Amar Singh Chamkila Music Review: Imtiaz Ali-AR Rahman & Irshad Kamil Strike Gold – An Asset To Be Treasured & The Only Thing Your Soul Needs Right Now Are These 6 Beauties!
AR Rahman's music soothes you while Irshad Kamil's gets on your nerve in Amar Singh Chamkila songs, but wait till you listen to Yashika Sikka.
Amar Singh Chamkila’s Jukebox Is An Asset To Be Treasured ( Photo Credit – Netflix India / YouTube )
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Rating – 10 out of 5 stars! Some Albums outperform!
The release of Amar Singh Chamkila is still a few days away, but the jukebox of the film is out, and this is one film where Bollywood outperformed after a very long time. Recently, I was putting all my hopes for a good Bollywood music album from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi, totally forgetting about the Chamkila biopic. But finally, AR Rahman, Imtiaz Ali, and Irshad Kamil’s magical trio arrived unannounced, taking my breath away. And this album is the only soul music you need right now.
If you talk about a brilliantly balanced album from a commercial film, you would struggle when you encountered it last. Last year, Animal had a good album, undoubtedly, but it never stayed with you. Similarly, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani was a good album to rely on for some time. But what about those evergreen lists that are still with us?
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Well, Amar Singh Chamkila is definitely here to fill that void after a very long time. In the last ten years of Bollywood’s musical journey, there have been very few music albums in which every song was an asset. The last brilliance my soul connected to was Atrangi Re, again a delicacy by Rahman in 2021. Before that, the entire album being brilliant was Ankur Tewari’s Gully Boy (some would argue it to be Kalank, but when we talk about the entirety, the album fell flat). Kabir Singh’s album might be very subjective, and the best of recent times apart from Rahman was Pritam’s Manmarziyaan in 2018, where every piece was a beauty personified, and those who enjoy the lyrics would vouch for Jagga Jasoos.
I’m not getting carried away; the basic point of discussion is the lack of good albums that drop every 2 – 3 years versus the time when there were at least 8 – 10 good albums in a year to gorge on. So, ladies and gentlemen, Amar Singh Chamkila’s album is an asset to be treasured in your playlists for eternity.
Ishq Mitaye
Artist: Mohit Chauhan While Mohit Chauhan swooning through notes echoes Main Hoon Punjab, the song just grows on you. It gets better with every line and finally Irshad Kamil’s writing justifies the entire film with one line “Mere aage duniya ka rang saara pheeka, apne hi lahu se hai lagaya maine teeka!” In fact, the first song of this album sets the tone of the film right with the first few lines.
Naram Kalja
Artist: Alka Yagnik, Richa Sharma, Pooja Tiwari, Yashika Sikka
They say one uses legends only when required, and Rahman definitely knows when and only when to use legends. Be it using Lata Mangeshkar‘s voice for Lukachupi in Rang De Basanti or Alka Yagnik’s painful eagerness and willingness in Agar Tum Saath Naa Ho. He again uses Yagnik and blends her with Richa Sharma for a folk song celebrating womanhood.
Naram Kalja celebrates the ‘besharmi’ of women with Irshad Kamil’s intricately woven words like “Tu Loot-ta ye sochke main naram tu mardaan hai, par dar-asal mere liye tu aish ka saamaan hai.” A little context behind the song is the image of Amar Singh Chamkila, who faced protests from a set of people who called his songs vulgar and demeaning to women. Naram Kalja is an answer to all those sets of people with women celebrating their inner feelings, teasing each other, and validating Chamkila’s songs in lines like, “Chamkeela Mere Andar Se Bhi Bole Sadaa…”
Naram Kalja is very close on the lines of Rockstar’s Katiya Karoon or Love Aaj Kal’s Thoda Thoda Pyaar, but the lyrics make it distinct and probably rank it better than these two. So yes, you would love to join these women in celebrating their Naram Tabiyat and Besharam Tabiyat!
Tu Kya Jaane
Artist: Yashika Sikka Personally, Yashika Sikka’s romantic track is my pick in this entire album, but I blame my overly romantic and dreamy persona. But tu kya jaane is a dream come true. Be it the beautiful musical pieces, the simplistic lyrics, or the basic notes changing into entirely different ragas – in layman language, the straight notes, delving into a pop of an entirely different set of notes and coming back again to the simplicity. The little teases between the regular, easy-breezy pace of the song are gold!
As the demure string pieces hold the song from the start, they put a beautiful layer to Yashika’s shy texture and the sheepish and slightly courageous lyrics, “Sacchiyaan mohabbataan buland karke…jeet lun zamaane se main zang karke, tujhpe dupatte wala rang karke…”
Uff, bottom line, the song is hypnotic.
Baaja
Artist: Mohit Chauhan, Romy, Suryansh, Inderpreet Singh
Mohit Chauhan re-appears with this high-energy song, and he hypes this entire album, elevating it to a point where there is no returning back – Chamkila, Tharkila, Saxila Wo…Irshad translates the entire journey of Chamkila’s life in this single song, and Chauhan excitingly translates this journey into couplets. I am at a loss for words to explain, and you need to listen to it to understand and connect.
Bol Mohabbat
Artist: A.R. Rahman, Kailash Kher
Never imagined a Kailash Kher and AR Rahman jugalbandi could work so brilliantly. This almost feels like a battle. The celebration of one’s struggle seems like they offer a cheer to Chamkila with every word sung! As you keep listening to this in the loop, it sucks you in, and there you are in Chamkila’s world. A world you would die to witness. At this point, I am cursing the norms of Bollywood releases that probably let these people decide not to go for a theatrical release. While I can totally understand the economics behind the profit and loss, Bol Mohabbat makes me greedy and selfish, and I want to be concerned about only my loss for not witnessing this world unfold in a theater!
Song: Vida Karo
Artist: Arijit Singh, Jonita Gandhi
Crying with Arijit Singh has been the norm since time immemorial, and he makes you well up and sob with Vida Karo. It just seeps in, and understandably, the song is a sending-off. It is hard to listen to it more than once at a go. You will not have the courage to listen to this one on a loop. Keep your tissues handy for Jonita Gandhi’s perfectly blended closing.
Conclusion
Without seeing the film, the entire album offers such a brilliant glimpse of the film already that once you watch the film, you will be familiar with Amar Singh Chamkila’s world so beautifully. The best part of the album is not remaking any original Chamkila songs. Imtiaz Ali has definitely struck gold with this strategy, and he probably already knows it. An Asset To Be Treasured For Sure. (I don’t know how many times I have re-iterated this; that is how hypnotizing this album is!)
For a full review of the film, stay tuned to Koimoi.
