Pick of 2007

Nah...this is no countdown. And if you are wondering why I am attempting it, the reason is simple. I had to write something...for, let me be honest, I have forgotten how to write!

I had penned a diatribe on people wishing each other "Happy New Year" and continuing on with their miserable existence for the rest of the year, about how people put on a show of meaning good to others, and so on...But then, nobody is interested in reading anything so nasty, even if it is true. Hence all that was left was to discard it and write something nice. After all, one should start the new year on a pleasant note, as the world likes to say.

Listening to my Worldspace radio churn out all those nice Gulshan-Kumaresque romantic numbers (that made life so beautiful during school and college days) on New Year's Day put the thought in my little brittle mind - to look back at the songs that captured my imagination in the past year. I had done one such exercise before also in 2003, hence it is not something entirely out of the blue.

Should I say the choice was easy, or should I say the choice was difficult? Owing to the fact that not many songs caught my ear in 2007, i was left with a handful of numbers to choose from. As i said before, this is NOT a countdown, and is in no particular order.

So what provoked my imagaination?

1. Jaage Hai (Guru): There's perhaps, just four lines in the song. What's so great about that? It's specifically those four lines...

Jaage hai der tak, hamein kuchh der sone do...
Thodi si raat aur hai, subah to hone do...
Aadhe adhure khwab jo poore na ho sake...
Ek baar phir se neend mein woh khwab bone do...

Listen to Rehman's suppressed tone at the beginning, and you feel like slipping off to sleep and continue dreaming, and achieving all those which can never become a reality in this lifetime...

2. Bol Na Halke Halke (Jhoom Barabar Jhoom): In an otherwise jarring soundtrack (I didn't muster the inner courage to watch the film), it comes as a whiff of fresh air, albeit halke halke (slowly). It took time for me to imbibe the song. OK, maybe Iam a little partial towards it because of the train sequence, but it does not take anything away from the fact that the song has been shot beautifully in some of the best locales. Add to that the lilting voices of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Mahalaxmi Iyer and the beautiful lyrics (Aa neend ka sauda karein, ek khwaab dein ek khwaab lein), you have a winner all the way.

3. Hey Shona (Ta Ra Rum Pum): "Shona"? What's that supposed to mean? It's exactly that thought that kept me away from the song for long. But some songs attract you towards them, and "Hey Shona" is such a track. The quintessential lovers' song, it gives you that floating-on-the-moonlight feeling. Do not be surprised if it reminds you of "My Dil Goes Mmmmm", but the similarity ends with Shaan and the background crooning. The lyrics are softer and the surprise element is the sensuously soft voice of Sunidhi Chauhan. If you are a romantic at heart, this one's for you. And the best time to listen to it? Go on a drive late at night with the song playing on your car stereo...

4. Aye Hairat-e-Aashiqui (Guru): So much has already been said about it. Rehman has this technique of capturing your heart slowly, and uses it to great effect in this song, as it starts mildly and builds up inside you with the high-pitched chants of "dum dara dum dara..". And then, you are forced to ask: "Where the hell was Hariharan hiding all these days?" For once, forget the lyrics. As Rehman says on Worldspace, "There's so much to hear..."

5. In Dino Dil Mera (Life in a Metro):

"Be-rang si hai badi zindagi kuchh rang to bharoon...
main apni tanhai ke waaste ab kuchh to karoon".

I guess, it is time to confess...about the inspiration behind my Budapest Diaries. Walking along the riverside with the song playing in my ears, it was in the city of Budapest that I fell in love with the song.

6. Hare Krishna Hare Ram (Bhool Bhulaiyaa): The song that caught the imagination of an entire nation. I'm not a person who would fall in love with such a song, but this one strangely makes me tap my foot in rhythm. Though Neeraj Sreedhar's chant is infectious (The chant seems vaguely familiar...is it a copy?), it's nothing compared to Akshay Kumar's innovative actions - to the extent that the cinema-going crowd was unwilling to vacate the halls until the song came up on screen - and to the extent that I (of all the people) try aping the step whenever I hear the song.

7. Chak de India: Now where did THAT come from? If the above mentioned song caught the imagination of a nation, this one inspired a whole nation. And for that precise reason, it finds a mention in my list. There's nothing technically great about the song - below average lyrics and average, but good, music. But the moment you listen to the song, it conjures up unforgettable images - Ian Bell trapped in front of the stumps by Zaheer Khan, a helpless Matthew Prior losing his stumps to RP Singh and a ruthless Yuvraj Singh launching a blistering attack on Stuart Broad. Thank you, ESPN and Star Sports. And please spare a thought for the Indian hockey team, who did so much but were unsung.

8. Labon Ko Labon Pe (Bhool Bhulaiyaa): Oddly, for me it's the timing of song in my playlist that does the magic trick. Coming on the heels of the foot-tapping Hare Krishna Hare Ram, this lilting number forces you to sit back, relax and imbibe it. The moment you see the colourful picturization of Shiny Ahuja and Vidya Balan on the screen, it is love at first sight. After all, what else can you expect, when you have the majestic presence of KK, the voice behind the song?

9. Masha Allah (Saawariya): Whatever sin was committed on screen by SLB, has been atoned for by this number. The chorus of "Masha Allah" by Kunaj Ganjawala, with the alaaps of Shreya Ghoshal is enough to give the song that ethereal effect. Add to that, Ganjawala's effortless movements from one note to another, and you can see that dream world in which the song is picturised. Spare me the movie. I'll take this song instead anyday.

10. Taare Zameen Par:

Jaise Aankhon Ki Dibiya Mein Nindiya
Aur Nindiya Mein Meetha Sa Sapna
Aur Sapne Mein Mil Jaaye Farishta Sa Koi
Jaise Rangon Bhari Pichkari
Jaise Titliyan Phoolon Ki Kyari
Jaise Bina Matlab Ka Pyara Rishta Ho Koi

This one is for the child in you. Be it Shankar Mahadevan's excellent crooning at the end of the song, or the beautiful chorus that invokes childhood memories, the song just captivates you each time you listen to it.

11. Maula Mere Maula (Anwar) and
12. Tose Naina Laage (Anwar): I'm going to use a technicality to include these songs - that even though the music was released in November 2006, the movie was released in January 2007, thus qualifying the songs to be here. And my desperation to include these songs here should be enough to describe why they are my favourites. Right from the magnetic Maula mere maula chorus to the captivating lyrics of Javeda Zindagi (Nahin Koi Insaan Mohabbat Se Khaali, Har Ek Rooh Pyaasi, Har Ek Dil Savaani), it's sheer poetry in motion

13. Maa (Taare Zameen Par): What can I say?

Bheed Mein Yun Na Chhodo Mujhe
Ghar Laut Ke Bhi Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Bhej Na Itna Door Mujkko Tu
Yaad Bhi Tujhko Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Kya Itna Bura Hoon Main Maa?

Tell me you didn't cry for that, and i'll tell you...You don't have a heart.


Amen...

Some notable omissions:

1. Cheeni Kum - Sorry, I can't get over the originals
2. Laari Chhooti (Ek chaalis ki last local) - i found the music monotonous for my liking.
3. "Awaarapan" and "The Train" - I have this prejudice against Emraan Hashmi
4. Rozana (Nishabd) - a synthetic background score
5. Tere Sawalon Ka (Manorama 6ft Under) - good song, but the length put me off
6. Jab We Met - cute movie, but that doesn't necessarily make the music stand out
7. Johnny Gaddar - everybody raves about the title track, but somehow it missed by radar completely
8. Om Shanti Om - Too much promotion and too little substance. Six packs don't make a good music track.

That's me...I don't know whether the vast majority of music lovers out there would agree with me...perhaps that's why we are all called "individual"s. No one person can be the same as the other...and let me be an individual with my own likes and dislikes.

To re-iterate what A.R. Rehman says in the Worldspace ad: "There's so much to hear..."