Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

A teen-oriented, lighthearted love story demands a similar treatment for its music. A.R. Rahman rightfully excludes his usual grandeur here and sticks to cheery melodic compositions without compromising his genius. His masterful work on Jodhaa Akbar the same year still hovered in the minds of his loyal audience, and Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na came in like a fresh breeze from his bag of tricks, rejecting his earlier well-defined technicalities. Rahman's treatment here is aligned with his music for a youth-oriented film like Rang De Basanti, though Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na has a more subdued opulence — guitar-based melodies ("Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Zindagi") and a light jazz number ("Tu Bole, Main Boloon"), and no trademark techno beats, background choruses, or gibberish crooning. One can well argue that Jaane Tu features low on the priority list for Rahman given the hoard of newcomer singers utilized in this soundtrack (Benny Dayal, Satish Chakravarthy, Sayonara, Darshana, Svetha, Bhargavi, Anupama, Naresh Iyer, Aslam, Tanvi Shah), but the film focuses on beginners in every aspect. The most appreciable introduction is that of Rashid Ali, who sings and plays guitar on the beautiful melodic track "Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Zindagi." Rashid Ali was spotted by Rahman during the Unity of Light concert in London, and the composer introduced Ali's subtle attention-grabbing voice in 2002 with the Tamil film Parthale Paravasam. "Pappu Can't Dance" is a well-defined dance track with witty lyrics, and garnered a strong position in the year's charts. "Tu Bole, Main Boloon" (sung by Rahman) and "Nazrein Milaana Nazrein Churaana" are other high points on this well-received album.