Trust someone like Anurag Kashyap to come up with a film based on the subject of smoking. The subject seems so far removed from the world of music and poetry. But the combination of Vishal Bharadwaj and Gulzar manages to surmount any such barriers that there may be and give us an album which has some truly innovative writing and some unconventional music. No Smoking is produced by Kumar Mangat and Vishal Bharadwaj, who came together before as well with Omkara.
The album opens with Adnan Sami rendering a number called Jab Bhi Cigarette. It serves well as a title song as well, content wise, that is. The number appears twice in the album. The other version is rendered by Sunidhi Chauhan. The first version has a slight jazz feel to it and Adnan Sami's rendition does full justice to it. The second version by Sunidhi has a totally different mood and feel to it. Sunidhi manages to break the effect of the first version with her sensual rendering of Jab Bhi Cigarette. This song as sung by her seems so apt for a nightclub. The lyrics are unconventional to say the least and need to be heard to believe.
Rekha Bharadwaj makes her entry in the album with a number called Phoonk De. This is not as raunchy as her famous Namak Issk Ka number from Omkara but retains the rustic feel. It is perhaps one of the catchiest songs of the album and should fast become a favourite. Rekha's voice, her throw are marvelous and she pitches the song perfectly. Sukhwinder Singh sings another version of the song, where the lyrics are slightly different. It is punctuated by a female voiceover, detailing the ill-effects of smoking. Quite amazing the manner in which Gulzar has penned the lyrics. Sukhwinder is a great singer and he does full justice to the number.
But the singer really comes into his element with the next number called Kash Laga where he is accompanied by Daler Mehndi and Vishal Bhardwaj himself. This song too goes on about the effects of smoking. The song has a Sufi touch to it and Sukhwinder really excels in bringing across the feeling with his marvelous voice and style. It may not have the instant appeal of a Phoonk De, but this one is really one of the smaller gems in this album.
Ash Tray—sounds quite bizarre, I know—but that is the name of the song. This number is sung by Deva Sen Gupta. The mood is a departure from the earlier tracks in the album. This is somewhat more somber and serious, and the rendition echoes this feeling. The lyrics of the song talk about the overflowing ash tray and one can only imagine that someone like the venerable Gulzarsaab could bring out the poetry in the situation. This song is more situational than any other and its true effect can only be felt along with the film.
This album does not cease to amaze one. One is overawed by the sheer audacity of the director Kashyap, lyric writer Gulzar and composer Bahardwaj. It is a daring feat that they have accomplished in taking a theme like no smoking and making a film out of it. If that is not enough, we have songs revolving around the same theme, songs which deep melodic content, and have been written with much thoughtful imagination. Hats off to all three of them for their attempt.
Besides the sheer audacity of the feat, one has to also give the album credit for scoring high musically as well. There may be few chartbusters in this album – maybe only Jab Bhi Cigarette and Phoonk De—but it is definitely worth a listen. It has atmosphere, it has feeling, and very Gulzareque poetry. There is no other word for this kind of a genre of lyric writing. It is something which only Gulzar can do, and do so well.
