Kurbaan (Music) - A great soundtrack from Salim/Sulaiman

Movie - Kurbaan (Hindi)
Director - Rensil D'Silva
Producer - Karan Johar
Cast - Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, Dia Mirza, Kirron Kher, Om Puri
Music - Salim/Sulaiman
Lyrics - Prasoon Joshi
Cinematography - Hemant Chaturvedi
Singers - Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Salim Merchant, Sukhwinder Singh, Kailash Kher, Marianne D'Cruz, Shruthi Pathak, Vishal Dadlani
Story - Karan Johar, Rensil D'Silva
Screenplay - Rensil D'Silva
Dialogues - Anurag Kashyap, Niranjan Iyengar
Release Date - 20th November 2009




Kurbaan drew great responses when the posters first came out itself. It had the current hot jodi of Saif and Kareena in a very sensous pose with Saif bleeding from his chest, and the tagline, 'Some love stories have blood written on them'. It also draws expectation because it is produced by Karan Johar, and distributed by UTV Motion Pictures, both reputed producers themselves. The director is first timer Rensil D'Silva, who was also the writer of the cult classic, Rang De Basanti.  The cast also includes Vivek Oberoi acting in a promising film after a long long time. The music is by Salim Sulaiman who gave 2 great soundtracks last year (Fashion, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi) and are slowly turning into much sought after composers. The lyrics are by Prasoon Joshi who is currently on a high after winning the National Award for best lyricist for his work in Taare Zameen Par. But since it is a serious film based on terrorism, you are skeptical about the kind of music that the film will have. You know that the usual kind of music you get to hear in Karan Johar productions wont be there in this one. 


The album opens with 'Shukran Allah' by Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and Salim Merchant and you are hooked instanty. The chorus in the beginning by Salim Merchant reminds you of 'Subhan Allah' in Fanaa (which was suggested by Salim/Sulaiman themselves to Jatin-Lalit during the composing of that song). But the reason for this song being lovely is none other than Sonu Nigam. He is not featured regularly these days in film songs, but when he does, he leaves you under a spell. His silky voice does magic on the listeners of this beautiful composition. When Shreya Ghoshal joins him, the magnitude of the magic increases much more. But she sings only for a small part in this song. One wishes that he could hear more from her voice in this song. But since its Sonu who sings majority of the song, one doesnt complain as well. Prasoon Joshi is certainly the best lyric writer we have after Gulzar Saab and Javed Akhtar. He pens some beautiful lines also for the wonderfully romantic song. A beautiful song, sure to stay with you for a long long time. (4.5/5)


Kailash Kher and Sukhwinder Singh are an interesting combination. Last time they came together, a deadly track called 'Fatak' (Kaminey) came into being. Here, they sing 'Dua Hai' along with some English portions by Marianne D'Cruz. While Kailash brings the rusticity, Sukhwinder takes care of the energy. The composition is interesting with some nice beats and good use of the great vocals by both these wonderful singers. It has shades of sufi and qawwali styles as well. The 'Dua Hai' portion is very appealing and the song sounds like one that is played during a celebration. The English parts sound repetitive and could have been avoided. A good, groovy track with great vocals. (3/5)


'Ali Maula' by Salim Merchant is a spiritual track that could very well be the soul of the movie. Just like their own composition 'Maula Mere Le Le Meri Jaan' from Chak De! India, this one also has a haunting tune and has the Salim/Sulaiman signature all over it. The lyrics are quite heavy on Urdu, and may not be easy to comprehend for a layman. The track should work very well in the movie as it goes very much in sync with the theme of the movie. A brilliant composition of a great song, rendered perfectly by Salim Merchant. (4/5)


Shruthi Pathak who did an excellent job in 'Mar Jawaan' (Fashion) and 'Payaliya' (Dev.D) croons 'Rasiya'. The song is a completely sensual track about love-making. The song has an ethnic feel and also oozes sensuality. Shruthi Pathak does a wonderful job singing in a low husky voice and shifts the pitch of her voice perfectly. The lyrics by Prasoon Joshi are truly poetic and romantic at the same time. A situational track that would appear most probably during a love making scene of the lead pair in the movie. (4/5)


Next up is the theme track of the movie, 'Kurbaan Hua' by Vishal Dadlani. We all know that Vishal is the owner of a powerful voice which is utilized to full effect in this song. This track gets your immediate attention and before you know it, you are in love with this semi-rock track. Vishal goes all out and belts out the track in an electrifying manner. The lyrics also add a lot of value to this song. But the most appealing is certainly Vishal's delivery. He has already given some amazing tracks this year like 'Dhan Te Nan' (Kaminey) and 'You May Be' (Aladin). This track is yet another feather on his cap. This song can certainly find a place in the action scenes of the movie and also serve as the theme track which can be played at various points in the narrative. It is certainly the best track of the album, along with 'Shukran Allah'. (4.5/5)


Kurbaan is one of the best albums that have come out this year and certainly one of the best works of Salim/Sulaiman. It has a mix of romantic, sensuous, festive, spiritual and action packed songs, all of which work very well. The songs should become more popular once the movie gets released. As of now, 'Shukran Allah' and 'Kurbaan Hua' have already become very popular through the promos that are on air now. The album also has an okay-okay remix version of the track 'Ali Maula'. On the whole, Kurbaan has a very satisfying musical score. Looking forward to the movie now. 


Rating - 4/5