Yuvvraaj --- Music Review

One of the most awaited release of the year , Yuvvraaj , is all set to release and the music is out now . The album for me is of more interest since it is probably for the first time that we might get to listen to pure western classical compositions with an ARR (A. R. Rehman) touch and without any Indian elements . ARR's last album Jaane Tu.. was an instant hit among the youth and had nothing classical in it . This album's value increases more since ARR is teaming up with Gulzar again and the duo have done nothing less than wonders in the past . The album has a total of Nine songs with 8 originals and 1 remix which is a rarity these days . We often get more remixes than the originals . Sometimes we also get 3-4 version of the same track on the same album .This album at least breaks that trend and the originals outnumber the remixes by a huge difference .

The first track on the album is an Introduction track for the lead character "Yuvvraaj" in the film . It just has Salman Khan giving an intro along with Beethoven's Fifth Symphony . Salman's dialogue delivery isn't that good and his monotonous voice mismatches completely with the Beethoven Symphony . The symphony is full of dramatics and Salman's dialogues sound like he is talking to someone on a telephone , quite casual . He has not at all modulated his voice because he can't . The music no where matches his voice . This one is a track that would be combined along with the next track on the album which makes it sound even more out of the place . The singer on the next track doesn't sound like Salman at all . This thing that I am talking about would be more clear to you when you would listen to the two tracks one after the other .

The second track on the album "Tu Meri Dost hai" is a fabulous track and is already on air . Just listen to starting violin piece in the song and it shows us the brilliance of ARR. I could just listen to the starting piece for the whole day . It has been very well sung by all the singers and especially Benny Dayal who does a fine job . He sings very well but I think his voice won't suit Salman that much . This one is a musical love story and we have seen in the west how actors themselves first learn singing and sing their songs themselves in a musical . This makes it much more entertaining and they act even through their singing . Indian musicals make very less sense as we know throughout the film that he is a singer in the film but it is actually someone else who is singing which makes it a little less believable . In any case this track is a nice one which starts off in a magnificent way .What I didn't like was that it doesn't manage to maintain the quality with which it starts . It raises the bar in the starting and then lowers it a little by the end . Shreya and Rehman also do a great job as singers .

Next one is a Disco Track and after giving a super duper hit "Pappu Can't Dance" ARR doesn't manage to repeat the magic . This one neither has those catchy lyrics nor it has the groovy tune . I don't blame Gulzaar Sir for the lyrics since it is a little out of his style . Still , he had done a fabulous job in "Fana" of Yuva . I got seriously disappointed with ARR after listening to this track . This track feels completely out of the place .

The fourth song on the album "Tu Muskura" brings back the classical mood and is also on the slower and romantic side . This track also has inputs from "Tu meri Dost hain" in between . It would be picturized on Katrina since she is the only female lead in the film . It is a nice romantic song and has a nice tune . The tune is not as great as it was in "Tu meri dost" but still is good enough to hold the song . Alka Yagnik does a good job in singing and has been very well supported by Jaaved Ali . This one interestingly has Indian classical singing inputs in between by Jaaved which sound good .

The fifth track on the album is "Mastam Mastam" which sounds more like an African composition in the starting and reminded me of the songs from Walt Disney's - Lion King . A very new sounding song that would be interesting to watch in the film . It has a good tune backing all the wild music . The song has been very well sung by Sonu as usual and he is just fabulous in whatever he sings . The track abruptly changes its tune in the middle part which in a way surprised me but not in a positive way . The lyrics have nothing much to offer . Just listen to the singing style of the various singers and how much they enjoy the song while singing . It is more of a Singer's song and Sonu , Alka , Benny and Naresh all do a great job . Without their singing the song wouldn't have came out this good . It is a nice experimental track that I am sure would be visually much more exciting than audio wise . If you have seen Disney's "Enchanted" then I am sure you remember the musical song where everybody starts singing along with the lead couple and slowly slowly a large crowd starts singing and dancing with them . I am sure they would also try to attempt something like that in this song . In all , a song that would look great in the film if shot in the right way .

The next track on the album is "zindagi" which is a slow sad song and we have seen Hariharan sing such songs in ARR's previous albums . This one though has been sung by Srinivas and he also does a good job . The whole lyrics and tune are good but nothing extraordinary and not as good as "Tu Hi Re" of Bombay .A good track but such a track is not expected from ARR since he has given much better in the past .

The Seventh track on the album "Dil Ka Rishta" is something that Subhash Ghai has tried to repeat from Taal . This one might be climax song and would feature near to the end of the film . If you remember in Taal also the second symphonic version of "Ishq Bina" was used towards the end of the film during which the story kept moving . In a similar fashion even this song would have the story moving in the background along with all the emotions of a Love Story flowing in excess . This song is very long (7:39) and is also not that good to hold the audience for its entire length . On the contrary the second symphonic version on "Ishq Bina" in Taal was not only long but also had the potential to keep the audience entertained for its length . The singers do an average job and the music is also good in bits and pieces . Some of the pieces of music are so good that they could very well be used in background for the movie .
Overall , the song is a bit long and not entertaining enough .

The last original track on the album, "Manmohini" , is a modern version of Indian Classical Songs . The song has been very well sung by Vijay Prakash who has that Classical voice and the song completely suits him . This song is not as good as "Albela Sajan" of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam but isn't that bad also . A very short length track that has just some Classical renditions in it . A track that is a little different from the entire album .

Then in the end comes a remix of "Shano" which has been remixed well by Krishna Chetan but the English lyrics in it have nothing new in it and are the same old ones . This one is much smaller than the original which is nice thing since I found the original one much longer and repetitive .

Overall ,as a die hard Rehman fan this one disappointed a lot and is below the expectations . Only one track "Tu meri Dost hai" impresses and all other tracks are an average affair and are expected as it is an ARR album . Much below by the ARR standards and I expected a lot from this one since it had ARR and Gulzar both along with Subhash Ghai . It looks like history didn't repeat itself after Taal and this album stands no where as compared to that one . The whole western classical that I was expecting was also given in small doses that also adulterated with other kinds of music .The lyrics by Gulzar Sir were also not that good as compared to his other works . You can buy the album and listen it once but don't expect a "Taal" or something like that out of it .

Album Rating : Three out of Five Stars ; "Tu Meri.." and "Mastam" being good and rest being quite average stuff according to Rehman's standards.