Music Review | Begum Jaan | Anu Malik

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Vidya Balan returns in a powerful female-centric role in a movie that questions right to freedom even after being independent. Anu Malik returns back to compose this album after a successful stint with Dum Laga Ke Haisha. Asha Bhosle ji returns after so many years. I tried digging her last payback song in Bollywood prior to this but was unsuccessful. Let me know if you find it out. So with that being said, let's get started with this review.

Album Release Date: 6th April 2017

(Click on the song title to listen to it on Saavn)

Prem Mein Tohre
Singers: Asha Bhosle
Lyrics: Kausar Munir
At the age of 83, most people are just waiting to drag another day in their life; not Asha Bhosle ji. She actually personifies the first lines of the song - "Prem mein tohre aisi padi main, Purana zamana naya ho gaya". Anu Malik brings yet another Indian classical song for the masses after Moh Moh Ke Dhaage (Dum Laga Ke Haisha). Since this is a classical song from one of the raagas, most people don't get it that the same set of sequence of notes or for that matter the same tune will exist somewhere else too. Because of this misconception, people have tagged it as "copied" from Gore Gore Chand Se Mukh Par (Anita)

Aazaadiyan
Singers: Sonu Nigam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Lyrics: Kausar Munir
When you see the names of Sonu Nigam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in the same song, you expect it to be grandeur. I played this song with so much anticipation that as soon as I finish the first minute I was utterly disappointed. In a lot of places I was unable to distinguish between the voices of both the singers since both of them are singing on a high scale. Despite that, the music of the song has the right feel and lyrics are hard hitting as well.

O Re Kaharo
Singers: Altamash Faridi, Kalpana Patowary
Lyrics: Kausar Munir
Every song in this album is a classical song. This one starts off with amazing flute arrangement. Following which Kalpana Patowary weaves her magical voice for next six minutes. Kalpana Patowary is an Assamese folk singer who has also sung for a couple of Bollywood movies. Her most popular one being Gandi Baat (R... Rajkumar). Altamash Faridi provides backing vocals and moral support to Kalpana's singing. It's a heart wrenching and painful song. You won't be able to listen to it more than once. Hence, it won't feature in my favourites even though I liked this song a lot.

Holi Khelein
Singers: Shreya Ghoshal, Anmol Malik
Lyrics: Kausar Munir
This song as the title suggests, is a holi song. Shreya Ghoshal's singing gives the right amount of innocence to the song. Anmol Malik, daughter of Anu Malik, brings in the young and naughty emotions in the song. Despite being the only peppy song in the album, it is still very much a classical song.

Prem Mein Tohre (Reprise)
Singers: Kavita Seth
Lyrics: Kausar Munir
Oh my God! This song literally gave me eargasm. Kavita Seth's deep vocals are so soothing and satisfying. Even on the higher notes, her voice has the depth. The less I talk about this song the more time I get to listen to it. You should take my advice and listen to it too.

Murshida
Singers: Arijit Singh
Lyrics: Rahat Indori
So this is the bonus track that was released yesterday. I am almost sure, it was released for promotional purpose and will not be part of the movie since it doesn't fit in with the mood of the movie. The guitar strums that are present throughout the song are a bit overpowering Arijit's voice in the initial portion. It seemed as if Arijit Singh came in like a breeze for this song and went away before I realized it.

For years we've criticized Anu Malik for plagiarism but his songs have always been chartbusters and pleasing to listen to. From the dhinchak chartbusters he used to compose in the 90s and 2000s, he has mellowed to a more classical approach. His last album of Dum Laga Ke Haisha was widely popular with masses as well as classicalists. This album too relies heavily on it's classical base and it definitely complements the feel of the movie. So here are my favourites from the album:
Prem Mein Tohre
Holi Khelein
Prem Mein Tohre (Reprise)
That is all I have for this album now. I hope you found this review useful. If you did then feel free to share it. Let me know you favourite song of the album in the comments below. Until then, Ciao...!!

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Other Music Review:
Music Review | Baahubali - The Conclusion | M. M. Keeravani
Music Review | Phillauri | Jasleen Royal, Shashwat Sachdev

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