Dilli-6

The one thing I am really really choosy about is my music. And rarely have I loved an album for its entire soundtrack; generally u tend to find 1-2 good songs in an entire album-the last three notable exceptions being Rehman's Guru, Jaane Tu..and S-E-L's Rock On. The "Dilli-6" promos on TV really excited me...though it is again from the RDB's Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra-A.R. Rehman-Prasoon Joshi baton, the look nd sound of the movie reminded me more of the Rehman-Mani Ratnam combi in Bombay nd Yuva. Interesting. So I decided to lay my hands on the entire soundtrack and the results were extremely pleasant, to say the least!

The Soundtrack opens with the stunner 'Masakali'..From the opening accordian piece, the song promises to be masterpiece. And to add to the effect, the amazing vocals by Mohit Chauhan (this guy is one seriously amazing singer- his slightly nasal twang & naughty variations in the song are just toooo good). Only Rehman could have allowed the singer to take centrestage by keeping the music as simple nd as unobstrusive as possible. And boy, the end result is just gr8!

The second track is meant to soothe the heart of the severest of classical conneuseur (and it does!) Rarely you can find a good classical song of this calibre in a Hindi movie thesedays. Titled 'Bhor Bhaye', what Rehman has essentially done is interspede Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan’s vocals in Raag Gujri Todi with Shreya Ghosal's beautiful voice. So the track has two feelings to it- as if one is listening to an old gramaphone recording of Bade Khaansaab and Shreya humming back in the old Guru-shishya parampara. Amazing song. Reminded me of my classical music learning days.

The third track 'Noor' is Amitabh Bacchan rendering a beautiful Shayri in his deep baritone voice...Kabhi kabhi style. As usual the mesmerising voice does all the trick!

This is followed with the extremely soothing chant, 'Tumhare Bhawan mein Mata'...nothing but a simple chant with only bells & sitar for accompaniment. More on the lines of the prayer song in RDB 'Ik Onkar', the beauty of the chant lies in its utter simplicity.

The next soundtrack is the extremely extremely unique 'Genda Phool'. Its typically a Bidaai geet, but trust Rehman to mix-n-match it with some really funky drum nd saxophone beats in-between, creating an absolutely unique sound of its own. Possible one may not appreciate the song on first hearing it, but trust me, it really grows on you.

And then comes the pièce de résistance of the entire soundtrack...nd it simply leaves you Wow! 'Dil Gira Dafatan' simply takes your breath away from the beginning, what with the opening lyrics eloquently sung by Ash King and ably assisted by the husky-voiced Chinmayee. Keyboards, Violins and the strumming of guitars in a very meditative style support King’s vocals. Again, music at its minimalistic mesmerising best. And the words and music take you on an altogether different plane, from where everything seems beautiful below. Plz dont miss this stunner.

Soundtrack 7 is the quirky 'Hey Kaala Bandar'. It’s odd, and has a wandering techno beat, but the quirky lyrics and the interlude with the Arabic style singing adds a nice touch. The weakest track in the entire album.

This is followed by Rehman crooning 'Rehna Tu, Jaise Tu'...great lyrics on this one and great jazz beats remniscent of Jaane tu's Jazz Title track'Tu bole...main bolu'. However it sounds way too much like the earlier mentioned song, so that reduces its novelty factor.

Rehman then dishes up with the funkiest, craziest raggae title track. It’s complete metallic fun with a base of reggae that will make you want to visit Dilli right away! The music is trip hopping with some mad whacky guitar playing. 'Yeh Dilli hai mere yaar' rocks!

And then the last track 'Arziyan'. The Sufi side of Rehman yet again rises to the occasion. After the extremely enchanting Piya Haji Ali (Fiza) and Khwaja mere Khwaja (Jodha Akbar), Arziyan sees the return of the killer Tabla. The clapping, the soothing music and the brilliant voices of Javed Ali and Kailash Kher make this song an instant hit. A great end to an extraordinarily great album.

Rehman'a albums always have an underlying theme. If Rangeela was pure taporigiri, RDB was rebellious techno, Guru had the shaayrana feel, Jaane tu was youthful innocence, Saathiya the new-age romance, then Dili-6 will probably have an underlying theme of minimalism, this time experimenting with hitherto untried music forms of pure classical nd reggae. Way to go Rehman! Clearly the album scores big-time!!!

Play it again, Sam!

Well, as many of u know, I am a complete movie-buff, to the extent that i keep on collecting quotes from movies I love. Compiling here some quotes from my all-time favourite Hollywood movies. If anybody has anything to add, will be happy to pile them along:)

1. Forrest Gump:
Jenny Curran: "Do you ever dream, Forrest, about who you're gonna be?"
Forrest Gump: "Who I'm gonna be?"
Jenny Curran: "Yeah"
Forrest Gump: "Aren't, aren't I going to be me?"

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Principal:"Your boy's... different, Miz Gump. His IQ's 75."
Mrs. Gump: "Well, we're all different, Mr. Hancock."

2. Casablanca:
Ilsa: "But what about us?"
Rick: "We'll always have Paris. We didn't have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night."
Ilsa: "When I said I would never leave you?"
Rick: "And you never will"

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Rick: “Of all the gin joints in the town, she walks into mine”

3. The Bridge on the River Kwai:
Col. Nicholson: "One day the war will be over. And I hope that the people that use this bridge in years to come will remember how it was built and who built it. Not a gang of slaves, but soldiers, British soldiers, Clipton, even in captivity."

4. The Scent of a Woman:
Lt. Col. Slade: "Oh, uh, Charlie- about your little problem- there are two kinds of people in this world: those who stand up & face the music, and those who run for cover. Cover is better."

5. The Road to Peridition:
"There are only murderers in this room, Michael! Open your eyes! This is the life we choose, the life we lead. And there is only one guarantee: none of us will see heaven."

6. The Sound of Music:
The Baroness: "You're far away. Where are you?"
Captain von Trapp: "In a world that's disappearing, I'm afraid."

7.Gone with the Wind:
Capt. Rhett Butler: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn”

8. Top Gun:
Maverick:“I feel the need. The need of Speed”

9. A Few Good Men:
Col. Nathan R. Jessep: "Son, we live in a world that has walls and those walls need to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and curse the Marines; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives and that, my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives ."

And yeah, Can this list be complete without this movie?

10. The Godfather:
Micheal: "My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator"
Kay Adams: "Do you know how naive you sound, Michael? Presidents and senators don't have men killed."
Micheal: "Oh. Who's being naive, Kay?"

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Don Corleone: "I have made him an offer he can't refuse."

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Don Corleone: "I never wanted this for you. I work my whole life - I don't apologize - to take care of my family, and I refused to be a fool, dancing on the string held by all those bigshots. I don't apologize - that's my life - but I thought that, that when it was your time, that you would be the one to hold the string. Senator Corleone; Governor Corleone. Well, it wasn't enough time, Michael. It wasn't enough time."
Michael: "We'll get there, pop. We'll get there."