By Ronak Kotecha

You would not have awaited any film so much in the recent times, as this one. Right from the day, it hit the floors, The Rising has been constantly in news, sometimes for the wrong reasons though, but if Aamir's last release is anything to go by, then Mangal Pandey sure wins the most awaited film's title. The film also has the country's latest queen bee, Rani Mukehrjee and would have been a sort of a casting coup if Aishwarya Rai had played a part (considering the latest controversy), which is now being played by quite out of news and in need of a hit, Amisha Patel. It also has a foreign actor Toby Stephens, as it's a period film based on the historic mutiny of Indian Soldiers in 1857. Producers Bobby Bedi - Deepa Sahi along with her director husband Ketan Mehta, have ensured the movie looks enormously affluent as well as authentic with elaborate costumes and opulent sets that match the era. However, this also means the music must carry the film's historic flavor and must have been difficult to comprehend how the music was, nearly a hundred and fifty years back. For a movie of such high magnitude, anything less than the music maestro A.R. Rahman and the veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar, would have been undeserved. 

Kailash Kher makes an extremely impressive start with "Mangal Mangal", the title track that has the pace, incite and intensity that evokes a strong undercurrent of patriotism, especially when audio visualized. Yet, this is just the beginning, as the track has been composed thrice with Kailash Kher being a constant and precisely, he does have the voice that conveys the rage, agony and might of a phenomenon called Mangal Pandey. The track is essentially a theme song of the movie where the other two tracks are called Agni and Aatma. While the Agni version is analogous to the original with some additional brisk and vigor, the Aatma version is tenacious and persistent with Sukhwinder Singh adding some heart and soul into this vehement sonata of patriotism.

After the rumbling "Mangal Mangal" comes the soothing "Main Vari Vari".  Kavita Krishnamurthy, who is undoubtedly one of the best and most versatile voices of Indian Cinema, croons this one along with Reena Bhardwaj (wife of music director Vishal Bharadwaj) with utmost conviction and is spot on with every emotion, like always. Only the likes of Rahman can do justice to the velvety and divine vocals of both these extremely gifted singers that are still under-exploited. Although, the track does not have a remarkably great tune, being a Rahman classic, it will incontestably grow on its listeners at a pace they would never know and Javed Akhtar's significant words chanted by Kavita will do the rest.

The ancient Holi celebrations get underway with "Holi Re" where Mr. Perfect himself takes to the mike and once again delivers a flawless piece of perfection. While Aamir Khan restricts himself to the swift poetic verse, Udit Narayan, Madhusree, Srinivas and Chinmaye do the actual singing. Rich with varied vocals that sound authentically pleasant, the track is the entire music crew's humble and sincere effort that does not take long to bag the predilection of its audiences too.

The album only gets folksier with a mystical track "Rasiya" that has the music talking to your senses. Not all, but a few intense music lovers might find this exciting, as they plunge deeper into this unusual symphony of sagacity with Richa Sharma, Bomnie Chakraborty.

The opening Shehnai pieces of "Takey Takey" will remind you of "Saiyaan" from Rahman but the track quickly swerves to exclusivity as Sukhwinder Singh, Kailash Kher, Kartick Das Baul along with a cluster of kids in chorus execute this one with bracing rapidity. The track should inherently thrive on Javed Akhtar's satirical vocabulary followed by Rahman's spry composition that makes an entertaining listening.

A cry of help from the almighty with words richer than the normal comes in its pure Islamic form in "Al Maddath Maula". A.R. Rahman along with Kailash Kher, Murtaza and Kadir collaborate in finely tuned accord for this solemn track that may not have a great auditory value, but would serve a very important purpose in the movie itself. 

The two masters of music come together for creating the music of this great Indian saga of patriotism. Considering the film will not give those regular situational liberties and the music has to harmonize with the film's flavor and style, Javed Akhtar for one has given more than hundred percent. As for Rahman, he is competing with none other than his own self and Rahman's best is yet to come.

So much for an endless wait for a movie that stars - Aamir Khan!