Paa - Raja Sir's compositions work very well!!

Movie - Paa (Hindi)
Director - R Balki
Producer - AB Corp Ltd., Sunil Manchanda
Cast - Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Paresh Rawal and Amitabh Bachchan
Music - Ilaiyaraaja
Lyrics - Swanand Kirkire
Cinematography - PC Sreeram
Singers - Amitabh Bachchan, Shipa Rao, Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, R Bavatharini, Shravan
Editor - Anil Naidu
Art Director - Sunil Babu
Writer - R Balki
Release Date - 4th December 2009






Paa is an eagerly awaited film because of its new storyline and the interesting fact that Amitabh Bachchan is acting as Abhishek Bachchan's son. R Balki made a wonderful debut through Cheeni Kum in 2007, which had some very nice music from maestro Ilaiyaraaja. Though the tunes were taken from the yesteryear hits of Raja Sir, they suited that film very well and were quite popular too. Ilaiyaraaja has done the music for this film too. And he has given an interesting album with a mix of some of his old tunes and some new tunes as well. 


The first track is 'Mudi Mudi Ittefaq Se' by Shilpa Rao. Raja Sir's favourite Shreya Ghoshal is replaced by Shilpa Rao who surprised all of with her wonderful rendering of 'Khuda Jaane' in Bachna Ae Haseeno. She has a very unique voice and that is the best part about this romantic song. She makes sure that you do not miss Shreya Ghoshal at any point with her brilliant singing and different voice. The song may remind you of Raja Sir's 'Ninnukkori Varnam' from Mani Ratnam's Agni Natchathiram at times, even though the tune is quite different. The soothing song also has some very nice lyrics. The song is quite short (below 3 minutes) and has two other versions also, with some changes in lyrics. One version is by Shilpa again and is more or less the same as the first version, except that it goes 'Udi Udi' instead of 'Mudi Mudi'. The song talks about coincidence or Ittefaq in all the three versions. The third version is by Shaan and it goes like 'Gali Mudi Ittefaq Se'. It is a much more slower version with minimum orchestration. Shaan as usual sings very well and gives the required feel to the song. All the 3 songs are beautiful and romantic. (4/5)




'Gumm Summ Gumm' has the tune of one of my all time favourite Malayalam songs, 'Thumbi Vaa Thumbakkudathin' from Balu Mahendra's Olangal. That song is certainly one of Raja Sir's best tunes ever and I'm very happy that that particular has come to Hindi now. Children would take an instant liking towards this tune (as the original also was made for children). The song also sounds like a group of children singing for Amitabh's character in the film. Bavatharini, Shravan and Chorus have been credited for the vocals. But the whole song sounds like a chorus piece. Bavatharini, is Raja Sir's daughter and is not a very good singer, but in this song she does well and there is no South Indian accent also in her Hindi. The tune is such that it will work in whichever language it is used in. And I cannot stop listening to this song because I have already been addicted to the tune for my entire life. So hearing it in Hindi, was again very interesting for me. The lyrics by Swanand Kirkire is very happy and cheerful and is asking a character to come back to his cheerful nature from an upset mood. The orchestration is quite different from the original song and is quite contemporary. That works very well too. All in all, this is a gem of a tune, irrespective of the language. And because some nice lyrics have been given, the song stands out as the best track of the album. Full marks!! (5/5)




'Hichki Hichki' by Sunidhi Chauhan is a fun song. I think its the first time that Sunidhi is singing for Raja Sir. The tune again reminds you of many of Raja Sir's songs from Tamil and Malayalam. The lyrics are fun and playful. Sunidhi is very subdued unlike her usual energetic self. But she does a great job nevertheless. The song also has a small portion of the movie's theme song(which is yet to come) in a rearranged version. Though the song is nice, I doubt if it will be remembered for a long time. (3/5)


'Halke Se Bole' is by a chorus of children and talks about a wonderful tomorrow. The tune is taken from 'Putham Puthu Kaalai' from Bharathiraja's Alaigal Oyvathillai(Only the first paragraph is used).  The song is very short(just about 1 minute) and sweet. The children sing very well and it will most probably be a situational track in the film. Short and sweet. (3.5/5)


'Mere Paa' by Amitabh Bachchan is freaky. He sings like how a child would sing, but in an old man's voice, because of his peculiar disease in the film. It freaks you out on the first hearing. But I hope it would work well in the film. The song is about a little boy talking about his mother to his father. The lyrics are beautiful, if you are able to pay attention to them without being disturbed by Amitabh Bachchan's singing. Bachchan Saab usually does a great job whenever he is asked to sing songs. He does well this time also, but just that it is quite disturbing to hear him sing like a child. (It is done that way because the character is like that). He also says some lines in between. We have to watch the film to get their relevance. But the best part about this song is the out-of-the-world Theme Music by Raja Sir which comes in between. That particular bit is truly the best piece of music in this whole album. That particular violin piece immediately puts a smile on your face. I didnt quite like the whole song.  I hope it works as a part of the film. But just for the theme music on violins, I think I should give the song a good rating. (3.5/5)


The theme music of the film has a remix version by Vicky Goswami where a chorus sings the same tune in a 'Paa Paa Pa Pa Pa' kind of way backed by violins. It makes you feel happy and cheerful and has an upbeat feel to it. The music is also played using various instruments in the song, like electric guitar. But the violing part truly stands out and actually dominates above the singing of the chorus. The tune appeals in whichever form it comes and that is the major highlight of this song. (4/5)


On the whole, Paa is an interesting album from Raja Sir in Hindi. He rarely does music in Hindi and when he does, he makes sure that the score is very good. The Hindi audience havent heard many of his earlier works and through albums like this one and Cheeni Kum, he has been able to rework his legendary tunes into Hindi for a wider audience. He has brought one of his best tunes to Hindi through 'Gumm Summ' and has given some beautiful songs otherwise too. The theme music is certainly the best thing about this album. 'Mudi Mudi' and its different versions are melodious and romantic, as well. On the whole, this album would not disappoint and is one of the better music albums to have come out recently. 


Rating - 3.8/5