The promos
of Barfi got me really curious because the visuals had a distinctly French
Cinema feel to them and so did the art design. I wondered how Anurag Basu (of
all people) could conceive a film that looks very European. When the music
released, I did not really take keen attention because the composer was Pritam
– a composer about whom I didn’t not have a very great opinion, given the
number of songs he is known for copying. One of the most baffling mysteries for
me has been “Did Pritam really compose the classical-dance based ‘Mere Dholna’
in the film ‘Bhool Bhulaiyya’? If yes, how the hell did he pull it off?” But my
first listening of Barfi album made me really sit up and take notice. The tunes
and arrangements were unusually retro and that too, more in the style of blues
and country music rather from Old Hindi Film Music. When I heard the album the
2nd time, I knew that
this is one surprise cracker and I had to pen my thoughts about the album.
Barfi
& Ala Barfi – There are
two versions of this song – one by Mohit Chauhan and one by Swanand Kirkire. It
is difficult to pick the best version. The song is a throwback at funny songs
of Kishore Kumar. The tune and the vocal expressions completely go into Kishore
territory of comically-conversational tone while the arrangements are largely
in the country music genre, with guitars, accordion etc. The lyrics aptly fit
the lyrics, complementing with funny lines in equal measure (Munna mute hi
aansoo bahaye!).
Main Kya
Karoon – Pritam
chooses country blues with simple guitar strumming and a lilting conversational
tune with Acapella harmonies. The vocals, by Nikhil George, with intentional
croacking to bring in the cutesy feeling, are somehow suited to the kind of the
tune and the lyrics that this song is laced with. Wonderfully composed
interludes, replete with Irish violin, render the European touch to the song.
The song has only 1 stanza but doesn’t feel short – probably because of its
nice melody and great arrangements.
Kyon – Pritam goes retro again, this time into the
Frank Sinatra mode. The swinging rhythm and hummable melody, with right vocals
paint the playful mood evoked by the lyrics. This is one of those songs where
everything is just about right. Right choice of singers (Papon, Sunidhi Chauhan
, adequate arrangements, melody and simple lyrics. The way the strings section
soars in the interludes, with bells – its Pritam’s ‘coming of age’ moment in
exuding what is called as ‘class’, atleast in my perception. Oh yes, this song
“might” resemble many country blues songs of the yore, but as I cannot locate
any one definite song that seems like an original source, I’d like to give it
to Pritam for crafting a wonderful composition in that genre.
Phir Le
Aaya Dil – There are
two versions of this composition, which I’d rank as the best of the album. One
by Rekha Bharadwaj and one by Arijit Singh. While Rekha’s version is more
like an unplugged version (with only guitars and minimal percussive elements),
Arijit’s version does have some good elaborate arrangements. The composition is
more like a “Shankar Mahadevan meets Ghulam Ali” mould where the melody is very
Ghazal oriented and rendition somewhere reminds me of Shankar’s style. The
Piano interlude in Arijit’s version is very Rahmanish in treatment while lyrics
by Swanand are top notch. This is perhaps one of the finest compositions of
Pritam. And to be fair, both Arijit and Rekha did a great job in rendition.
Aashiyaan – sung by Nikhil George and Shreya Ghoshal, this
song is strongly reminiscent of C.Ramchandra’s “Gore Gore” (which itself was
copied from a western song). That said, this song does hold onto its own in
terms of melody and instrumentation. Though Pritam is notorious for lifts, I am
inclined to believe (going by the overall output in Barfi) that he only took
C.Ramchandra’s song as reference Pritam took this song as reference (similarities exist) and developed this composition with his own
ideas, adding a new colour and dimension to the melody thereby changing the
original substantially. Very playful in tune with well-conceived arrangements
having accordion, violin, string section etc., this one is as lilting as Kyon.
Saawli si
raat – Arijit
Singh’s deliberate flattened vocals could be a dampener slightly but the melody
largely follows a nursery rhymish format (kiddish) – probably apt for the
situation in the film. But Pritam pulls it off impressively with minimal
arrangements (guitar) that slowly evolve into slightly denser with string
arrangements and tabla. Simplicity is the key to this song.
I read that Pritam usually
reserves his best for director Anurag Basu. I have liked only one song from one
of their previous collaborations – “In Dinon” from Metro. But I
seriously did not expect that their collaboration could be this good. Barfi is by far Pritam’s best
album in his repertoire and perhaps his most innovative one. Probably saying so doesn’t hold much
water because I hardly listened to his work but from the ones I have heard so
far, this is the album about which Pritam must be feeling proud and he should
be. With absolutely hummable melodies, soaked in country-ballad arrangements
with very great support from vocalists as well as the lyricist, Barfi is a cut
different from the music we have been listening to off-late, because of the
unpretentious simplicity it exudes. A fantastic bouquet without a single thorn,
Barfi will probably stand the test of time, unlike the pyar ki pungis and other
stuff Pritam usually creates. I hope Pritam treats this as a new beginning.