Rockstar (soundtrack)

Rockstaris thesoundtrack album, composed byA. R. Rahman, to the 2011Hindimusical filmof the same name, directed byImtiaz Ali, and starringRanbir KapoorandNargis Fakhriin the lead roles. The lyrics for all the songs of the album were penned byIrshad Kamil. The film also starsShammi Kapoor, who makes his last silver screen appearance in the film. The film is jointly produced byShree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision LtdandEros International. The album features fourteen tracks, and was released on 30 September 2011 byT-Seriesto extremely positive critical reception and hysterical response from fans, grabbing nominations and numerous music awards held in the subsequent year.The entire album topped theiTunesworld charts 2011 and continued its legacy until early 2012.The Indian Expresshas termed the film's soundtrack 'A Milestone forBollywood'.
The music for the film is scored byA R Rahmanreplacing Imtiaz Ali's previous associate,Pritam.Mohit Chauhanhas lent his voice for nine songs as the voice of the character Jordan (played byRanbir Kapoor).In 2010, during the development of the album, Rahman stated, "Rockstaris a character driven film and as one can guess from the title, there will be lots of guitar".In 2010, several meetings of Ali and the lyricistIrshad Kamilbrought into a phrase titled, "Words destroy what I have to say". The song (Jo Bhi Main) that brings out the dilemma of the protagonist. Kamil suggested the last two lines (In lafzon ke maayne jaaney kaun badalta hai, main kehta hoon kuch, aur matlab aur koi ho jaata hai) for the particular song.But Ali didn't accept the lines because the protagonist wasn't supposed to have this level of sophistication as he was not poetic.To make it sound like something that could come from character Jordan, Kamil toned down the original after a few more rounds of discussion the lines were "Jo Bhi Main Kehna Chaahoon Barbaad Kare Alfaaz Mere" in the soundtrack.Upon development of the vociferating wordsSadda Haq, Kamil stated that the situation needed a politically charged number that Jordan performs before a surging crowd at the height of his artistic angst.The slogan was used by students during Kamil's college days inPunjabto protest against the administration's arbitrary announcement of exams.On writing lyrics of "Phir Se Udd Chala", the analogies, he stated on introduction of offtrack lines like "Banu Raavan, Jiyoon Mar Marke" ("I become Raavan by continuing to live each time I die"), "The line was a metaphor for character Jordan who like the demonRavanfrom the mythologyRamayana, dies a number of times and yet goes on with his life and that is why I used the Ravan simile."As per Rahman two songsJo Bhi MeinandSadda Haqaspire to be in the tradition of songSatisfactionbyThe Rolling Stonesand songAnother Brick in the WallbyPink Floyd. Further, he added, "Just like most rock songs stood for people's voices, here also the central character's cry relates to every one of us." In an interview withMid-Day, he stated, "I consciously kept away from using distorted guitars and heavy snazzy music. But I have done it here inRockstar. Plus most songs are acoustic."For the songKatiya Karunsinger Harshdeep Kaur noted that the song was recorded at AR Studios,Powai,Mumbai. Rahman asked the translation ofKatiya Karunlyrics to which she explained the meaning to him. The lyrics translate as, "I spin your cotton all night, the entire day is spent in this thought, I shall live and die for you, Be a spinning wheel O' my body." Rahman wanted it to be a very catchy number as it was going to be a fun song with Jordan and Heer (played byNargis Fakhri) on the road. Rahman started composing and created the song right in front of the singer. Kaur stated that it wasn't a folk song, only the rhymeKatiya Karunbelongs to a Punjabi folk content.A part of the song was shot at a discotheque and hence, Kamil put in subtlemetaphorlyrics in the song lines translating, "I will spin your cotton all night long" that indirectly implied "I will be at your services all night", thus giving it an item song touch.
The soundtrack album is a musical journey that sails through ballads, Gujarati folk, Sufi music and gypsy notes from an unheard Czech tradition.Prior to composing sessions, Imtiaz Ali told A. R. Rahman about the lead character of the film, "I told him how Jordan, the protagonist is inarticulate, how he can express himself only through music, how his music is influenced by not only his situation but also by the music of the place he visits. So when Jordan is inPraguehanging about with gypsies, he imbibes their spirit and makes gypsy music. This is whatHawaa Hawaais." Likewise, when Jordan is thrown out of his house in the film, he goes toNizamuddin Dargah, spends time with theQawwals, absorbs their music and plays with them. His journey wasn't only understanding music, but also about understanding life and so the songKun Faya Kunwas composed.Kun Faya Kun(an Arabic phrase which means 'be, and it is'),aqawwali, composer A. R. Rahman has dedicated to Sufi saintNizamuddin Auliya. The trackThe Dichotomy of Fame, ashehnai-guitar instrumentaljugalbandi, is picturised on the lateShammi Kapooras a gloomy-looking shehnai player in the image ofUstad Bismillah Khan, jamming with Ranbir Kapoor.On the songSadda Haq, the singerMohit Chauhanquoted, "I spent an entire day trying to record Sadda Haq with Rahman saab. But couldn't get it right. The next day, I did a take when he was yet to arrive and it sounded perfect and then the final version was recorded."The music video ofSadda Haq, another track, hasRanbir Kapoorperforming in front of a live audience. Kapoor had travelled toChennaiand stayed with Rahman for a week in order to "feel the song imbibe and absorb it" so that when he finally performs it, the song would be an "extension of his personality."
The soundtrack met with rave reviews, with most critics citing it as the best album of 2011.The Indian Expresscalled the album a "milestone" in the history of Bollywood music.In addition, many reviewers have hailed the track "Sadda Haq" as the "youth anthem of India".A review byMumbai Mirrorconcluded, "Mohit shines through with his versatility, Irshad Kamil's lyrics make simplicity seem profound and Rahman shows who's the boss. Respect." The review hailed the album as the "album of the year" and as "one of A. R. Rahman's best Hindi scores."Nikhil HemrajaniHindustan Timescommented that, "It may come across as a surprise, but the music of this Imtiaz Ali film is nothing like its name suggests. However, Rockstar’s music is in no hurry to get to its destination. Listen to it without a care for the world and you’ll love it. Rahman’s masterful control is evident in every aspect of the soundtrack, and once again reminds us why he’s the country’s most important composer. We won’t be surprised to see this become a classic."CNN-IBNstated that the soundtrack too belongs completely to Rahman as his previous albums but he does not come very close to his real potential in 'Rockstar'.Joginder Tuteja ofBollywood Hungamagave the album 3.5 (out of 5) and stated, "Since there is immense curiosity and excitement to check out whatRockstarhas to offer, the album can be expected to fly off the shelves/get downloaded in quick time. While initial sales would be impressive enough."CriticBaradwaj Ranganwrote, "Rahman, we have trained ourselves to be indulgent, even if we suspect that he is never going to give us an album that we take to instantly, and even if we fear that we are going to rush out in droves to purchase our copies of Rockstar duck only to register the initial response of bemusement."ForBloomberg TV India, Pratish Narayan stated, "So it’s left to Rahman to redeem the movie with a soundtrack and score that is arguably his best and most diverse since "Dil Se.." more than a decade ago. Credit must also go to Mohit Chauhan, whose voice gives life to almost all the songs, ranging from catchy rock tunes and Indian folk music to soulful and dark sufi numbers and romantic ballads."Writing forYahoo! News, critic Satyajit felt, "ROCKSTAR that will be ruling the audio stands and will be enjoying big shelf-life in months to come".
Saibal Chatterjee atNDTVnoted, "AR Rahman’s outstandingly lively and eclectic musical score presents a wide range of sounds blended into a harmonious whole."Nikhat Kazmi ofThe Times of Indiareviewed the score as, "The music by AR Rahman are stuff classics are made of. Of course, Sadda Haq is the youth anthem by now, but there are so many beautiful tracks in the film, you get heady and stirred."Taran AdarshforBollywood Hungamawrites, "Music maestro A.R. Rahman's music is scintillating. Rockstar must've been a challenge for Rahman to depict the emotional catharsis a rockstar undergoes and the tracks, I wish to add, aren't the typical Rahman numbers either." He added, "A captivating score by A. R. Rahman".AtDaily News and Analysis, Aniruddha Guha wrote, "The music itself is a delight. Each AR Rahman number is lilting, and woven beautifully in the story, the high frequency of songs not hindering the storytelling but enhancing the experience. Lyricist Irshad Kamil does an outstanding job, penning words that reflect the lead character’s state of mind and complement situations aptly."Raja Sen atRediffstated, "It's remarkable how much narrative detail Ali leaves to the asides, to margin notes not underscored and overwhelmed by AR Rahman's grand, lovely soundtrack."The newspaper,The Telegraphclaimed, "And no alfaaz is enough for Rahman. After a couple of disappointing Indian scores (EndhiranandJhootha Hi Sahi), this is sublime stuff. And perhaps a tad autobiographical. The way Jordan finds soul and solace in the dargah must have been reminiscent of Rahman’s own conversion of faith."Rajeev Masandwas quoted saying, "AR Rahman’s score serves as the spine of this enterprise, emerging expectedly as one of the film’s biggest strengths."
Special mini-concerts were planned across cities includingDelhi,Jalandhar,Ludhiana,Amritsar,Chandigarh,Pune,Kolkata,Jaipur,Lucknow,Nagpur,IndoreandBangalore. These concerts started from 19 October 2011 howeverA. R. Rahmanwas not the part of it. Rahman toured in support ofRockstaralbum only inLondon,MumbaiandDelhi.Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri, as well as singer Mohit Chauhan, performed in mini-concerts planned by "Rockstar team".
In the music CD of the album, lyricistIrshad Kamil's name had been left out on the album cover and on the inner pages. Instead, the CD has given prominent credit to poet Rumi, whose poem was sung by Ranbir Kapoor. In defense, Imtiaz Ali stated, "It is just a clerical error and sometimes it happens when things are not in our hands. Irshad is my only friend, who has been there with me from the start. In the next lot of the audio CDs, we are going to rectify this mistake." When the record label's head, Bhushan Kumar was questioned about the missing credit on the album cover, he claimed that it was producer's mistake. He added that the album covers were made by the publicity designer who must have forgotten about it. Also, T-Series doesn't have the control to change it.
Major parts of the song "Saadda Haq" were shot at theNorbulingkamonastery inMcLeod Ganj,Dharamsalaand people waving the freeTibet flagin the backdrop were shown in the song video. This triggered a dispute betweenCentral Board of Film Certificationand Imtiaz Ali when the Board asked Ali to blur the flag before the film hit the theatre, but the director refused to do it. Imtiaz Ali said, "I am not concerned at all. I have been out of India for long and don’t know whats going on, but I don’t see anything controversial in the intention portrayal in the movie. The purpose of the movie is not to make any social message, its more about personal freedom rather than a geographical issue."However, he had to remove the sequence from the video to get the film's censor done. Later an official from the Board stated: "The Censor Board chief explained to them that all the cuts were made by the director voluntarily, and he had the option of appealing to a review board which he didn’t do. There were certain discussions between (Imtiaz) Ali and the Board regarding retaining a kiss between two actors (Ranbir and Nargis), but there have been no disagreement regarding deleting the flag from the frames." The controversy sparked protests among theTibetan diasporain Dharamsala andChennai.Later television broadcasts blotted out a "FreeTibet" banner featured in the song.
Mohit Chauhan-VocalsMosquePeople -ChoirA.R. Rahman-Productionand OccasionalVocalsHarshdeep Kaur-VocalsJaved Ali-VocalsSuzanne D'Mello-VocalsAlma Ferovic -VocalsKavita Krishnamurthy-VocalsKarthik-VocalsRanbir Kapoor(asJordan) -Narration
The complete track listing of the soundtrack was released on 16 September 2011, on A. R. Rahman's official site.All lyrics were penned byIrshad Kamil.
Credits adapted from A. R. Rahman's official websiteas well as original CD liner notes
Clinton Cerejo's session singers
Suzanne D'Mello's session singers:A. R. Reihana,Swetha Mohan,Prashanthini, Augustine Paul, Ebenezer Arunkumar, Rachel Tharian, Joel Thilagaraj, Cleona Abraham, Kalyani Nair, Nadisha Thomas, Harini Ramkumar, Priyadharshini, Deepa Mariam, Parveen Azad, Simran, Rumana Ali, Shagufta Jan, Shagufta Rehman, Srinidhi Venkatesh
Crowd chorus: Sumit Basu, Roysten Abel, Teddy Maurya, Abhishek Roy, Satish Raj, Ashima Chibber, Tanmai Rastogi, Anubhav Roy, Abhinandan Reddy, Pushpa Jain