This film has already won a number of awards, and many for its music as well. From that statement alone you could infer a number of things. Either the soundtrack is so amazing or it is based on classical composition and is featured on compositions, which bring out the best of 'classicalism'. “Bawandar”, if you aren’t aware already, falls in the second category and while not a masterpiece as the movie has been acclaimed (the film released in several portions of India and has been featured in many film festivals with much acclaim as well), the soundtrack is one that transports you to India on the first note, and for once, keeps you there throughout the soundtrack. Yes folks, for once, this one doesn’t have a single track that is aimed at pleasing the masses as past films in its nature have had, Godmother, Daman, etc. The Rajasthan beats and flavor are all over this soundtrack from the four versions of Ab To Jagya Na Hoga to Kesaria Balam and together these two accredited music composers, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Daan Singh have come up with an indeed fruitful soundtrack that is a must for anyone who would like a taste of their homeland which with recent commercial soundtracks may have been completely washed out. As one may have expected, the lyrics courtesy Dr. Hariram Acharya, who himself has an expertise in Rajasthan are as meaningful and enjoyable as the tunes. To add to this credit, this female oriented film has only one song with male vocals, one single song and that too, is drowned out by classical queen Sapna Awasthi’s strong vocals. The consensus of the female chorus and the four main female vocal leads defines “folk music” in Saathin, Saathin- part 2, Jagni Hi Hoga and Jagya Sarsi. Saathin, is the name of the group for which the protagonist in the film, Sanwari (Nandita) worked. That title is just a cover title for what is going to be an on screen version of the other versions of Jagni Hi Hoga. Together, Deepti Naval, a less known name amongst Sonali Vajpayee, Mahalaxmi Iyer (All A.R. Rahman favorites) and Nandita Das use their unique (strong would be a poor choice of word since both Sonali and Mahalaxmi are brought to life with the help of their background) vocals to provide versatility and life into the celebration next door tune. Of the female leads the one that attracts me the most has to be Nandita’s. There is a certain rawness in her voice that makes it quite attractive and makes it feel like it’s your own Sunday morning tunes you’re listening too. Ghaghario is your modern day folk tune whose musical intervals are the only distinguishing effects. Sapna Awasthi’s singing is on par with most of her tunes, but her aptitude gets a little high and detracts from the overall pleasure of the track. There is still some type of balance between the music and her singing that make it click. The dholak is also used so effectively as always here. The same Rajasthan backdrop is found in “Aayo Holi”, which features the solo male vocal, Ram Shankar. As one can figure out from the title itself, that song is your run of the mill Holi Dhamaka song. The drums play an essential part alongside the shehnaii in Har Aayo, which is aptly sub-titled Child Marriage as the shehnaii supports the theme. Once again the chorus provides the “soul” to the song with the singing courtesy Parmeshwari provides for some over lining sounds to the chorus. Judging by its theme however, this song may not be the one you stick in the CD player come shaadi celebration time. Overall the result is positive and just adds to the classical feel of the soundtrack. Rita Ganguly sings “Kesaria Balam”, (and a shorter sad version for that matter) probably one of the best tracks in the soundtrack, a classical song in all its best. The sitar, the evenly paced use of the dholak and the accurate vocal range that blends with the music clearly shows us that everyone knows what they are doing. I happen to be a sincere fan of these ghazal-ish tunes especially when they sound as scintillating as this one. Slightly depressing, but perfect nonetheless. Ending it all off is “Paangath, Paani Hari” which has a familiar yet distinct bhajan feel to it. A little on the slow side, Richa Sharma is quite convincingly depicting the sad tale in front of her as the shehnaii continuously plays. The musical pieces, especially the use of the dholak and sitar are once again music to the ears. You may find a fancy to the way the dholak ends of each line seconds before the shehnaii begin. Sharma does an excellent job again and it just makes one wonder why our regular music directors only give her the bar numbers to sing. It’s been a while since we’ve had a truly sincere product like this. An excellent combination of truly traditional music, a combination of original and raw vocals that sing like perhaps any young women you or I may know. To add to that, there are no youthful situational songs (Something I found that Vishal ruined the soundtrack of Godmother with), no fast numbers to attract the crowd, this is simply sweet, melodious, classical music that will take you to India and have you pass through a variety of emotions, feelings and enjoyable sounds in all of the fifty minutes that the soundtrack lasts for. |
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