Another Rockin album from RaHmAn!. Review on Saathiya Songs

A.R.RAHMAN is back with a bang!The latest offering from him after the moderately successful TLOBS and BOMBAY DREAMS is SAATHIYA which is the directorial debut of Shaad ali(Muzaffar ali's son).Saathiya is a remake of the Tamil film Alai Payuthey and stars Vivek oberai and Rani mukherjee(interesting cast).Even the music of the film has been redone in hindi and its absolutely brilliant as expected from Rahman,though the original was slightly better.I just loved the soundtrack of Alai Payuthey,but just could not hum the songs coz I do not know the language but now that the songs have been translated in hindi I can enjoy them even more.Rahman dazzles you with some wonderful compositions in Saathiya combined with the poetic lyrics of Gulzar.

There are nine tracks in the album out of which two are original.

The album opens with the title track SAATHIYA which is on air now-a-days and is a sure shot winner.This song is very soft,soothing and pleasant to the ears and also has a very catchy tune which makes you instantly fall in love with it.Its a very fresh tune and is not your regular romantic number in terms of music and https://lyrics.And what makes this song stand out is the way it has been sung by SONU NIGAM......he is just too good and so is the song.

CHALKA CHALKA RE is kind of a marriage song with the emphasis on instruments like Dholak and Shenai,giving it a very traditional North Indian feel.Its a very sweet and likeable song with some really nice https://lyrics.The song has been brilliantly sung in unison by MAHALAKSHMI,RICHA SHARMA,VAISHALI and SHOMA.Definately one of the better numbers in the album.

AYE UDI UDI........well this song too has a nice tune,but I think this song has been spoiled by the way it has been sung by ADNAN SAMI,his voice is not suitable for these hindi film songs.Moreover his diction isn't very clear........so its difficult to understand what he is singing.It could have been a brilliant song had it not been for the singing.

CHUPKE SE.....is a pleasure to listen(though the original SNEHIDENE is still the best)and is one of the most beautifully composed song of Rahman.The opening of the song is good with MURTUZA and QADIR singing a few lines and then SADHANA SARGAM takes over with her magical voice(Why don't our music directors use her voice more often?).The lyrics are nice too though a bit complexed....and it takes time to understand them.Chupke se is the kind of song which mesmerises you.

O HUMDUM SUNIYO RE\MAGALAYAM.........O humdum is my absolute favourite fom the album.This song ROCKS.Its kind of a club song and is great in terms of sound and music.The song is very catchy and has a lot of funk and is sure to make you dance to the tune.SHAAN,KK,PRAVIN MANI and KUNAL have sung the song with elan.MAGALAYAM on the other hand is a much slower and shorter version of the song O HUMDUM but is great nevertheless.Its a sad song and starts off with a sanskrit sholak.The singing honours are done by KK,SHAAN,KUNAL and SREENIVAS.Both these songs are just awesome.

MERA YAAR MILA DE(Original)is a brilliant song,the kind of songs we associate Rahman with.Its a very passionate kind of a song and the lyrics convey a lot of pain and sadness.The music in this song has a very SUFIANA feel to it.........a bit like Satrangi re from Dil se.RAHMAN has sung the song himself and must say he sounds impressive coz it is not the most easy song to sing.Mera yaar is a great song but also a kind of song which you may not like instantly.

NAINA MILAIKA(Original)is a very melodious and sweet song with a classical feel to it.The instrumentation is also very good......and this song also has a very North Indian touch in terms of music.Even the lyrics are in Bhojpuri.Overall a very nice song brilliantly sung by SADHANA SARGAM and MADHUSHREE.

The albm ends with CHORI PE CHORI which has been sung by the versatile ASHA BHOSLE and KARTHIK.Its a very peppy and fast paced number with heavy instrumentation........this song reminds me a lot of JUMBALIKA from Thakshak,though I prefer the latter.Asha bhosle has done a great job singing the song but musically I found the song a bit too ordinary and also the English rap which has been used in the song spoils it.

Overall the music of Saathiya is great and definately one of the best of the year.If you have heard the original ALAI PAYUTHEY,you may not find SAATHIYA that good but if you haven't heard the original you are gonna love it.I have heard both the albums and I 'ld say both R-O-C-K.