Taufiq Qureshi stirs up a wonderful atmosphere with his music
Taufiq Qureshi, percussionist par excellence has composed the music for Santosh Sivan’s Tahaan. He has composed the background score for several Hindi films like Damini, Black, Devdas and Dil Chahta Hai. Taufiq is even more famous for his guest appearances on albums like Remember Shakti, Masters Of Percussion and Global Drum Project.
When you get past the commercial songs on Tahaan's soundtrack, what you have is Kashmiri folk music and a beautiful background score.
THE SONGS
The album opens with Jee Lo by Adnan Sami which is the most 'commercial' song on the soundtrack. It has decent lyrics but is nothing like the music Adnan is known for. Neither is it catchy like Lift Kara De nor does it have repeat value like Kabhi To Nazar Milao. It's a song you forget the moment it gets over, and I'm surprised Adnan Sami contributed something so mediocre to the soundtrack.
The 'modern' version of Mastaan Mastaan has been composed by Kvanaa and has lyrics by Mehboob. It starts off in a very promising manner, and just when you think you've heard some good acoustic Hindi rock, the mood is ruined with unnecessary distortion. Sung by Ritesh Menon, the number is almost five minutes long, and you lose interest in it after it stretches past three-and-a-half minutes.
The folk version of Mastaan Mastaan is a welcome change in direction, and if you don't know it's Kashmiri folk, you'd think it was qawwali. This version of Mastaan Mastaan has been sung by Gulzar Ganai and the lyrics have been written by the late poet Fazil Kashmiri. The song changes pace midway, where the percussion gets faster for a bit and then slow again. One of the better songs in the album!
Sung by Sumedha Karmahe, Chakhri is the best 'commercial' song on the soundtrack of Tahaan. It has a very modern feel to it, it has an R&B beat with plenty of guitar licks thrown in, and is so infectious that it makes you grab the CD to get info on the track and the artiste!
This is followed by Tahaan’s Victory Theme, and the tune is the same as the vocal melody of Chakhri!
Ha Faqeero has been penned by poet AG Madhosh and has been sung by Gulzar Ganai. It is an immensely likeable Kashmiri folk song in the vein of Mastaan Mastaan (folk), and has a very similar structure. Slow, fast, slow!
THE BACKGROUND SCORE
The rest of the songs on the soundtrack are the background score, which should explain why the CD has 16 tracks. You wonder if it is just one big composition cut into many small pieces. Qureshi does very well here, and incorporates many instruments to create a lurking atmosphere.
The highlights among these are Storytelling, Shaft Of Light and Kashmiri Pundits.
Listening to the instrumentals, you can close your eyes and imagine people treading on snow and visualise mountains with snow-capped peaks. At many times, the music gets very dark and Qureshi plays with sounds to stir up a brooding ambience. Wonderful stuff!
VERDICT
After unimpressive Bollywood music that is dished out week after week, Tahaan's music is a welcome change. Don't be disheartened by the first two songs, for Taufiq Qureshi has composed a background score which makes you want to watch the movie just to see if the visuals are as stunning. Good, good, good!
RATING: 3/5
From Buzz18 - Click here to read it from the original location
