Play Things : AR Rahman

The top 10 greatest AR Rahman film soundtracks

Sidin Vadukut — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:04:00 GMT

Don't take our word for it.

It's what you, the readers of this blog, told us after enthusiastically participating in the poll mentioned in the last post. Many of you left comments and dozens of you polled. At the final count, we had exactly 200 votes when we decided to analyze results at around 10:30 AM this morning. We had asked you to choose from five films of our choosing (Rang De Basanti, Roja, Pudhiya Mugam, Delhi 6 and Lagaan) plus Slumdog Millionaire and let you add films of your own choosing. And you committed music fans added plenty: we had atleast one vote for a total of 25 films. (Opinions made in the comments section have not been taken into account. Not because we don't like your comments, we crave comments, but because we could be double counting people who commented and polled.)

Here in reverse order of votes won are the top 10 most popular ARR film soundtracks according to PlayThings readers:

Number 10: Thiruda Thiruda

A ARR-Mani Ratnam project from 1993 that did not do too well at the box office but won plenty of fans for its music. Every track was a hit including Veerapandi Kottayile, Konjam Nilavu and Rasathi. Little known fact about Thiruda Thiruda: the writing credits for this movie goes to a then little known writer and film maker Ram Gopal Varma. He went on to later make Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag and make me want to bludgeon myself to death with a remote control.

Number 9: Iruvar

Again a ARR-MR project, Iruvar was a controversial lightly veiled biopic of Tamil politician, film star and god-on-earth MG Ramachandran. No one will forget the Hello Mister song in the movie not just for the music itself but for the unveiling of a young, sexy Aishwarya Rai in her debut film. Cue goosebumps. And then some. (Also Mohanlal! Yay!)

Number 8: Alaipayuthe

Yes, this ARR-MR collaboration business is beginning to bore no? But whatay soundtrack this is. And the rare movie that matches Rahman's music with stunning visuals. One of my fave tracks from the album, Endendrum Punnagai, was originally not part of the album. (And if I remember right, was missing from the first batch of CDs and tapes.) But it was very popular and they brought it back into the official OST.

Number 7: Pudhiya Mugam

Collective high five everyone. I won't repeat everything I said before, but if you haven't had a chance to listen to music you really must. And try to ignore the damp squib Vishwavidaata remix.

Number 6: Delhi-6

For a while I was worried about Delhi-6. After the first 100 votes or so, there wasn't even one vote for this recent masterpiece. Thankfully it picked up steam later. A wonderfully varied and nuanced track if you ask me. That and Dev D will take time to be replaced in our iPods.

Number 5: Bombay

No surprises here. A critical and popular success in every language. Wikipedia adds these bits of trivia:

The track "Bombay Theme" from the soundtrack is an instrumental orchestral piece composed, arranged and conducted by A. R. Rahman. It was recently featured in the soundtrack and score of the Nicolas Cage film Lord of War, released in 2005. It has appeared on several compillation CDs since the film's release including on Volume 5 of the chill-out compilation Café del Mar, released in 1998. It also appeared on a French TV commercial for Volvic starring Zinedine Zidane in 2000. The soundtrack also found success in its dubbed versions.

Number 4: Lagaan

What did you say? A three hour musical about a cricket match? HELL YEAH! The L.A. Times spokes for us all when they said:

Ashutosh Gowariker's glorious "Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India" is to the Bollywood musical epic what Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was to the period martial arts action adventure: an affectionate homage to a popular genre that raises it to the level of an art film with fully drawn characters, a serious underlying theme and a sophisticated style and point of view.

Most crucially, its songs and dances are not mere interludes inserted in the action, bringing it to a halt--a Bollywood trademark--but are fully integrated into the plot and marked by expressive, dynamic singing and dancing that infuse a historical drama with energy and immediacy.

Number 3: Rang De Basanti

Did you know that Nelly Furtado was, at one point, lined up to perform on the album? And while the movie didn't repeat the Oscar nomination success of RDB, it did get a couple of tracks on to the long list. Super super album.

Number 2: Dil Se...

Notice how accurately we put three dots at the end of the title. This one was not on our list and was added on by enthusiasts. Weonderfully shot, beautifully supported music but a slightly underwhelming film. The opening song, that one on the train with Malaika Arora and SRK, ranked ninth on a BBC World Top Ten.

Which nicely brings us to the most highly rated AR Rahman motion picture soundtrack of all time... (drum roll... okay now a little flute... trumpets...)

Number 1: Roja

ARR's first ever movie soundtrack remains his most popular. Roja was easily the most favoured in our poll, picking up almost half of all votes polled. Which is remarkable for a movie album now going on 17 years. (My, haven't we all grown old.) Richard Corliss of Time magazine puts it nicely in his listing of the Top 100 soundtracks of all time:

Through this grim political parable, Rahman laced some spectacular melodies that not only serve the drama, they create their own[EM]as in the duet ballads "Yeh Haseen Vadiyan" and "Roja Jaaneman," which first are grounded in recitative, then suddenly ascend into celestial melody. This astonishing debut work parades Rahman's gift for alchemizing outside influences until they are totally Tamil, totally Rahman. He plays with reggae and jungle rhythms, fiddles with Broadway-style orchestrations, runs cool variations on Morricone's scores for Italian westerns.

Many thanks for everyone who read the post, commented and voted. Do tell us what you think of the results. And a colleague also asks me to hark out to all the Illayaraja fans out there. So what do you guys have to say about all this attention going out to your arch-nemesis? Vent fury I say!

P.s. The poll remains open indefinitely. Who knows? Maybe time will change those ratings.

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What is AR Rahman's greatest ever film soundtrack?

Sidin Vadukut — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:23:00 GMT

With all due credit to the Mozart of Madras (Chopin of Chennai?), Slumdog Millionaire is not the maestro's best work by some distance. Over the last 17 years and over 100 film soundtracks Rahman has produced several tracks that will be remembered long after Jai Ho and Oh Saya. From Roja in 1992, which remains one of his best, to Delhi-6 this year, which some think IS his best, Rahman's repertoire is so versatile that picking a best from the lot is a challenge.

My first experience with Rahman was when my maternal cousins from Sharjah (where else) came over one weekend and played the Bombay and Gentleman tapes non-stop back to back for 48 hours. In something that became rare for me with Rahman in the years hence, I took to Chikku Bukku and Antha Arabi Kadaloram almost immediately. By the end of that week the music was beginning to drive my dad nuts. He couldn't believe that the same guy who made Roja would make these songs with "all the screaming and table tennis balls".

Also released in the early 90s was Rahman's only work for a Malayalam movie, 1992's Yodha which had the immensely memorable Padakali song which became a fave drinking song in college later. (Any idea why he never went cross-border since then? Your guess is as good as mine.)

The first half of that decade saw Rahman produce music in quality and quantity. And it culminated in 1995 with Bombay and Rangeela, two albums that truly made him a national icon. (While Rajni purists will disagree, the Muthu soundtrack of that year was not too bad. The triumpant woodwind intro to Oruvan Oruvan still gives me goosebumps. Even if on screen Rajni would overtake a bus with a horse cart, as only he can.)

It is one of the non-Tamil speaking world's great losses that Mani Ratnam's Iruvar never made it big and that the music never got the audience that other Rahman crossovers did. Iruvar is a stunning, audacious album that went with an audacious film.

He won his second national award for music direction with Minsara Kanavu (Sapnay) in 1997 and then composed the superb soundtrack to Dil Se... in 1998.

I rank 1999 among the best years in ARR's career. Taal, Kadhalar Dinam, Sangamam and Taj Mahal shared the spotlight with a personal favourite Takshak. Rahman won his god-only-knows-how-many-th Tamil Nadu state award for Sangamam, a gritty, earthy album suffuse with folk style music.

Of all of Rahman's Tamil-only albums, 2000's Kandukondein Kandukondein has the most crossover appeal. I know several people who don't understand a word of the lyrics to the songs, who love the music. Including one of my editors.

Lagaan in 2001, Boys in 2003 and Yuva plus Swades in 2004 were all superb albums. Pardon me while I zip across to 2006 and Rang De Basanti, an album that won even Daler Mehndi critical acclaim. RDB, like Iruvar, is an album that is difficult to appreciate fully without the film it propels. Both were excellent albums but were also, let's say, director's albums.

Which brings us to 2007's Guru and 2008's Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Jodhaa Akbar, And Slumdog Millionaire. Peruse that list of three movies to get a sense of the man's variety. Cotton candy college music? Wokay! Spiritual Sufi number? Double Wokay! Triumphant closing anthem? I would like to thank the Academy!

And now we have Delhi-6. Over idly-sambar recently one of my editors mentioned that Rahman's work in Delhi-6 is almost a statement. A cocky statement that he could do whatever he wanted to, compose anything, any genre and get away with it. And boy does he get away with it. Genda Phool is on permanent loop in my head waiting to be replaced by Rahman's next super hit.

Finally, drum roll, what is my all time favourite Rahman album?

His 1993 Tamil track Pudhiya Mugam, which was remade in Hindi as Vishwavidaata in 1997, remains my personal fave. It is a soppy, sentimental album but still an uplifting one supported by superb lyrics by Vairamuthu. To me the album is faultless. And timeless.

But what is your favourite AR Rahman movie soundtrack of all time? Click on the poll below to tell us. And add your own movie name if you don't agree with my top 5 (Rang De Basanti, Roja, Pudhiya Mugam, Delhi 6 and Lagaan.) plus Slumdog Millionaire.

What is your favourite AR Rahman movie sound track?
( polls)

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