Delhi 6

The last time Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and ARR came together, ARR showed his true colors. Rang De Basanti, I mean. Now, Rakeysh is back after a gap of 3 years with a completely different story set in the backdrop of Old Delhi , and ARR is, well, the most talked about composer in the world! In RDB, ARR had scored an incredible 10/10. Here the denominator is 10 again, but what will the numerator be?

1. Masakalli : With Kuch Khaas last year to his credit, Mohit Chauhan shows that he can give more khaas numbers! A song totally dedicated to the pigeon by the same name which acts as the messenger of love between the 2 lead actors, Masakalli easily qualifies as the best song in the album.

2. Bhor Bhayi : Songs like this don't feature in movies. Bhor Bhayi is only for purists. It's a ghazal type song in ragam Shubha Panthuvarali. With this song, Shreya Ghosal proves that she can sing almost anything in this world, and complements a pro like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan with remarkable ease.

3. Noor : Just as a symbol of luck, this track has AB Sr. doing a short narrative. AB Jr. badly needs luck since he's not been having a great time at the box office after the colossal disaster called Drona.

4. Aarti : This is basically a slow prayer song sung by Rekha Bharadwaj. It reminds you Ek Onkar in some places, but in case of a comparison, Ek Onkar wins hands down.


5. Genda Phool : Aah, Rekha Bharadwaj scores for the second time. A simple, small song with a folkish tune, it gets you hooked after a few listens.

6. Dil Gira Dafatan : A very slow song but rich in background instrumentation, this offbeat song has a slight Yuvvraaj-ish feeling and is very good.

7. Hey Kalaa Bandar : Weird song, somewhat like what Behka sounded first. There's an Arabic feel to this song and it has loads of rap too. Everybody is mysteriously searching for a mysterious monkey in the song. And ARR doesn't seem to have come out of the Yuvvraaj feel! A line from Dil ka rishta is used as a bgm piece here!

8. Rehna Tu : A lot is expected from a song sung by the maestro himself. But what a disappointment this is. The high pitched parts of the song just don't suit his voice. Not a great tune either. And the classical ending is highly unnecessary.

9. Delhi 6 : Yet another rap song, this track sometimes sounds like Aye Bachchu. It is a song about Delhi , and will therefore be best received by the college going crowds in the capital.

10. Arziyan : When the track length is 8:41, you're not really motivated to listen. But this qawwali type prayer song goes on very smoothly, largely due to Javed Ali's perfectly fitting vocals.

So the numerator? I would give it 7-7.5. Because, while RDB's songs are still remembered today, I doubt if these songs would be recalled with the same affection say, a year later.