Omkara: Music Review

With Omkara, Vishal Bharadwaj very clearly drifts from his original style of composing. He, till now, had for the most parts, relied on clear vocals, minimal orchestration, and his trademark un-traditional tunes which, on the surface, did not subscribe completely to any established style of music. Very little of his music could be classified under categories such Qawwali, Sufi or having clear classical undertones. Moreover, till now, he relied mostly on minimal arrangement, just the amount of musical instrumentation that could give the song the right ambience. Omkara marks a departure in both the regards.

The brilliance of Omkara is in the way Vishal Bharadwaj takes established styles and traditional tunes under his wings, gives them his touch, and makes them his very own. Add to this the elaborate, sophisticted arrangements, some talented musicians, a very intelligent singer selection, Gulzar's lyrics ranging from sublime poetry to risque innuendo, and we have a treat for our ears.

The title song is a Sukhwindara show all the way. Well, almost all songs sung by this singer of singers are his show all the way. The way he renders it, with his characteristic now-in-control, now-lost-control, now-back-in-control way of singing, that he at times, completely overshadows the heavy orchestration. The lyrics talk about the fearsome outlaw that Omkara is, and Gulzar, the Master of Metaphors, excels:

"Aankhen tej tatayya jaisi, jeebh saanp ka fankaara."

The tune is a very traditional one. But Vishal's treatment with the heavy percussions and the backing vocals, Sukhwindara's rendition, and the lyrics lift it many notches up.


Other two very noteworthy songs in the album are Nayna and Beedi. Nayna is rendered by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, who makes a 180 degrees departure from the kind of reputation he has built by singing songs like "Lagan lagi". This song again, has a very traditional tune, a song based on which I last heard in the album Kailasa by Kailash Kher (Jaana Jogi de Naal, the song based on Bulle Shah's lyrics. Kailash Kher renders it very competently.) But again, Vishal makes the tune his very own, and provides it with a very correct ambience. Gulzar shines again:

"Nainon ki jubaan pe bharosa naheen aata.
Likhat padhat na raseed na khaata.
Saari baat hawaai re, saari baat hawaai."

Beedi, in contrast, is laced with innuendo of the arty kind. It is tangential in referring to what it wants to refer to, but yet, is right there:

"Kitni sardi hai kisi ka lihaaf lei le,
Jaa padosi ke chulhe se aag lei le."

Sukhwindara, again does his job to perfection. But one must note Sunidhi Chauhan here. She proves she is supremely gifted. Her voice spans many octaves. And she has a spirit that shines through in such a song. And again, Vishal Bharadwaj lifts it far up from what the song could have been easily mistaken for : a front-seat puller from a Govinda movie.

O Saathi Re has Vishal and Shreya Ghoshal doing the honours. Lyrics by Gulzar alternate between metaphors and sweet-small-talk. This is a trademark Vishal Bharadwaj song, low pitched, minimal instruments, and a dreamy ambience. Shreya Ghoshal does perfect justice to the song, and Vishal gives himself the right song to sing. Hope we see him singing more often. The song has an interlude on the guitar which is very nicely played.
Jag Ja, sung by Suresh Wadkar, again has lyrics of the sweet-small-talk variety, which only Gulzar can write. Suresh Wadkar does a nice job here, but I would have loved to see a subtle change in his expression when he shifts from the loving "ari jag ja" to the frustrated "mari jag ja".

That brings us to the two songs sung by Rekha Bharadwaj, last heard in the album Ishqa Ishqa and the soundtrack for Maqbool. Namak is "Main aai hoon UP bihar lootne" for the sophisticated with a finer taste of music. The lyrics have just the right nuances, in fact they are more true to the set-up than the song just mentioned. The musical arrangement has a clear air of sophistication (I could hear a snatch of the electric guitar with distortion), and Rekha Bharadwaj renders it like a modern day Asha Bhosle, given the nice touches she puts in.

Laakad picks up from where Ishqa Ishqa left. The tune is reminiscent of songs from the album, but again, the musical arrangement is many notches up. There is a small guitar interlude between the two antaras, which is just the kind of thing that elevates a song from good to great. Rekha Bharadwaj, as expected, comes up trumps in the song. Its her home territory.

Omkara is Vishal Bharadwaj in a new Avatar. With his musical brilliance intact. We don't mind such re-incarnations, do we?