Phir Le Aaya… Of Pain, Poetry & More…

I had vowed not to talk of Bollywood for at least some time on this blog, after my post on Shafqat’s Bollywood songs … but Phir le Aaya…yes the song from the recently released film, Barfi, brought me back to talk some more about Bollywood again. A beautiful song, that has been playing on the loop on my IPod, and if not that, then in my mind endlessly ever since I first heard it- clutter breaking, simple, yet profound; that stirs something deep inside of you.

I decided to ponder, and probe for a plausible explanation into what makes this song so near perfect!

P is for Poetry

Written by Saeed Qadri, a lyricist who has written extensively for the Bhatt camp, the song has beautiful words in a beautiful language, that is Urdu, and talks of love, regret, desire and more.

If you look at a long list of songs that Qadri has written till date, you realize that his words have contributed a lot to their success.  Doorie, Woh lamhe, Kaho na kaho, Tum mile, Tu hi mera… the list goes on. One of my all-time favorites – In dino dil mera from Life in a Metro comes from the same director, music director & writer team- Anurag Basu, Pritam and Saeed Qadri- and with Phir le aaya the trio has created magic, again. 

Phir le aaya dil, Majboor kya kije

Raas na aaya, Rehna door kya kije

Dil keh raha,Usse maqammal kar bhi aao

Wo jo adhuri si, Baat baaki hai

Wo jo adhuri si, Yaad baaki hai

Karte hain hum, Aaj qabool kya kije

Ho gaye thi jo, Humse bhool kya kije

Dil keh raha, Usse mayassar, Kar bhi aao

Wo jo dabi si, Aas baaki hai

Wo jo dabi si, Aanch baaki hai

Kismat ko hai ye, Manzoor kya kije ye..

Milte rahe hum,Badastoor kya kije

Dil keh raha hai,Usse musalsal, Kar bhi aao,

Wo jo ruki si, Raah baaki hai

Wo jo ruki si, Chaah baaki hai

Translation (that isn’t half as good):

I return- my heart compelled, there was nothing I could do

For it didn’t quite agree with me, the staying away from you!

My heart tells me, that I should go

And find that incomplete, half lost memory

Of very long ago

I confess today, it cannot be undone

I admit to all mistakes, each and every one

The heart stirs again to a lost desire

Wants to stoke again, the embers

Of a dying fire

That’s the way fate would have it, there was nothing we could do

Our paths kept crossing, but in a way the world would want them to

My heart cannot still bid adieu

To that unfinished, stifled, yearning

For being with you…

  

P is for Pain

Love and pain go hand in hand. Pain caused by love has been the pet peeve of Hindi film songs for as long as they have existed. And then there are different brands of pain as well- the pain of rejection, the pain of separation, the pain of remorse, the pain of longing and so on.

The pain experienced when one is young, is usually the most hard hitting, takes you by surprise & then alters the way you think and live life after the experience. It is often the inspiration for the creative types and is known to have produced many a poet and artist.  And that’s the reprise version of the song for you…

“A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets”- The famous quote from the movie Titanic, is what sums up the Rekha Bhardwaj version for me.  For they say that a woman’s heart never forgets love or hurt for as long as she lives, and if she chooses not to tell anyone about it, no one will ever know…

And as you mature and grow wiser the way you handle pain changes, too. You take a more philosophical approach to it ,learn from it, handle it better and live with it… and that’s the Redux version- my favorite of course, as it has been sung by none other than The Shafqat Amanat Ali!

So, like I mentioned in a previous blog, if there is a song that deserved to be sung thrice over, this is the one.

Arijit Singh : Reprise

Rekha Bhardwaj

Shafqat Amanat Ali : Redux

P is for Playback

Anyone who saw Fame Gurukul, a reality music show on TV few years ago will remember this massively talented, youngster, Arijit Singh. He had shown a lot of promise back then but not many would’ve imagined that he would come of age with a song like this. A very expressive voice that feels the lyrics as it sings them.

Rekha Bhardwaj has given us so many delightful songs in recent times and with this one she again proves why she is one of the best female playback voices of our current times. Soft, smooth, silky, subdued… her vocals for this one.

And then there is the version sung by my favorite. He sings it and how!… making it sound so easy and effortless and unconstrained, which is no mean achievement! He hasn’t sung this genre in Bollywood before but it is his home turf because Ghazal singing runs in his great musical family – his father being one of the most accomplished Ghazal singers that the subcontinent has ever seen. Sounding so very different from his recent songs for Jannat 2 and Raaz 3, Shafqat once again reminds you of his versatility and ability to sing different kinds of songs with equal proficiency.

P is for Pronunciation

Diction is what gives Shafqat’s version that extra edge over the other two. The way he says the words is starkly different from the other two singers. In a recent interview he mentions how he always pays special care not to mispronounce any words in any language that he sings in; and tries his best to render them in the way they should be. The way he says baaki or musalsal, or muqammal would make Javed Akhtar, who was famous for his nit picking on the talafuzz on the TV show, Indian Idol, stand up and say- "This is it!" J

P is also for ….

Pritam… Kudos to him for giving this beautiful, very un-Pritam like number, which stands out in this very exceptional album

And Pity… that the number was not fully utilized on the screen… and just one version…. Would have loved to see all 3, and especially my favorite one, on celluloid…

Bollywood- The Story So Far

“The barriers are not erected which can say to aspiring talents and industry-Thus far and no farther."

-Ludwig Van Beethoven

Beginnings

Most of us know the story of Shafqat’s entry into Bollywood- it is as filmy as it gets. Imagine a top Bollywood music director driving in his car through a busy Bombay road. The car radio starts playing “Ankhon ke Saagar” and he is mesmerized. He calls up the radio jockey to find out who sang it. He then tracks the voice down to Pakistan and soon offers him a chance to sing for their next venture. Mitwa happens and Bollywood gets a new singing sensation… Someone could actually make a film out of this fairytale like success story!

It’s been over six years since Mitwa released and that’s how long Shafqat has been with Bollywood- well, officially it’s been longer because 2 songs of his album Saagar were used by Nagesh Kukunoor for his Hyderabad blues. His latest song in Bollywood is for Anurag Basu's Barfi.

So what’s Shafqat’s story in Bollywood, so far? He has been pretty choosy in the work that he has done and has worked with only a handful of music directors. How well have they used his amazing voice? Has he realized his potential with what he has done so far or is his best for Hindi movies, yet to come? The questions require a looking back at all that he has sung so far…

Soulful with SEL

SAA: “Whenever there is a combination or fusion of talented musicians, it produces beautiful music. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy has proven that time and again.”

The trio of Shankar-Ehsaan- Loy, who initiated him into Bollywood, has given 3 of the best songs of Shafqat’s Bollywood career.

1. Mitwa (Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna- 2006)

What can one say about Mitwa? A landmark song not just for SEL or Shafqat but for Bollywood music itself- it still has music lovers swaying to it, half a decade later. Powerful lyrics by Javed Akhtar, but it is Shafqat’s voice that towers tall over the music, the words, and the performance on screen. This will always be a special one for all of his fans.

2. Tere Naina (My name is Khan – 2009) Expectations for a follow up to Mitwa were huge and the SEL- SAA combo delivered yet again- A beautiful number which talks of love in a way that is not too well known in Bollywood. It praises the eyes of a lover, but doesn’t talk of drowning in their intoxication like most numbers do. It’s more pure and divine- and only a voice like his could do justice to it.

3. Kyun main Jagoon- (Patiala House -2010)

A song that leaves me speechless… I think we can all relate to this because there are times in each of our lives when we have looked up to the skies and asked-Why? And when Shafqat talks to God, I think, He listens! So when you listen to him singing you start feeling closer to God.

This completed the hattrick for this singer – music director combination. I just hope this won’t end here and they will go on to complete a century

Shankar Mahadevan- “Shafqat is an amazing singer and a more amazing person”

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Splendid Melodies with Salim –Sulaiman

SAA: “.. today composers like, Salim-Sulaiman .. have taken film music to another level and I can see it progressing only.”

Salim-Sulaiman's partnership with Shafqat has given us some very memorable melodies, indeed

1. Ye Hausla (Dor- 2008) - The ultimate song for when you are feeling low-it could pull you from the deepest recesses and get you to start all over again. Best work of the Merchant brothers till date. And definitely one of Shafqat’s best in Bollywood

2. Shukriya Zindagi (Aashayein -2011) - Another Nagesh Kukunoor film, which got a delayed release- So this was probably the second time that Shafqat sang for the musical duo. A melodious song with wonderful lyrics- again very relatable and with a universal appeal

3. Chaayi hai Tanhayi (Love break up Zindagi- 2011) - The composers experimented a bit with the arrangement in this one and gave it a Qawaali feel that works very well. And Shafqat, as usual, is on the top with his in-control and powerful vocals!

4. Darmiyaan (Jodi Breakers- 2012) - A haunting number which strikes an instant chord. Beautiful lyrics, rendered skillfully by the maestro!

“Rockstar Ustad” was a term coined by Salim Merchant and is now frequently used as introduction to Shafqat

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Passion flows - Pritam Chakraborty

SAA: “Pritam loves fusion. His music is still rooted strongly in tradition but he gives it a modern spin.”

1. Tum Mile Rock Version- (Tum Mile- 2009) – “Tu hi hai meri saari zameen”, sings an out of world voice, and your heart stops for a second in anticipation of what will come next. And at the cost of sounding biased, this version out of the total three sung for this song is way, way above the other two!

2. Jaane Kyun (Always Kabhi Kabhi- 2011) - It is called the Sufi version, but it’s more appropriate to call it the softer version. Shafqat’s third one with Dharma Production carries an appeal not just for the youthful target audience of the movie, but for all romantics of all ages.

3. Poore se zara se Kum- Band Mix (Mausam, 2011) - This version sung by Shafqat was not used on screen and Ustad Rashid Khan's is the better known. (Thank you, Ehtisham Amir for directing me to this gem)

4.. Tu hi Mera (Jannat 2 -2012) - Shafqat breaks from his pensive, Sufi mode in this one and gives a spirited love song. Pritam stepped a little beyond the comfort zone that all composers felt with Shafqat till date and gave him room to showcase his versatility. I read somewhere that Shafqat had a bad throat while recording this one- I can imagine some singers having nightmares when they get to know of this.

5. Phir le Aaya Dil - Redux  (Barfi- 2012) - Feel really proud to see Shafqat's name in the credits of this wonderful album. This song is my favorite from the list of some really high quality numbers that the album offers. Pritam's best probably and definitely the album of the year so far. The song deserved to be sung thrice over- each version is great, but Shafqat's stays on with me

With these 5 wonderful tracks Pritam becomes the composer that Shafqat has done most work with , in Bollywood!

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Vibrant Notes by Vishal-Shekhar

SAA on his rapport with Vishal and Shekhar: “It was friendship at first sight.”

1. Bin tere (IHLS- 2010) – O boy! What do I say about this song?  It is just perfect. Vishal of the Vishal – Shekhar duo wrote the lyrics for this one and I am a fan of the words he pens (He has also written Allah ke bandey and Aankho mein teri ajab si, by the way) and there couldn’t have been a better choice of a singer to convey the pain of separation, that is the song. I prefer the male part over the female one – ok I AM biased!

2. Dildara- (Ra One 2011)- What happens when Ben E King meets Shafqat? Magic!  Additional vocals by Vishal, Shekhar and Clinton Cerejo make it even more wonderful!

Only nominations that Shafqat has received for cine awards in Bollywood have been for these two songs

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Stellar tunes- Sajid-Wajid

SAA: “They are friends first and then co-workers”

1.Tishna Tishna  (Zindagi tere naam- 2008) – Probably the closest Shafqat comes to singing regular Bollywood fare. A song set up in fast tempo that he sings along with Sunidhi Chauhan. Will rank lower when we look at his other work but still among the better ones from Bollywood

2. Carvaan ( Hello -2009) – A beautiful composition. The song gives you a feeling of the journey of life, for which, no one can predict the outcome.  A song in the same league as his Kyun main Jagoon, but lesser heard.

The song Caravaan never got used in the film Hello!

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Et al

• Tere Bin for Sajid and Afsar in Love possible (2012) doesn’t really stand out, but it is a sweet song which you won’t mind listening to every now and then. 

• Ya Maula for Maximum (2012) composed by Vikram Sawan brings to fore the Sufi side of Shafqat beautifully again- the sounds of the waves in the background is beautiful. 

•  Zindagi se for Raaz 3 (2012) composed by Jeet Ganguly-The music of Raaz 3 has received somewhat mixed reviews- probably because the expectations were very high for the album considering it comes from a production house whose success largely rides on its music. But still Shafqat’s song is one of the two that stand out in an album which is otherwise pretty mundane.

And, next…

It’s a pity that in an industry that churns out hundreds and thousands of songs every year, the singer of Shafqat’s stature has sung only a handful of songs. Why, I wonder? Is it because he is picky? Is it because his immense talent doesn’t fit into the quick –success formula in this age of item numbers?  Is it because he is based across the border? Questions that best can be answered by him or the composers in the industry. But I do hope that he will get a chance in the future to showcase his talent with more composers, and the ones who have already worked with him, will challenge him with something even more exciting and fulfilling.

As a fan, I do lament the fact that he has done very select work in Bollywood  but am also proud that he has more or less always met the expectations and maintained a standard in singing that is worthy of his family name. His trademark aalaaps are a stamp of his ownership on songs of the Bollywood composers that he made his own. Each time you listen to him singing you are delighted to discover delightful nuances that you had missed before, and that’s what gives his songs such a long shelf life, unlike your other average Bollywood numbers.

Shafqat has always maintained that he prefers to sing his own compositions, but also admits that Bollywood has provided him a wider reach to his listeners. Maybe someday he will write and compose for a Hindi film. I hope Bollywood is paying heed!