AUDIOSCAN
Khamosh Pani (Music Today)

As more and more mature films are being made in India, the standard of film music is also showing a lot of improvement. Experi-ments are being tried out and the sound is not as stereotyped as it was till some years ago.

The cassette under review is a glowing example of this breaking of the mould. This type of music would have been unimaginable in cinema playback even a decade back. It is close to reality and far from the fantasy stuff. What matters is that it matches the theme of the film and thus becomes an integral part of it.

The music has been scored by Sufi scholar Madan Gopal Singh, Arshad and Arjun. The love songs can be perceived to be addressed to the divine. Another departure is that the theme music of the title comprises the very first track of the album. It sets the tone for the meditative fare to come later. The album closes also with Alaap 1947, a lingering piece of vocals. Sufi philosophy is reflected most clearly in Alif Allah sung by Madan Gopal Singh. Lyrics of celebrated saint Sultan Bahu and the use of Shudh Gandhaar at some places make it a transcendental offering.

Sixteenth-century Sufi poet Shah Hussain’s Main Vee Jana is equally moving. Among the folk songs, Meri allad jawani, Sanu nehar wale pul te bula ke, Ranjha jogra ban aaya and Kithay gayaan maavan have been on the lips of Punjabis for as long as one remembers and are today also familiar to fans of Hindi music because of their extensive use in Bollywood films.

This film too boasts of music which is a far cry from the routine. It is for the first time that private fusion band, Indian Ocean, has composed music for a film. And in the maiden attempt, it has made no compromises to the film-world. The music here is a far cry from the 14-year-old band’s earlier four albums.

More than songs, the band has concentrated on sounds and the effect is enjoyable. In fact, there are only three songs, which have been penned by Piyush Mishra, who is also a music composer (Gulal), actor (Dil Se, Maqbool) and scriptwriter (The Legend of Bhagat Singh).

Besides these three songs, the album has six "background" or theme tracks.

—ASC