Fresh from worldwide tour of film festivals, Onir’s (My Brother Nikhil and Bas Ek Pal) I Am is all set to hit commercial cinema screens. Financed by donations from more than 400 different people around the globe, I Am is a collection of 4 short films, namely Omar Afia, Abhimanyu, and Megha, each inspired by true experiences.
Music for I Am has been composed Amit Trivedi (Aisha and Dev D), newcomer Rajiv Bhalla and Vivek Phillip (My Brother Nikhil) while the lyrics have been penned by Amitabh Varma and Amitabh Bhattacharya. The album consists of 9 tracks and features the talents of Kavitha Seth (‘Iktara’ – Wake Up Sid), KK (‘Khuda Jaane’ – Bachna Ae Haseeno), Rekha Bhardwaj (‘Darling’ – 7 Khoon Maaf), Mohan (‘Khanabadosh’ – London Dreams), Mame Khan (‘Aitbaar’ – No One Killed Jessica) and Karthik (‘Behka’ – Ghajini).
I Am stars Rahul Bose, Juhi Chawla, Nandita Das, Purab Kholi, Manisha Koirala, Arjun Mathur and Sanjay Suri. It hits cinema screen 29 April 2011.
The album commences with Baangur, a contemporary sufi of sorts sung by Mame Khan and Kavita Seth. Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics of about imprisonment and prayers of freedom are sad and beautiful at the same time. Musically, the track’s brilliant with an array of instruments ranging from a veena to a mandolin. The mandolin portion of the song is definitely the crowning glory of ‘Baangur’. ‘Baangur’ has also been remixed by DJ Suketu with features Pavan which as good as the original if not better.
Next is KK’s Issi Baat Pe, another fantastic Trivedi composition with a brilliant amalgamation of veena, violins and guitars. The song is superbly rendered by KK who does justice to Amitabh Bhattacharya optimistic words. DJ Lloyd and Discreet have created a short remix ‘Issi Baat Pe’ which ever so slightly increases the tempo and infuses just the right alternative sounds, for instance the fantastic piano/keyboard section of the track. Again, the remix is as good as the original if not better.
KK is renders the next track Bhojal, haunting and beautiful number composed by Rajiv Bhalla and written by Amitabh Varma. It is sung amazingly well by KK. Rajiv and Amitabh have created a frighteningly sad albeit beautiful number and KK’s vocals emphasis’s their tone. Rajiv Bhalla has also composed a remixed version of ‘Bhojal’ with features Paroma Das Gupta that may not be as haunting as the original but provides a nice alternative to the original.
Aankhein is up next, a romantic track sung extremely well by Karthik. Vivek Phillip has composed a melodious contemporary love sound with ‘Aankhein’, which is easy on the ears. Amitabh Varma ensures that ‘Aankhein’ is not just a run-of-the-mill eye-fetish song by penning beautiful lyrics.
‘Aankhein’ is followed by Saye Saye, a tragic yet fantastic song rendered by Mohan and Rekha Bhardwaj which is superbly penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya. It is another amazing Trivedi creation. His choice of instrumentals and the fusion they create is astounding.
The album ends with Wundoo Yeredoo, a track written, composed and sung by Rajiv Bhalla with backup vocals by Mrudula Picardo. It is essentially a club number with what sounds like Punjabi and English lyrics amongst others. It is not lyrically potent like the album’s other tracks but the music is pretty upbeat in an off-beat kind of way which makes a catchy and likable number,
In summary, I Am’s music is definitely paisa vasool and a must have for all music enthusiasts. It is lyrically and musically brilliant and unlike other albums the remixes it features are actually listenable. Amit, Rajiv and Vivek have to be commended on their fantastic creations. Whatever you do, do not give this one a miss.
