Music Review: Slumdog Millionaire

This time, it is not a music discovery, because I am pretty sure everyone and their grandmother have heard of this movie. I managed to obtain a very high-quality version of the soundtrack (and discovered for the first time what a difference a high-quality sound file makes, and what I’ve been missing out by listening to mp3s), and gave the soundtrack a thorough listen.

Of course, Slumdog Millionaire has been a runaway success, and has been awarded and nominated for several titles. Its soundtrack by AR Rahman has already won the Golden Globes, and looks set to be on the path for the Oscars.

Is it good? Short answer is, of course, it is. AR Rahman has once again demonstrated his genius and flexibility, and given us another delectable aural treat. But I will not call it his best work, because having followed his work since the time he premiered on Roja, I can confidently say it is not. Yes, it has gained international recognition – but only because it is attached to a production which is not of Indian origin. Him winning the Golden Globes (and potentially the Oscars), is a lot like Katherine Heigl winning an Emmy for season 3 of Grey’s Anatomy, or a more potent example, Einstein winning the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the photoelectric phenomenon – he/she deserves it, but for the wrong work.

The last time his work gained international recognition was when he did Bombay Dreams and Lagaan. Bombay Dreams soundtrack was decidely unoriginal (Rahman simply reused the tunes from his former work from Indian films, which, of course the non-Indian audience would not have picked up at all), and was rather butchered by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s bad writing.

Slumdog is an original production by contrast, and includes a mix of decidedly Indian soundtracks (Jai Ho), to the extremely western (Gangsta). It would not be entirely wrong to call Slumdog‘s soundtrack AR Rahman for the non-Indian audience – a bit of a primer before you can start appreciating the true depth of the man’s work.

Music Rediscovery: Ode to A.R. Rahman

No specific track this time to recommend, actually. I was cleaning out the CDs at home, and found a bunch of Tamil and Hindi music CDs I hadn’t yet imported into my library… I had forgotten they existed, honestly, and when I finally did import them, I re-discovered some of my favourite tracks.

Music Discovery

Title: Bailando Va

Artist: La Caina

Album: Cafe del Mar Dream Vol 4

Cafe del Mar albums are famous world-wide for their soothing, chill-out, perfect for watching-a-sunset, perfect for a dinner-or-drinks-party music. Only recently have I gotten into their music, and I stumbled onto this song while looking at the Cafe del Mar Singapore website. It has all the classic markers of a Cafe del Mar song, the sounds of sea, the slow soothing Spanish female vocals, slow strumming of the guitar, that envelop you in a comforting lyrical blanket. It makes you want to curl up with a good book or a partner at the beach at night by a cosy fire. [By the way, the song is best heard without watching the accompanying music video – I used this link because it was the only one I could find]

I also managed to find a song I’ve been hunting for more than two years, from a Cafe Del Mar album – Mumbay Theme Tune, as it is called in the Cafe del Mar Volume 5. It is the theme song that appears in Fire, the controversial 1997 Indian lesbian movie. Fire, to this day, remains my favorite movie for many reasons, and this theme song, beautifully written by A.R. Rahman (as always, him being an unparalleled musical genius) makes me want to cry every time I hear it, so beautiful and bitter-sweet. Okay, I admit, I did cry the first time I heard it again, as it evoked for me, strong memories of the film and its powerful ending. You caught me, I am a weepy little sensitive girl. Now shoo, and go listen to the recommended tracks.

Update: Another recommendation from the Cafe del Mar Dreams Volume 4 – Feel Safe by Luminous, a beautiful, almost romantic tantric piece.