10 Years of Rockstar

I HEAR MUSIC WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES.

WHEN I OPEN MY EYES THE MUSIC DOES NOT GO AWAY. I OFTEN CAN’T FOLLOW THE WORDS THAT PEOPLE SPEAK, BUT I GET THE MUSIC OF THEIR SOUL. IT’S GOOD THAT WAY, BECAUSE WORDS CAN LIE BUT MUSIC CANNOT. PLEASANT OR DISTURBING, MUSIC IS

ALWAYS THE TRUTH.

FROM ROCKSTAR ALBUM COVER

Back in 2011 came the music of Rockstar. The songs kept releasing one by one for a few weeks. I wasn’t overtly excited about the music. I used to walk in the mornings to the main market road. And soon, these songs became my companion, each song would play on a loop on a typical morning, hence the spatial association developed- Rockstar and busy market streets. Having Mohit Chauhan sing almost all the songs(except the female-voiced songs like Katiya Karun and Tum Ko) was a risk. He had not been someone you would associate with singing all genres of songs. As I started warming up to one song after the other, the expectation from the film and how they would look on the screen too started building up. I wasn’t too convinced that Imtiaz Ali would be able to do justice to these rather lengthier songs. The film released and it was a rage. It wasn’t a rage like a Rangeela or Rang De Basanti, but maybe it was too soon to judge.

Now that it has been close to a decade since Rockstar’s music came out, the impressions on the film and music have evolved too. I never expected it would become one of the most popular Rahman scores of the present decade(or two). Rockstar gets counted along with Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya in frequent Top 5 lists and polls of the albums released in the 2000s.

Polls and lists apart, I feel these three Imtiaz Ali film scores are varied and rich in character, there is something deeper to them than just songs or background pieces. The way Rahman has developed his sound for these films goes to show his admiration for strong stories and ideas. You can never quite analyze these songs in one go, you need to travel with them, on long journeys, through the highs and lows and adventures that life brings. They become a part of your journeys and your travel companions in a very personal way. You will hear a song from Rockstar or Highway or Tamasha pop up and will be instantly transported to a time and place in memory.

Sheher Mein

ARR at his goofiest. The playful spoofy take on how music directors can murder a good idea/song took me back to the scene in Akele Hum Akele Tum where a Nadeem Shravan-esque music duo Amar-Kaushik(a hilarious Shafi Inamdar and Harish Patel) humiliates an already on-the-brink-of emotional-outburst Aamir Khan. And as for all the cases of spoofs turning out classier as a total unintentional fallout(Sandeep Chowta’s Pyaar pyaar mein from Company comes to mind, so does John C. Reilly’s Walk Hard- The Dewey Cox Story!)., the song they sing/temper with too sounds so catchy and fun, one just wishes there was a longer version of it.

Sadda Haq

A song that can be dismissed as too loud or dramatic or enjoyed for a true-to-genre musicality. Anthemic sound, clear-intentioned execution, self-affirmed aggression and a wild spirit out in the world, for all to see, judge and absorb.

Aur Ho

Possibly my favorite song from the album, which is a funny(and short-lived)thing to say(for any ARR album). The raga based mood(Ahir Bhairavi) plays with a mystic lounge-y vibe to create quite the masterpiece that navigates delightfully in darkness like it’s a walk in the park.

Katiya Karun

One of the two female-voiced songs in the album, Harshdeep recalls Jaspinder Narula in all the right ways. Only Rahman can take the very commonly heard sounds and boldly layer them with his ingenuity and touches to create a song that just has been ting-a-ling-ing in my head from years, and will continue to do so for a few more decades.

It’s like a chef who picks up the simplest of dishes to prepare in a prestigious competition’s final round, which looks laughably generic but when the dish lands up on your plate you have tasted nothing like it in your life. Now imagine doing that in every score, every song!

Jo Bhi Main

A personalized anthem of sorts for a loser who becomes a phenomenon like Forrest Gump in the very admission of his inabilities. The seemingly simple song becomes a monstrous task if you have ever been in the ‘cover song’ business or hobby(not every one’s ooo yaayaayaa sounds as cool as Mohit Chauhan’s). The right thing to do would be to just bow down to the extraterrestrial talents of Mr. Rahman and just float in the magnificence of the poetry and musical notes.

Kun Faya Kun

Where does one begin to describe in words the effect that this song has on the mind, body and soul. Music that transcends the medium of all expression, music that brings divinity to Ground Zero and requests it to stay a little longer.

This song is the best form of cleanse I have ever known.

Phir se Udd Chala

There are two types of travelers — weary, who weigh each word, and each word they say sounds weighed down by the depth of experience, and serious like life. The second type is Phir se udd chala.

Jo Bhi Main

Who wouldn’t relate to this philosophy? An inherent shyness, of not being the man you are supposed to be. Even for someone who listens to Rahman all their life, this song, and Rockstar, gave a new sound and audio experience, which at that time wasn’t so clear or apparent but is now, now that years have passed and the sound has aged. The song has that acoustic stage-y quality, that makes images pop up in your head.

Poetic Impressions — ROCKSTAR

Jo bhi main

Looking back at the year

Can think of the trips

And music.

And a whirlwind of emotions

Barbaad karein alfaaz mere

Fiza ghata hawa baharein

Kaise main kahoon kahani inki

I’ve thought of many things

Dreamt of many more

Waking up nowhere in the middle of the night

Searching within

Sahi galat tumhara main

Nothing is wrong

Nothing is right

Who is to say

Go crazy.

This will not come again

This indecision

Revel in it

Main bhi tu bhi sabhi hain sheeshe Khudi ko hum khudi mein dhoondhein

Sweet emotion

That’s all there is

The sly groove of life

Think of things that nobody cares

Must go out there must do that

Cus it feels right

Light up candles if you want

Play one more song if it feels good

Stretch the night into nothingness

A little too far from the limits of comfort

A yard away from the limits of control

Your eyes tell a million tales

They are sad in a way

The kind of sad I am.

Excerpt from the book AR Rahman : On Loop from 27 Years: A Lifelong Mausam of Escape

Other writings on AR Rahman

Rockstar 10 Years Poster courtesy BToS Productions.