Simply Beautiful. Review on Parineeta Songs

2005 – Musical Year

The year 2005 is turning out to be one of the best musical years in the recent past because of the continuous release of some great music viz.,Lucky, Bose, Taj Mahal, Black and now Parineeta. Note that we get such music from our composers especially when they are allowed to experiment in music for Period dramas. “Parineeta” is also a period emotional drama. Music is composed by Santanu Moitra. Lyrics are penned by Swanand Kirkire. There are totally 7 tracks.

Composing for a period movie is a great challenge for any composer. He has to keep in mind a lot of factors to make his music completely successful. The song has to stick to the sound of the period, fit in the mood of the situations and yet should have some catchy elements to steal the hearts of music lovers of this generation too, so that it is both classy and commercially saleable. Santanu Moitra is a composer about whom I have never heard before. He has done a great job in this album by bringing authentic sounds of the period, rich melody, variety and some simple and catchy tunes that will haunt your soul when you listen to it alone.

Usual Instruments and Beautiful Melody

The major plus point is that he has stuck to the very basic elements of melody making like usage of solo Piano, guitar and flute, non distracting tabla beats, violin choir in the background, aptly appending the minimal synth sounds etc., Almost four of the melodies are in this format. But what make these melodies with usual instruments sound extraordinary are the simple yet catchy tunes that he has written. The tunes are so beautiful that it doesn’t need any of the instruments to squeeze or enhance the melody out of it, the tune speaks for itself. Such simplicity is the added beauty to the songs. All the songs have a Bengali flavor in it, as the script demands. Usage of western classical vocal and violin choir and orchestrations are great in the interludes of the melodies. Composer seems to be obsessed with the usage of piano playing a nice melody in the start of the songs and then gradually starting the song and it is quite impressive when we realize that the tune perfectly synchs with the rhythmic piano melody.

Apt Singers

The choice of singers is another USP of the album. Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghosal have sung four duets. For duets, they form an ideal pair these days. The composer has extracted the best from the singers. Both of them are extraordinary in this album with perfect diction, rendition and unbelievable expression in singing. The “Hui Main Parineeta” track is an ideal example of the extent to which a singer can get into the kith and kin of the on screen characters for whom they are singing. The lethargic stretching of the notes, quick smiles, and husky interludes in between words and sweet brief alaps take us close to the mood of the characters even before watching the visuals. Among the four duet, ''Piyu bole'' which opens this beautiful album is my pick of the lot. On the other side, Chitra gives top notch performance in “Raat Hamari toh” and goes a level above Shreya and Sonu in expressive rendition. Hers is what I would say as the close to perfect singing. And finally we have Sunidhi Chauhan rendering a jazz song. She does a great job in giving a casual touch in singing and also by putting right western notes for the Hindi words.

Sound of the Period

I should also mention about some fresh sounds that the composer has tried to emulate the period of the movie. The husky train sound in the background which forms the basic rhythm of the song “Kasto Maaza” is truly innovative usage of the sound of the then existing Steam Engines. It gives a whole new sound to this song and virtually takes us into the train for a pleasant journey with melody. The “Kaisi Paheli zindgani” is an authentic to period jazz number with right mix of sounds of bass drums, trumpets, piano, guitar and sax. The “Dhinak Dhinak dha” song has got some authentic Bengali instruments and rhythms and brings in the festive mood through the song.

A must buy album for melody lovers. Rating: 4.5

-0.5 is for less catchy situational number ''Dhinak Dhinak Dha''.