Usually it takes composers some time to make a mark for themselves however Amit Trivedi is one unique composer who has gained quite a bit of recognition in a rather short span of time. In just a matter of 2 years the composer has become one of the most sought after names in the Hindi music industry and continues to outshine his colleagues. With the success of Dev D and Iktara in Wake Up Sid audiences have started to expect quite a lot from this young composer who has a definite distinct style in his work. With Udaan he reunites with the Dev D team namely, producer Anurag Kashyap and director Vikramaditya Motwane, who after writing for the critically acclaimed Dev D now takes the plunge as a director with Udaan. The film has been making headlines all over with its much talked about premieres at the 2010 Festival De Cannes. Now the film is finally ready to hit screens worldwide and as anticipated D-day for Amit Trivedi has arrived. Does the composer deliver the same magic as his earlier albums? Read on to find out.
Joi Barua (Ek Hulchul – Dev D) and Neuman Pinto(Taali – Veer) open the album with a very soothing and uplifting number endorsing lyrics that couldn’t have been more perfect for an opening track. Kahaani is a soft rock piece with acoustics in abundances and features Trivedi’s classic ability to create a great fusion number. The track starts off in a very ‘peaceful’ manner you could say and climaxes with a rock styled chorus. Beauty of this track is that its only three and a half minutes long which means that there is no constant repetition to bore you but rather you continuously have something new to experience as the track progresses. Joi and Neuman are an absolute delight to the ears. This one touches your heart!
Geet comes up next on the CD and impresses even more than the opening track. The track boasts of the talents of Amitabh Bhattacharya and Amit Trivedi and is heavily influence by the classic-Western-country style. This one is another fantastically written number by Amitabh Bhattacharaya with lyrics that speak about seizing the day and taking control. It inspires you to not sit and want those ‘it’ moments in life but rather seize it and demand it. Thanks to songs like these we’re reassured that there exist some creative lyricists out there who bring sensibility to songs. Geet is another track that adds to the ‘pluses’ of this album. This one is another absolute not-to-be-missed number.
Amit Trivedi returns again with Joi Barua and Neuman Pinto in the title track ‘Udaan’. This one is another track heavily influenced by the Western-country-music with a dash of old style rock’n’roll and tinge of electric guitars and drums giving it a new age rock feel as well. Once again Trivedi’s talent to fuse together genres from far and wide comes handy in creating a brilliant track. Trivedi also endorses the trend of bringing together various vocals and blending them beautifully together giving the track multiple layers. Amitabh once again delivers with brilliantly crafted inspiration lyrics that inspire you to move forward and embrace change.
Naav comes in next and sadly doesn’t live up to the mark left by its predecessors. Trivedi tries to create a fusion with rock music and classical Indian vocals however the end product isn’t as successful as perhaps what he imagined. The music tends to overpower Mohan’s vocals at times and at times it seems as if he’s trying hard to be heard over the music by increasing his volume. Bhattacharya’ lyrics becomes hard to appreciate amidst the fusion-gone-wrong composition and loudness of the vocal.
However when the next track Motumaster starts you really start to not mind Naav as much as you did minutes earlier. This one boasts of Trivedi’s radical take on music and unlike his Emotional Atyachaar (which despite being quite an ‘out-there’ concept proved to be a hit) it doesn’t have the same charm. The lyrics aren’t as quirky and attention grabbing as Emotional Atyachaar and the vocals by the various artists is just noise to the ears! What’s worse is that unlike the better tracks of the album this one goes for five long and excruciating minutes. No doubt most listeners will reach for the ‘next’ button seconds into this track.
When the gang of Azaadiyaan comprising of Amit Trivedi, Neuman Pinto, Nikhil D’Souza & Amitabh Bhattacharya come in after Motumaster you literally want to get up and hug them for saving you from the horror that was the previous track! Thankfully Trivedi starts to wind down the album with his better tracks giving you a chance to remember the album as positive experience. The vocals of this track with the blend of all four singers is simply outstanding! It keeps in the trend of uplifting numbers, in terms of lyric, from Bhattacharya and has music that simple gives you goose bumps, in particular the chorus. Trivedi brings in sitars, acoustics, electric guitars, drums and so many more instruments that perhaps you and I will never be able to point out. Mixing-in of the opening number, Kaahani, takes the track a whole new level and truly sums up the story the album was trying to tell all along.
The album comes to a beautiful conclusion with the Theme track that is simply outstanding. Power of instrumentals is always undermined in the Hindi music industry however it’s the one moment in which the composer is able to truly shine without the help of the lyricist or the vocalists, and boy does Trivedi shine in this one! A truly remarkable piece.
On the whole, Udaan remains to be an uplifting experience both literally (thanks to Bhattacharya’ lyrics) and figuratively speaking. The two tracks in Udaan that don’t make the cut tend to get overshadowed by the five others that do because not only are those five impressive but rather flawless. Trivedi proves again that he’s one of the best we have. The album beautifully sums of the story and the ultimate message of the film giving listeners further incentive to check out this much talked about film this July the 16th.
