Abbas Tyrewala makes his directorial debut with Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, a film which seems to be about, and for the youth. The music of the film has been composed by the musical genius AR Rahman, while Tyrewala has written the lyrics himself, and true to his style, there seems to be an entirely new syntax that he seems to discover with his lyrics. Rahman obliges suitably, with a very different kind of soundtrack, different, at least to the kind that he is generally known for. Both manage their breakaways from the traditional, without straying too far from the familiar. The resulting album is a mix of sounds and words which are contemporary, young and fresh. The album of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na has a total of seven songs, with one of them reappearing in a remixed version as well. The voices are young and fresh for the most part, going well with the cast of the film, also young and fresh.
The album opens with the peppy 'Kabhie Kabhie Aditi' sung by Rashid Ali. The tone of the song may be peppy but its lyrics actually talk of profound emotions, like love, loss and the philosophy of living life with a smile. 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi/Zindagi main yun hi/koi apna lagta hai/who bichchad jaye to/ek sapna lagta hai. Rashid sings the song with a flair that seems to belie his age. There is a certain ease with which the song has been rendered, the style, which is really catchy. This is a number which is bound to do extremely well.
'Pappu Can't Dance', the second number in album is akin to the ubiquitous 'tapori' song, which was mandatory in Hindi films at a certain time. Sung by Benny Dayal, Naresh Iyer, Satish Chakravarthy, Aslam, Blaze, Tanvi and Bhargavi, the number is all about fun and masti. The band of young voices does a very good job indeed in bringing out the mood of the song without going overboard. More than anything, the song truly exhibits the versatility of Rahman. This number appears again in the album, in a remixed version and packs the same punch as it did in the orginal.
The third number of the album, 'Jaane Tu Mera Kya Hai', appears twice in the album, once in the female version sung by Runa, and then the male version by Sukhwinder. Of course, the lyrics of the two differ slightly. In both its versions, this song literally throbs with emotion. Coming to female version first, the accompanying music is subtle and plays out like a throbbing undercurrent running through the entire song. Runa gives a low key, emotionally charged rendition of the song. The female version seems to have more angst than the male version. Sukhwinder gives a masterly rendition as well. But it's Runa's version which truly stands out. This song definitely ranks among the best in the album along with the title track and 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi.'
'Nazrein Milana Nazrein Churana,'sung by Benny Dayal, Satish Chakravathy, Sayonara, Darshana, Svetha, Bhargavi and Anupama is another fun song and has been rendered very well. 'Tu Bole Main Boloon, sung by Rahman himself is the song of the album. The song has the feel of an old fashioned jazz number. Rahman's creates a perfect ambience for this romantic number with the small flourishes with the piano, the trumpet and the jazz drums. The lyrics of the song lend themselves easily to this kind of a lazy, romantic rendering 'Tu Bole Glass Adha Khali/Main Boloon Adha Bhara/ Main Boloon Kitna Saara/Tu Bole Zara Zara.' This song is definitely the best in the album and one cannot imagine anyone else but Rahman singing it.
Rashid Ali and Vasundhara Das's 'Kahin To' is a simply written and composed song, rendered in a simple manner by the singers. And it is this simplicity, which is its hallmark of the number. The song has few flamboyant flourishes and is rendered very touchingly by Rashid with Vasundhara providing him good support. The number is touching specially the part where it goes 'Jaane Na Kahan Woh Duniya Hai/ Jaane Na Woh Hai Bhi Ya Nahin/Jahaan Meri Zindagi Mujhse Itni Khafaa Nahin.' This is one of those numbers where the lyrics, the music and the rendition are in perfect harmony.
The music of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na has all the elements in it. It is young, peppy, speaks the language of the youth, and most importantly, speaks the language of love in contemporary times. Full credit to Rahman and Tyrewala for their brilliant collaboration in this album.
