Barfi is a favorite dessert of folks at home . Its sweet , sweet and sweet making one go awww at the taste and the musical album sharing its name with the sweet , ends up the same way.
The Album begins with Ala Barfi. Mohit Chauhan Pwns the song which has a very interesting orchestral arrangement which takes one back to the late fifties / early sixties of the Hindi Music timeline. The song is very easy on the ears, the lyrics kinda giving an insight into the lead character of the movie, especially the second stanza. Swanand wins with his lyrics , with the mentions of Murphy Radio and Ceylon station. There’s also a second version of the song by Swanand with some changes in the arrangement . It’s quite good but Mohit is way ahead of Swanand when it comes to singing, however better the arrangement might be in Swanand’s version.
Pritam is no stranger to having multiple versions of the same song recorded and this album is no exception. However , both the versions of phir le aya dil are delightful, Rekha Bhardwaj and Arjit Singh nailing the brief to a ‘T’. Rekha’s version of the song does remind me of ‘Bahara’ at places , but that’s just due to the feel you get out of listening to the song.The orchestral work on Rekha’s version is also very light , with the gorgeous string sections acting as embellishments to a classic tune. Surprisingly Arijith’s version pips Rekha’s version for me. The tablas , the electric strings ( I think) in the background and his lovely voice scream melody. The piano and cello (I think) in the interludes are gorgeous.One of Arijith’s best songs by a mile , though his best is yet to come. On the flip side , I sense a faint resemblance to may be other songs , but again that might just be me.
The next song is Main Kya Karoon , which is the most Pritamish song in the album.I haven’t heard Nikhil Paul George until now but he has a voice kinda similar to that of Ash King’s and has aced this song. To me this is one of the weak links of the album , not taking credit away from the arrangement and the lovely interludes.
Kyon is a winner from the starting string interlude . Papon gets behind the mike and bewitches one and all . At the risk of sounding repetitive the arrangement is kickass.The song reaches its zenith with the string interlude kicking in and the violins and cellos (I think) accompany Sunidhi into the second para. I also wonder if someone has messed up with the credits as Papon almost sounds like Mohit Chauhan and yes I wonder if I did hear an accordion somewhere. This one will be on a loop , until I find answers to this question and even if I don’t.
Aashiyan starts with a superb hook and queen Shreya starts off in magnificent form , singing itni si khushi. Nikhil Paul George accompanies her on this feel good number and once again Pritam has nailed the arrangements.It appears to one that aashiyan is all about the wishes of a couple to build their home and to my limited knowledge , the lyrics convey that exactly.
Last comes Saawli Raat which is the best song of the Album. Arijhit sounds so different in this song , that you end up wondering if it this was the same guy who sang phir le aya dil. Listen to this song on a dark night , standing by your balcony watching the trees dance and it will take you to heaven.The lyrics are splendid. Sample this “Saawli si raat ho , Khamoshi ka saath ho . Bin kahe bin sune , baat ho teri meri.” whimsical Stuff embellished by splendid string work , this is quite a lovesong cum lullaby and I’m completely in love with it.
So , to put it in a nutshell , Barfi is high on the melody quotient with splendid orchestral work. Pritam is spot on with his choice of singers and the lyrics are just beautiful.Pritam Da is back to form and How !!!!!!!!!
The Yellowed Parchment 