A.R. Rahman who has composed the first music album of the year - Jodhaa Akbar - has earned a lot of applaud from the audience as well as the music critics for his work. And, this is not new for the music maestro who had only recently given the widely acclaimed album of Abhishek starrer Guru, besides several other albums in the past. Though the movie has turned controversial because of its historical facts and its screening banned in several parts of India, the music album has had been a hit. The album with its lyrics by Javed Akhtar and the music by A.R.Rahman and songs sung by A.R. Rahman, Bela Shende, Mohammad Aslam, Bonnie Chakraborty, Javed Ali, Madhushree and Sonu Nigam is packed with two instrumental numbers and five tracks.
The album begins with the trumpets and the drums in 'Azeem O Shaan Shehenshah'. The lyric coming from none other than Javed Akhtar is fantastic and both Mohammad Aslam and Bonnie Chakraborty have not only sung it very well, but have excelled in doing their job. The lyric has been composed as a salute to the 16th century Mughal emperor Akbar The Great. Rahman has once again proved that what he composes is of a completely different genre, standard and caliber. So, there is none to match him in his arena. The voice rendered by both the singers--Mohammad Aslam and Bony Chakravarty ----- are just perfect for this score. And, A.R. Rahman is simply at his best with this song.
The next comes 'In lamhon ke daaman mein', a romantic piece rendered by Sonu Nigam and Madhushree. This will not be out of place to mention that an album having Javed Akhtar as a lyricist and A.R. Rahman as musician has to be an excellent collection.
Then comes another soft and romantic lyric 'Jashn e bahaare'. This is sung by Javed Ali, and is the fusion of Ali's vocals and string music. Besides, the same lyric is there as instrumental and on flute, too. Pure unadulterated music - a winner!
Rahman has marked his presence in areas other than compositions by singing 'Khwaja mere Khwaja'. His rendition of a qawwali coupled with the harmonium, tabla (percussion) and claps make for marvelous music. 'Khwaja mere Khwaja' (instrumental) is as good as the previous instrumental number. Thus, the music maestro proves again that there is hardly any other artist in the industry to match him in genre and caliber.
Towards the end comes the track 'Mann Mohana' rendered by Bela Shende. It is yet another soft track with tunes like that of a bhajan. It's is a situational track that might not be pleasing to all but even in this the blending of various instruments is just mind-blowing. This is an average number, though.
