With the recent discussions on Raavan, Blue and JHS at ARRYG, it’s only fair that I express my feelings about JHS.
2010 was a big year for Rahman Ji as he had a whopping number of 11 releases. (VTV, YMC, Raavan (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu), Puli, Endhiran (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu), JHS and 127 Hours) It was a treat for all fans, ask me personally and I would say Puli was my favourite album of that year and don’t think my views will ever change. But we’ll save that discussion for another day. Oh and BTW my fav song of the year was, Puthiya Manidha.
I’ll summarise my fav songs from each respective album before discussing JHS.
- Puthiya Manidha
- Namakame
- Anbil Avan
- Cry Cry
- Thok De Killi
- Touch Of The Sun
Imagine the above as an OST, WOW!
As an album VTV comes second and then JHS third.
Cry Cry
At that time, I was still trying to come out of Puthiya Manidha and before I knew it, the promos of Cry Cry were on air. I was immediately hooked on to Cry Cry, it’s melody *apologies in advance* had a subtle Harris Jayaraj hangover but the instrumentation particularly the drums (reminiscent of Gopala Gopala) was a complete vintage Rahman Ji fest. The beat definitely transported me to the glorious days of Om Kari, Kathazhankattu, Kulichaa Kuthaalam, Nee kattum, Vaanil, Senthamizh Naattu, etc. However, the interludes displayed a pleasant contrast with an urban Western sound weaving in and out smoothly. The first interlude can be summed up as the best interlude of the year. I extracted the interlude so that I could hear it repeat on end. (My alarm until Tango for Taj) The way Rahman Ji merges hardcore nostalgia with WCM has never been to this extent depicted so beautifully. The lyrics, displaying a similar message to Tyrewala’s own Kabhi Kabhi Aditi have the occasional Gujarati twang. Rashid is in towering form, while Shreya mam does her bit adequately.
Pam Pa Ra
When I heard this in promo, to say I was bowled over would be an understatement. I didn’t even finish the promo. The Celtic vibe in this carnival number made forget everything I was doing at that moment and I decided to make Celtic Violin beat. Prior to this I had never been as inspired after listening to a few notes of any song. Need I say more? Of course, I do. How can I leave talking about this number without mentioning Sivamani Ji.
Maiya Yashoda
When I saw this title in the song list, I seriously was expecting a bhajan or lullaby but coming back to the notion “Always expect the unexpected” this song completely took me by surprise. It bears no resemblance to any of the previous stuff by Rahman Ji. It’s one of the family orientated songs that is tailor made for a YRF film. It might sound easy on the ears but by no means is it easy to sing along to. On the surface, it is one of the simplest songs to be released out of Rahman Ji’s repertoire but once you start digging, the complexities are unlimited. The Thames mix goes one step further, when you listen nearing the end, you’ll understand what I’m trying to get at. It’s a Javed Ali and Chinmayi show all the way and as usual Asad Khan shines.
Do Nishaaniyan
If you thought the above song had a YRF stamp, think again. Rahman Ji evolves his Do Kadam composition from Meenaxi. At that time there were reports circulating the media that Sonu Nigam wasn’t on terms with Rahman Ji, I’d like to think all that was rubbish as this song defies that rumour vehemently. Until this song I was nodding my head freely to the happy go lucky nature of the above songs. The heartbreak reprise version made me jerk a tear but simultaneously pull a joyous smile. A song that can’t be explained in mere words. Oh yeah, it has Fiqrana guitar effects thrown in.
Hello Hello
“Mujhe chod do, Mujhe tham lo, Kho jaane do, Mera naam lo, Sab theek hai, Ho jayaga, Iss jhoot se ab kam lo” What follows is an interlude of random phone rings/effects. A complete revelation by Rahman Ji. “Mujh se zara baatein karo, Halke zara raatein karo, Suraj ki pehli kiranon se, Meri zindagi ko bharon” What follows is one of Rahman Ji’s all time orchestral highs. If you listen carefully, Hentry Kuruvilla (sounds ditto to Naresh Iyer) aptly supports Karthik in the former verse above . I have to confess, Karthik leaves a bigger impact than Rahman Ji in this song.
Why I’ve summed up this song by two verses is because I always skip a heartbeat, get shivers/goosebumps when I hear these portions.
I’ve Been Waiting
When I first heard this album, it was difficult for me decide my favourite song. If I remember correctly, everybody at TFM were favouring Do NIshaaniyan. After a few repeated hearings of the album, the first song to penetrate me was this one. Props to Tyrewala, Vijay Yesudas for keeping this Jazz number Indian to the core. If I was Rahman Ji, this song would be one of the proudest moments of my career. I know I’ve written Cry Cry is my pick of the album above, but this song comes very close and it’s almost on par. I just want to close my eyes, hear this song and forget about the world!
Call Me Dill
Keeping to the theme of phones, the last call is for dil. It certainly reached my dil. This acoustic number is again different to Rahman Ji’s usual songs and it doesn’t disappoint one bit. I heard this for the first time when Rahman Ji was a judge at Saregamapa. Like everybody else, I too want a Rahman Ji version of this. I don’t usually listen to these kinda songs but Rahman Ji is always pushing me forward as a listener. Tyrewala has been a bit cheeky and has stolen a line from DDLJ lol.
I will not rate this album out of 10, furthermore I don’t think I’ve ever written 1000 words for a Rahman Ji album. JHS is just a trailer for his collaboration with Yash Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan.
Happy listening
Originally Posted by Bala (Karthik)
