Ada… a way of life Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating
2008 has been a great year for Rahman fans. While the maestro works on one or at most two Bollywood projects every year, 2008 has already seen the arrival of Jodhaa Akbar, Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Naa and now Ada...A Way Of Life.
However, not many are aware that the music of Ada...A Way Of Life was actually composed for a different project immediately after Rahman was through with Lagaan. Though the project never saw the light of the day, director Tanvir Ahmed came up with a new subject and launched Ada...A Way Of Life while retaining the same soundtrack that has lyrics by Raqueeb Alam and Nusrat Badr.
Rashid Ali - Now does the name ring the bell? Well, if you have been singing 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Zindagi' [Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Naa] then you know that who is the man behind the brilliant rendition. In Ada…, Rashid opens the album with 'Ishq Ada', which comes with a trademark Rahman sound that has a Middle East feel to it.
Moving at a moderate pace with a slight haunting feel to it, the number hails the beauty of 'Ishq', as penned by Raqueeb Alam. Surprisingly though, Rashid sounds quite different from 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Zindagi' which by the way would still stay on to be the preferred choice. There is another version of 'Ishq Ada' heard a little later in the day and this time around it has newcomer Parul Mishra at the helm of affairs. She is fine with her rendition in this song, which does have shades of Rahman's 'Tu Hi Tu' [Dil Se].
Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik, a pair which one would like to hear any time around, come together for 'Hawa Sun Hawa' which turns out to be a very good hear within first minute of hearing itself. In fact one doesn't quite feel like hearing a Rahman composition since it carries the kind of sound which is now associated with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, especially after their score in Kal Ho Na Ho, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Salaam-E-Ishq. Coming back to Nusrat Badr written 'Hawa Sun Hawa', it is indeed a pleasant sounding melodious number, which goes well with the serene mood and environment, as required by the song.
The singing pair returns with Nusrat Badr written 'Gum Sum', which continues to take the graph higher up for Ada… This time around, Rahman attaches a lot of rhythm to the song, which carries an overall happy feel to it. By this time one starts looking at the composer in awe because of the timeless feel that his songs have managed to carry in Ada… so far. One wonders about the fresh feel of the song without looking dated even as the soundtrack was created 5-6 years back!
Sonu Nigam makes it three in a row with 'Gulfisha', which has all the making of a dance number with a lounge setting. In fact, the song does remind of 'Fanaa' [Yuva] that did have a faster pace to it but still carried a similar sound when one takes the club/lounge setting into consideration. In spite of Western arrangements, Indian melody is kept intact for this Sonu Nigam-Sunidhi Chauhan duet, which is written by Nusrat Badr and continues to grow further and further after repeated hearing.
As always, there is quite some excitement in store the moment Rahman himself decides to come behind the mike. A mushy love song set in an Indi-pop mode that has Rahman dominating the proceedings with just a couple odd instruments in the background, 'Meherbaan' is easily the best of the enterprise so far and deserves full marks for the way it has been composed, arranged, sung, and overall packaged. You would love to carry this Raqueeb Alam written track in your iPod while on a move as it does carry a feel similar to that of Rahman's non-film single - 'Pray For Me Brother'! No wonder, you don't mind it at all when Sanjeev Thomas' created instrumental is included as the last track of the album. A very good move since it results in the album ending on a very high note.
Now this song takes you in the times when Rahman had started making a mark in his early days. 'Tu Mera Hai', a love song, is a kind of composition, which Rahman used to create during the early 90's. With a South Indian classical music touch to it, this number crooned by Chitra and Sukhwinder Singh does carry a trademark Rahman feel it to but is mainly for those in hunt of some nostalgia.
For the first time in the album, Udit Narayan arrives on the scene with 'Hai Dard', a sad number written by Nusrat Badr. Arrangements belong to the kind which one can associate only with Rahman while the tune belongs to the era of the 50's/60's when Mohd. Rafi or Mukesh sung songs belonging to this genre. Of course, the number is quite difficult to sing but overall the feel is quite situational and one can expect some visibility for it only if the film is a success.
A love song about revisiting the old times, 'Milo Wahan Wahan' has a haunting feel to it due to its intrinsic sad setting. Rendered by Alka Yagnik and Jayachandran, it is again a situational number, which has an extremely slow pace with minimal instruments in the background.
While 'Hawa Sun Hawa', 'Gum Sum', 'Gulfisha' and 'Meherbaan turn out to be the best of the lot, 'Tu Mera Hai', 'Hai Dard' and 'Milo Wahan Wahan' do not match up to the same scale due to their setting. Meanwhile the title song 'Ishq Ada' falls somewhere in between. Though there isn't song in the album which can be considered below the mark, there is indeed a stark difference between the way Ada...A Way Of Life opens and ends.
