My Name is Khan is not disappointing either. The album, composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, has six songs, no remixes, Shankar Mahadevan in three of them but none sung alone by him. Names of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shafqat Amanat Ali, and Rashid Khan make clear from the very start that the album is majorly Sufi. Here is a review of MNIK.

Allah hi Rehem is sung by Rashid Khan. The song is a complete Sufi piece and will be loved by people in its own time. Difficult choice but I love the song the most in the album.

Noor e Khuda is something that would be counted as very typical of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy had there not been Adnan Sami.  Shankar also sings a major part of the song and Shreya gets a piece in the end. But Adnan’s voice has made the song a bit more fresh. A typical song for a Karan Johar film. A certain hit material.

Rang de Aman se Aasman is the odd one out in the album. The song has some rock mood and hence Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy call in Suraj Jagan to sing with Shankar. The song is good but will take some time to reach its peak. Lyrics of the song are good but somehow I feel like there was more scope in the lyrics here. Also, hearing for the first few times, you will feel that the song has been sung in a haste at some points and that a bit slower could be better.

Sajda is a typical Karan Johar song as you might have guessed from the promos of the movie. The song again has a good Sufi touch and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan-Richa Sharma combination works well. Shankar Mahadevan in the background is perfect. Reminds me of Mitwa though.

Talk of Mitwa and here comes Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan. Shafqat gets to sing another Sufi song, Tere Naina all by himself. The song is good with some good lyrics and music that gives scope to Shafqat’s singing which he has used well. Full marks to Shafqat Amanat Ali for the song.

The album also has a two and half minute Khan theme by Strings, which doesn’t affect as yet. Maybe it shows some more effect in the film.

Overall, My Name is Khan is a good album with more than just a touch of Sufi. The songs are good and certainly going to be super-popular. Also, Niranjan Iyengar’s lyrics are good enough. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy haven’t taken much risk and given an album on old prescribed formulas which are certainly going to work for KJo’s film. If you like typical S-E-L music (which most do), go for it. You won’t be disappointed.

Tags: Adnan Sami, Karan Johar, Music Review, Niranjan Iyengar, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Richa Sharma, Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Shreya Ghoshal, SRK