RIP Yash Chopra

October 21st, 2012 came the news of Yash Chopra passing away. Bollywood lovers broke down to tears, I did too. He was a brilliant director who had the gift of God to present the simplest moments in a grand way in a three hour long cinematic experience.  Jab Tak Hai Jaan was his last directorial which we are yet to see. Alright, to cut this short, let me get to the point. In this post, I want to talk…just read on if you want.

As a kid, I grew up on imitating different actors and singing songs that got stuck in my head. I never understood the meanings or anything till long…well more recently. Whether it’s “Mere pass Maa hai”, “Kabhie kabhie mere dil mein”, “Dekha ek khwab”, “K-K-K-Kiran”, “Mere haathon mein nau”  or “Chak dhoom dhoom”, “Ole ole”, “Hothon pe bas”…anyone with enough sense could say I was a bigger Yash Chopra fan than SRK fan as a child. But you know what? Yash ji never made movies aimed mostly at kids. I don’t know why I would say this but I just thought of it and yet I kinda loved what he did. I never even heard of him until I started watching award shows (first award show I watched was Filmfare 1997). But the image I had of him was of an old guy with the top of his head hairless. 

In 2004, Veer Zaara released. While I was in the mode to get in my senses, I fell in love with the movie. It shook my emotions. When I watched the special features on the VZ DVD set, I still didn’t notice Yash ji. He kept going on unnoticed in my eyes…until Oct 21^st, 2012. I do confess that I made fun of him a lot over the years. And you know, many times, we get used to somebody being alive if that is the correct way to say it. You do not realize the value, the influence until they are gone. Same happened with me. 

I would have never said this to Yash ji if he were alive because it wouldn’t cross my mind and of course it wouldn’t be possible either but I want to say now:

I am sorry Yash ji. I am sorry for never trying to realize what a beautiful blessing you were in my life.  I am sorry for never taking the time to express my gratitude for teaching me about relationships through your movies. You taught me how to be patient; taught me how to love, taught me the fact that life CAN be beautiful. Now that you are gone, I am learning further about honesty and passion...valuing someone who influences your life. You didn’t go alone but you took 20 years of my life along with you. You left me in tears. I am sorry Yash ji for my ignorance. I am sorry. I shall never forget you till my last breath.

Jab Tak Hai Jaan

The past few weeks has been all about Shah Rukh's next release, Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Two months ago, we got a teaser. Just 3 weeks back, we got the trailer and the title. The whole world went gaga over it, creating new records for an Indian film. Then came a song promo followed by music release and another song promo. It's been fantastic so far. Right?

The music of Jab Tak Hai Jaan has composed by AR Rahman and lyrics penned by Gulzar. Each and every song in the album is different from one another.Today I shall try to review each piece.

Your ears first hear "Challa"...the song is of the mad one. The lyrics indicate a lonely man in love who cries on his own, laughs on his own...belongs to everyone but has no one of his own and he awaits for his lady love. While it would feel like a sad man's story but it has been sang cheerfully by Rabbi Shergill. The promo is no less either, not a sight of sadness. But once you understand the lyrics, it gets you thinking. Purely Punjabi...not the loud Punjabi that most think of.

Mad one sings along with his love in the next song. "Saans", the breath of love. Sang by Shreya Ghoshal and Mohit Chauhan. While I have openly made fun of this song in glory but it is really beautiful. The song has actually deceived me into thinking that I myself have fallen in love. It has a horror kind of tune (like you know, something can go wrong anytime) in the background but it makes you think the two lovers are barely even aware of what the future holds. Then music in between has a pitiful tone...it makes you pity them as well. Of course it made me feel very nostalgic. Reminds me of a typical romantic song of Yash Chopra. The promo covers sweet romantic moments of Shah Rukh and Katrina in the film

"Ishq Shava"! Sang by Raghav Mathur and Shilpa Rao. This dance number is unlike any of the recent dance numbers. Full of beats that make you picture a fantastic dance performance with awesome expressions and attitude by the two characters performing. While I have never been a fan of Raghav (he's really big among the South Asian community in North America) but he sings this song outstandingly. His first playback for a Bollywood film and he couldn't have gotten any better support than from Shilpa. And as we all know, this song is pictured on Shah Rukh and Katrina. Expectations are high, promo shall be revealed soon! It did remind me a bit of "Hawa" from Rockstar. I definitely cannot sit still whenever I listen to this song!

You are now to wash down the beats of "Ishq Shava" with "Heer". A solo track sung by Harshdeep Kaur. The song narrates the tale of Sahiban (originally Heer) asking for Mirza. Heer and Ranjha, Mirza and Sahiban are both tragic romances like Romeo and Juliet from Punjab, India. While the song is a bit hard to comprehend due to its Punjabi lyrics like "Challa" but it's sang with a lot of care and love by Harshdeep.

You are back to the present after a classic song like "Heer" with the energetic song, "Jiya Re". The song sang by Neeti Mohan is pictured on Anushka Sharma, whose name in the film is Akira. The song gives you an idea of Akira's character. She is loveable, full of life, she is also the mad one...Challi as in female mad one. All the love you listened to so far in the album gets you alive with this song.

Back to the world of love with "Jab Tak Hai Jaan"...sung by Javed Ali and Shakthisree Gopalan. First of all, it has been a long time wish for me to hear Javed Ali sing for Shah Rukh. I love the man's voice to tid bits. It's a ballad with beautiful happy lyrics. Like a reminder of the love we'll see between Shah Rukh and Katrina perhaps. With the dhols in the background, it sounds very much like a 90's romantic song.

Then you enter into a 2 minute sadness mode with "Saans - Reprise" sang by Shreya Ghoshal. The song makes you think of a surprising reunion of two lovers. Beautifully painful and the first song in the whole album to become my favorite. I have a thing for such songs, whether it's this one or "Tujh Mein Rab" from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi by Shreya. It even made me cry one time...all of a sudden.

"Ishq Dance" is a instrumental which might be a prelude to "Ishq Shava". It's filled with energetic beats which get you bobbling your head or dancing just like "Ishq Shava". Lots of drumming and it has a Jamaican feel to it. A true blue brilliant piece which grows on you!

To end it, we do get the ever so popular "Jab Tak Hai Jaan - Poem". With Shah Rukh's husky voice, the darkness and brightness of the poem describes the nature and actions of both the leading ladies. Excellently written by Aditya Chopra.

Overall, the album is something you would enjoy listening alone. It's like a guilty pleasure in my opinion. It has "A Yash Chopra Romance" written all over it and I am thankful for that. I am not a huge fan of AR Rahman and find his previous albums being more weighed towards his trademark kind of music. Each and every song in this album are sweet. It's not great, over the top but sweet enough to make you want to listen to them more and more. It's hard to decide which is my top favorite because everyday since I heard it, my choice keeps changing. The biggest plus point is that it has no remixes. Remix is not something that everyone does well. And I am someone who prefers the original 99% of the time. Next thing is that the songs tell you quite a lot about the film but of course, it doesn't give away the full film.

Now, I wait eagerly for November 13th to come soon so I can enjoy this film. I need to take a couple of boxes of tissues to the theater. But there is no bigger joy to cry along with the biggest hero of this world, Shah Rukh Khan right?