The thought probably came when I was listening to 7 Khoon Maaf, more precisely when I was listening to O mama, and then Aawara. I don’t exactly know what the thought was, but I will try to put it into words anyway. The thought was of Gulzar, his age, his words, and more thoughts that I do not remember or may not want to talk about.

Well, first thing was, who ever thought Gulzar will be writing Rock songs? Listening to O mama, while I was mesmerized by Vishal’s music and KK’s singing, Gulzar’s words fit in there as if water in a jug. I was thinking that the person who wrote ‘Mora Gora Ang Lai Le’ almost fifty years ago, and then ‘mera kuch saamaan’ two decades after that, is writing O mama today, and with his words alone, is as much a part of today’s generation as a someone born after his fifth filmfare award.

I remember his words from the filmfare awards this year about Vishal Bhardwaj as he said, ‘Ek naujawan ka shukriya ada karna bahot zaroori hai.. isne mere lafzon ko jawan rakha hai’ (It’s necessary to thank a youngster.. he has kept my words young), and I do agree with him. But what is most wonderful is how Gulzar has been able to write those young words while maintaining the same quality that he was known for, say, three-four decades ago. Yes, he still writes lines like ‘Dushman jiye mera, wo bhi gair to nahi,’ in that rock song itself.

And then, there is that thing I yearn for, the way he can use the language. He was the one who came up with things like humne dekhi hai in aankhon ki mehekti khushboo and surili ankhiyon wale, and even though today’s lyricist try to come up with such things sometimes and to some extent, are successful too, Gulzar has that command on language that is still missing with them all. I have loved the lyrics of Prasoon Joshi and Amitabh Bhattacharya innumerous times, but I do not know someone who can write ‘saara din sadkon pe khali rikshe sa, peechhe peechhe chalta hai’ and ‘chhod aaye hum wo galiyaan’ with equal ease, or someone who can even imagine the lines ‘aankhen tez tatayya dono jeebh saanp ka phunkara’ or ‘chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai’ or even a simple sounding ‘dil to bachcha hai ji.’

No, I don’t know anyone who can write ‘ek hi lat suljhane mein saari raat guzari hai.’

That is what I fear. For a life when I will not be able to listen to Gulzar’s songs, because it’s almost sure that during my lifetime a day will come when that pen will no more be writing.

And so, I wish he lives past hundred in all health. And that pen keeps going, on and on, forever.

And here I’ll finish for now the unending topic, with something that I wrote with him in my mind:

bharte hain Roz hawaon mein Udaan,
phir bhi kabze mein unke rehte hain,
unke alfaz kya, parinde hain..

Well, Darling, the Russian connection of Vishal Bhardwaj is definitely a well composed, well sung piece and similarities as well as differences from Kalinka are quite beautifully done. While Vishal gets the music catchy and haunting, Rekha Bharadwaj sings the song once again with a new touch to her voice. But the voice that gets it the best there is that of Usha Uthup. Kudos to Vishal for using her voice with such precision. The last word on the song: Daaaarrrrrling…

Bekaraan hain bekaraan, aankhein band keeje na, doobne lage hain hum, saans lene deeje na. Well, if I tell you that the song is sung by Vishal Bhardwaj, you’d probably be able to even guess the tune. I mean, so very predictable, and predictably lovely and beautiful too.

Vishal Bhardwaj is back. From the days of Paanch. Yeah, Vishal gets KK back after years, and for something similar. KK rocks in this one, and though Vishal rocks, the slight negative is that like other songs of the album, you have something to compare with it already. This time I was thinking about Sar jhuka khuda hoon main while listening to the song. But then, khuda hoon main didn’t have Gulzar. The lines here are just awesome in some places. Like Gulzar. After all, he can rock too.

Awaara Awaara Awaara. Master Salim sings this one for Vishal and comes up with one of the best things of the album. The music, the words, and the depth in Saleem’s voice go along, making it an experience worth experiencing. Interestingly while the song reminds me of albela sajan ghar aayo re, it also reminds me of Naina and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. And the greatness of the two songs is proof enough to how good the song would be. Na shaakh jude, na jad pakde, mausam mausam banjara.. aawara awara awaara.

The next in the album comes Suresh Wadkar’s solo Tere Liye. The six minute song is definitely a piece of poetry more than a song. Quite typical, but anybody who listens to the song probably knows in advance what it’s gonna be and expects it to be precisely what it is. Humne to parindon se, baagon ke saude kiye, tere liye. Yes. It’s all Gulzar.

Dil dil hai dil dil hai dil hai dil, Suraj Jagan, and Rock. Well, Vishal Bhardwaj completely goes into Paanch mode with raw rock as he composes dil dil hai. I won’t say it’s similar to any song, but just reminds me that if an average composer can compose in N genres Vishal Bhardwaj can do it in N square.

Rekha’s Yeshu is definitely NOT what I was expecting it to be. A prayer, that somehow doesn’t sound that heartfelt, and somehow gets a bit boring too, but then the song sounds fine, and maybe even good for the times when you actually want to listen to it.

The next in the album is Doosri Darling, which comes up with the original darling, that is Kalinka-Kalinka-Malinka-Moya. In case you don’t yet know, the song Darling is based on a Russian folkish song of 1860s, Kalinka. Actually this is the one you have been listening to in the promos.

Overall, Vishal Bhardwaj is as good as ever in 7 Khoon Maaf, but then, a little disappointment comes from the fact that there is nothing as new as was there in Ishqiya, or even Kaminey. Still, there is quality, and this time, some quantity too.

Oh, did you notice there is no Sukhwinder Singh in a Vishal Bharadwaj album, after years?

The song is actually very much based on Russian song Kalinka, a song written in 1860.

I have no idea how much Vishal is going to acknowledge this in the movie/soundtrack (I hope he does acknowledge), but that sounds very much true. You can listen to the song at the Wikipedia page, and also find a few more links to the song there.

Atithi tum kab jaoge has six songs out of which none is a ‘typical’ song. Here is a review of the album.

Aaja Aaja sung by Raghubir Yadav, Ajay Jhingaran and Rajneesh, you know about the song if you hear the first line properly. It goes like Jihva pe chhale pade panth nihar nihar, aankhon mein hai cataract aaya, aaja aaja pukaar. Clearly the making of a comic song. And then, the song goes on giving you some flavor of comedy in the song before you get it in the movie. The song is catchy and likable. Should be wonderful in the movie. Try this one for sure.

Next one, called Atithi tum kab aaoge, sung by Amit Mishra, is more of background music than song. Doesn’t mean much after the first song that gave music as well as comedy.

Dohay sung by Amit again are simply a selection of some Rahim and Kabir dohas from my Hindi syllabus during school. No words about them of course. Good enough music.

Jyoti Jalale is what you get everytime when you go to a pilgrimage or even the nearby temple sometimes. Completely on the music of Beedi Jalaile, and taking the same lyrics as base, a Mata Bhajan is created and then this one is sung by the singer of Beedi itself, Sukhwinder Singh. I am still wondering what the song is doing there, but it’s exactly what T-Series has been giving us for years.

Sukh Karta Dukh harta is a collection of some shlokas with some non-traditional instruments. Seems to be background piece again.

Overall, Atithi tum kab jaoge is something you never expected, or at least I did not. Anyway, don’t forget to listen to Aaja Aaja, and try even Jyoti Jalaile if you don’t mind a mata bhajan on Beedi tune.

PS: I am still wondering whether Pritam has been declared the composer of the album for just one song Amit Mishra is the one who has sung all the Dohas and Shloaks. The official website of the movie declares Amit Mishra as the ‘composer of the title track.’

Ishqiya is an entertainment package. While the story of the film is okay with an old cliche given a new form, the direction of the movie is good, acting of Naseer, Arshad and Vidya is high quality, Vishal’s music is awesome and Rekha’s voice is beyond words.

And then, there is Dil to Bachcha hai ji.

Ishqiya is a movie that is all about presentation. Two guys running from a bhai, stuck with a lady, who happens to be not quite as they think she would be and then twists and turns. The story of the movie is not that great but with all those twists and turns and the great performances, it’s easily good enough to keep one interested for two hours. The good part is that the director hasn’t stretched the movie to make it cross the standard two and half hours.

The best thing of Ishqiya is, still, the performances given by its actors. While Naseeruddin Shah is a natural since time immemorial, Vidya Balan too does a role that not only suits her, but she looks almost perfect there. Arshad Warsi again does a superb job after helping Sanjay Dutt in Munna Bhai series. Talking of acting, even Nandu, the village boy does it well. Seems like Vishal Bharadwaj ke gaon mein ****** dhone se pehle acting karna sikhate hain!

The bad thing of the film, though, is that the film is quite complicated, and gets more so especially near the end. While Vishal’s last movie, Kaminey, also got a bit complicated, this time his screenplay falls there a bit again though the acting makes up for many things. Dialogs of the movie are good again and at times, Arshad’s dialogs make the movie a laugh riot.

As expected, Ishqiya is colored in quite the same color of eastern UP as Omkara, but then, there are many larger differences in the two and the films are completely different. In fact, Ishqiya is a bit less sophisticated, more storyish and less real than Omkara, especially in the first half. But on the other hand, the movie talks about the caste differences openly and not just to show that in dialogs but to add to the story.

But then, the movie is interesting, entertaining, and overall worth a watch if you are okay with the language. In fact even in case you could not like Omkara due to language issues, you might like this one as the language is a bit easier here in most sequences. Go for the movie if you are okay with the idea of an offbeat commercial entertainer.

Aisi uljhi nazar unse hatt ti nahi
Daant se reshmi dor katt ti nahi
Umr kab ki baras ke safaid ho gayi
Kaari badri jawani ki chhatt ti nahi
Wallah ye dhadkan bhadne lagi hai
Chehre ki rangat udne lagi hai
Darr lagta hai tanha sone mein ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji
Thoda kaccha hai ji
Haan dil to baccha hai ji

Kisko pata tha pehlu mein rakha
Dil aisa paaji bhi hoga
Hum to hamesha samajhte the koi
Hum jaisa haaji hi hoga
Hai zor kare, kitna shor kare
Bewajah baaton pe aienwei gaur kare
Dil sa koi kameena nahi
Koi to roke, koi to toke
Iss umr mein ab khaoge dhokhe
Darr lagta hai ishq karne mein ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji…

Aisi udaasi baithi hai dil pe
Hassne se ghabra rahe hain
Saari jawani katra ke kaati
Piri mein takra rahe hain
Dil dhadakta hai to aise lagta hai woh
Aa raha hai yahin dekhta hi na ho
Prem ki maare kataar re
Tauba ye lamhe katt te nahi kyun
Aankhon se meri hatt te nahi kyun
Darr lagta hai mujhse kehna na ji
Dil toh bachcha hai ji…

English Translation:

My eyes are locked such that they don’t move from over her,
While (the age is such that) I am unable to cut a silk thread with my teeth,
I was old long back and my hair are white now,
(but) the black clouds of youth don’t want to go.
O god, my heartbeat is raising,
the color of my face is going (that means I am ageing)
I am afraid of sleeping alone,
(My) heart is (still) a child,
it’s a bit coward,
yeah, my heart is still a child..

Who knew that the heart, so close to me, could be such scoundrel,
I always thought it would be a pure soul like me only,
it gives so much importance (to things), makes so much noise,
keeps track of useless things,
there is no one as mean as the heart,
someone stop it, someone check it,
I’ll be cheated in this age,
I am afraid to love..
My heart is still a child..

My heart is so sad, I am fearing even while laughing,
I passed my entire youth away (from love),
And now I am meeting (her) in old age,
When the heart beats, I feel-
she is coming here only, but not looking (at me),
It’s hitting me with the knife of love,
Oh my.. Why don’t these moments pass,
Why don’t they move away from my eyes,
I am feared, don’t tell me,
My heart is still a child,
It’s a bit coward,
Yeah, my heart is still a child…

PS: It’s not word for word translation, I have just tried to explain the meaning of every line right. If you want any specific word, just leave a comment.

The best thing about the album is that it has six different composers and still manages to be good. Something that is not really common with music albums.

Cham Cham Jani Raatein: is a composition of Shailendra Barve and sung by Sonu Nigam. The song, which is more of a qawwali, has a Sufi feel attached to it and Sonu sings the songs wonderfully. You need not listen to the song even twice to decide that. Though a second listening may be required to grasp Jeetendra Joshi’s beautiful lyrics. The most interesting part of the music in the song is the clapping sounds which create some wonderful effect of a moving and stopping music, a different kind of beats. A great work by both Sonu and Shailendra for sure.

Bombay Bombay Tararara Rappa: OK. After the first song, I search for Amit Trivedi’s composition which starts with some dialogs on ‘Bombay’. Amit soon comes into the Dev.D mode and delivers a good track. Nothing like iktara this time by the way. It’s a track full of dialogs like ek chalis ki last local and sounds have a glimmer of Aamir in them.

Aur phir Yoon hua: The next track I select is the one by Vishal Bharadwaj and Gulzar. Well, it would have been my first but I had heard the Sonu Nigam one in the promos so that came first and Amit Trivedi’s name has got a curiosity value attached, which grabbed me first. Anyway, the song Aur phir yun hua is a track that has a touch of O Sathi re of Omkara and goes almost on the same tracks, but sounds less romantic and slightly less effective. Anyways, Gulzar is good as ever and some of his lines, like phir nahi so sake, ik sadi ke liye hum diljale leave a good impact with Vishal’s soulful music. The try to add some background sounds near the end of the song doesn’t help, but doesn’t make any negative effect either. Overall, a good song.

Haq Se: composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja is a beat based song even though background is not much filled up which gives the song a good a good feel. A touch of South Indian music is anyway clear and since Yuvan sings the song himself with Siddharth, the rendition is a bit rough though words are clear. A good number nevertheless. May be a bit new for you if you have not been in touch with any South Indian songs.

Ajab teri karni maula: The next song on my list happens to be Swanand Kirkire’s composition and his own words in his own voice. The song has minimal music and it’s almost one Dholak that plays throughout the song, supported by probably a harmonium at some points. Overall the song sounds more like a wonderful piece sung by some street singer. All points for Swanand’s naturality.

Piya Saanvra Tarsa Raha: Finally comes the only song of the album with a female voice. The composition of Shailendra Barve is sung by Sunidhi Chauhan. The song uses Sunidhi’s voice for a slow rendition with some light background music and the easy composition starts moving almost completely on Sunidhi’s voice though more beats in the background support her later. In short, the song is a good one with some slow music and some good singing by Sunidhi.

Aim Laga Ungli Chala: Theme. Title. Rap. Blaaze. And you know what the song is. A fair song by Blaaze as he sings his composition, worded with Nitin Raikwar. The song will may work well in background in the movie. The song also has a rickshaw mix, oops, ricksha mix which has some added instruments and sounds better as a song and less like background.

Overall Striker is a good album by various composers, singers and lyricists. Interestingly, Chandan Arora uses all the composers almost perfectly to get a variety that was hardly possible with a single composer. A typical song of Amit Trivedi, a South Indian touch song by Yuvan, a street-smart rough rendition of Swanand, and a Vishal Bharadwaj-Gulzar combination can hardly be created by any one of them. Great work by Siddharth. Yeah, he is the album producer for Striker. (Thanks S Yellanki for that one)

Top Picks: Cham Cham, Bombay Bombay.

Ab mujhe koi intezaar kahan
Ab mujhe koi intezaar kahan
Wo jo behte the aabshaar kahan
Ab mujhe koi intezaar kahan
Ab mujhe koi intezaar kahan
Wo jo behte the aabshar kahan
Ab mujhe koi intezaar kahan

Aankh ke ek gaon mein, raat ko khwaab aate the
Aankh ke ek gaon mein, raat ko khwaab aate the
Chhoone se behte the, bole to kehte the
Udte khwaabon ka aitbaar kahan
Udte khwaabon ka aitbaar kahan
Ab mujhe koi intezaar kahan

Jin dino aap the, aankh mein dhoop thi
Jin dino aap rehte the, aankh mein dhoop rehti thi
Ab to jaale hi jaale hain, ve bhi jaane wale hain
Woh jo tha dard ka qaraar kahan
Woh jo tha dard ka qaraar kahan
Ab mujhe koi intezaar kahan
Woh jo behte the abshaar kahan
Ab mujhe koi intezaar kahan

Meanings

• Aabshar = fall, waterfall (means tears falling from the eyes here)

Well. Ishqiya is something like that only. Here you have Vishal Bharadwaj and Gulzar. And with them come Sukhwinder Singh, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Rekha Bharadwaj, and, Mika. The result is certainly good.

OK. First, the bad thing about the album. That there are just four songs in the album (packed as seven tracks though) which was a bit disappointing when I saw the track listing. Second, will be updated when found.

Enough, a seriously good album and here comes a serious review. As good as I can right now.

The album starts with the ever so beautiful Dil to Bachcha hai ji by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The song, that gives a feeling of made in ’60s, gives a fabulous start to the album. Simply love the song. No long words. Though a few not-so-gracious words also go there in the smooth rendition of Rahat.

The second song of the album is the first look song, Ibn-e-Batuta. The song has Vishal’s favorite Sukhwinder along with Mika. Vishal has once again shown his mastery in composition as the song has almost a horn sound in the start which becomes part of music. Mika has succeeded in giving the song a drunken feeling in between. Gulzar’s lyrics are more interesting than meaningful here, but then, small subtleties can always be found there, like dono taraf se bajti hai ye aye haye zindagi kya dholak hai. The song is full of road signs by the way. Full masti song for the chartbusters’ list.

It’s not very common that I feel like an idiot, especially regarding popular music. I love Rekha’s voice, but when Ab mujhe koi intezar kahan started, I thought why is Rekha’s voice used here, and that it could be a better song if it was sung in a higher voice, even if Rekha’s only. But as the song proceeded, it didn’t take long to realize my mistake, that of thinking that a normal, regular voice would have been better there. Ab mujhe koi intezar kahan is one of the best songs, maybe better than… no, I don’t think the songs can be compared here. Gulzar’s lyrics are really good in the song and he’s at his usual best, and Rekha’s voice has done complete justice to the lyrics which was not possible with some ‘regular’ voice I was thinking about.

The fourth and the last original song of the album, Badi dheere jali raina is a typical song that can be expected from Rekha-Vishal-Gulzar combination. A song with a slight classical touch, a flicker of O saathi re of Omkara. Great again.

Next comes the remix of Dil to Bachcha hai ji. This time the song is remixed and supported by Clinton Cerejo (the guy who sang Kya Karun in Wake Up Sid) and sounds okay and not as bad as some other remixes. The next is Ibn-e-batuta Nucleya mix, featuring the sound from Maa da ladla bigad gaya (that munda sada sound like a parrot). The ibn-e-batuta remix maybe used by DJs once the song gets a bit old. Though a few new things are tried, there is not much in the remix to look for.

On the whole, Ishqiya is a wonderful album, which is though on the lines of Omkara, is better as it has more class element than so-called-mass element. Still I won’t wonder if the masses luuuuvvv the album. My guess is that even if not all, Dil to bachcha is one song that will be loved by all types of audiences.

It’s over. Go, buy it.

But then, we can always have old back here in new form. Something like that is done by Vishal Bharadwaj in Ishqiya’s song Dil to Bachcha hai ji. No, the song is not picked up from some old movie or something. But he comes up with a composition which sounds as old as some tune of fifty or sixty years back from now.

Gulzar’s lyrics do wonders to the song. The voice of the singer, most probably Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, is superb. And with minimalistic instruments, that too old age ones, you’d wonder when the song was actually composed.

Here is a promo and lyrics.

Lyrics:

aisi uljhi nazar unse hat-ti nahi
daant se reshmi dor kat-ti nahi
umr kab ki baras ke safed ho gayi
kaari badri jawani ki chhant-ti nahi
wallah ye dhadkan, badhne lagi hai
chehre ki rangat, udne lagi hai
dar lagta hai tanha sone mein bhi
dil to bachcha hai ji..
dil to bachcha hai ji
thoda kachcha hai ji..
dil to bachcha hai ji..

PS: The song somehow reminds me of ek na ek din ye kahani banegi, tu mere sapno ki raani banegi.

Update: See full lyrics and translation Here.