Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Music: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Lyrics: AM Turaz & Vibhu Puri
With: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Monikangana Dutta, Rajit Kapoor and Shernaz Patel
I have to say, there is finally a soundtrack that made me sit down and listen to the nuances of fine poetry and inherently laced music, after a long time. Take my verdict; it will be one of the best Bollywood soundtracks. Before I get into the beauty of each track, let me introduce you to Guzaarish’s amazing music.
Is music made of ragas and notes? No, the music must have a soul. Being able to appreciate good music itself is a great virtue; you are blessed just with this ability. Nowadays, music has become all about sounds, lacking soul and aesthetics. Having good taste in books, art, dancing, and all other things can improve one’s ability to appreciate good music. Being himself a great director, Sanjay monsieur could also exercise the same genius in his music. The tunes are as simple as possible; Yet the end result is nothing short of magical.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a great director, at least when it comes to aesthetics. He is a multifaceted artist. We have seen that he has such good taste for beauty in general. Watch his movies, his larger than life sets, his beautiful clothes and style, the unforgettable songs and dances. We even heard that he had choreographed a song for 1942: A Love Story when he was an assistant director. In short, he was good at everything he did. However, I wasn’t quite sure when I heard that he was composing Guzaarish songs; I thought it was his insistence on trying everything (yeah, sometimes some creatives think they’re really good at everything…which is far from true in most cases, I must say). I also knew he had been instrumental in extracting good music from Jatin Lalit, Ismail Darbar and Monty Sharma in the past. But that wasn’t enough to convince me that he could be a good musical director.
Vishal Bharadwaj is another great music director and director, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali joins the league of successful music directors with Guzaarish. Like I said, the tunes are simple, but there are other elements that take it to another level. There are few average tracks, but the arrangement, sheer passion and classic touch make them special.
On the merit of their lyrics and music, I will award points to each of these 10 tracks and start from the 10th track.
10) Jaane Kiske Khwaab (7.5/10)
Singer: KK
This track carries the mellow vibe of the film. However, there’s not much to go gaga over this track.
9) Daayein Baayein (7.8/10)
Singer: KK
This song reminds us of KK’s songs in Kites. It is one of the positive songs on the album with a happy disposition. Although the melody is nothing out of the ordinary, the arrangement makes it a good track. The guitar is used in a very nice way throughout the song.
8) Chaand Ki Katori (8.2/10)
Singer: Harshdeep Kaur
Yes, indeed a nice trail. There is this melancholy vibe all over this composition. It should be understood that Bhansali kept a minimum of instruments here.
7) Udi Udi (8.3/10)
Singers: Sunidhi Chauhan and Shail Hada
Well, this song has already become a hit since the promo for the song was released a few weeks ago, featuring Aishwarya Rai dancing to the beautiful melody. We also saw the making of the song where Sanjay Leela Bhansali composed the melody on the sets. All the arrangement of the song is Western. It’s a good groovy number.
6) Keh Na Saku (8.4/10)
Singer: Shail Hada
From this song, the album enters a very rare but beautiful musical arena. The lyrics are painfully romantic and remind us of old Mohammad Rafi numbers. Shail Hada!! What a voice!! Well, he sang the title song of Saawariya. But this time he reigns on this album surpassing even the seasoned singer like KK. The piano arrangement is definitely worth mentioning.
5) Guzaar (8.5/10)
Singers: KK and Shail Hada
The title track has an old world charm when it comes to instruments. KK is really soothing to the ears in this slow number. Shail Hada provides ample support and the fiddle piece!! Fantastic!! The dialogues in the background add to the overall appeal of the song.
4) Dhundhli Dhundhli (8.7/10)
Singer: Shankar Mahadevan
Above all, fantastic arrangement!! This song reminded me of GURU’s ARRahman’s ‘Jaage Hai’. Heartbreaking violin, again!! Shankar Mahadevan adds pathos to this beautifully orchestrated song. It also bears a resemblance to the 1942 fantasy score: A Love Story.
3) Sau Gram Zindagi (8.8/10)
Singers: Kunal Ganjawala
Well, it’s one of the most innovative songs of recent times, even though the melody is very Indian and was inspired by many other songs. the orchestration is out of this world!! Nice words too. The way the song progresses to the finale is truly brilliant. Yes, the final will take your breath away!! It goes into soft rock mode towards the end and you’ll end up dancing to the beautiful music! Very well done Sanjay Leela Bhansali Sir!! A masterful creation and Kunal Ganjawala lived up to the beauty of the song.
2) Knowledge (8.9/10)
Singers: Vibhavari Joshi, François Castellino & Shail Hada
Well, amazing song. I wonder if Bollywood has ever tried the Latin style so beautifully before. You will instantly fall in love with 2 things in this song, the guitar part and Vibhavari’s voice. It’s hard not to start spinning your body to a slow but lovely tune. After a while, you wish this song would never end!
And here is the winner
1) Tera Zikr (9/10)
Singers: Shail Hada & Rakesh Pandit
Although Sanjay Leela Bhansali arranged the songs mostly in a western style, how can he forget the classic Indian touch? Yes, he makes up for it with this song. Well, no other male singer has been able to create such a lasting impression in recent times, Shail Hada is incredibly talented. Also, the song sounded very original to me, I can’t remember hearing something so unique for a long time. The deep spiritual touch will touch you instantly. This song is able to take you to a completely different world for a few moments. The beauty of the Sufi style is omnipresent and there is something magical about this song. Bhansali has combined many intrinsic elements very cleverly in this song, making it an instant winner! This song is very Indian and it evokes many beautiful feelings throughout. Nothing less than magical!!
Excellent album overall; the remaining numbers are Sau Gram Zindagi, Saiba and Tera Zikr. Very well done Mr. Sanjay. Really, I didn’t expect that…
Overall rating 8.4/10
