The latest wave in the Internet is a supposed ‘leaked’ song from Mani Ratnam’s upcoming film titled Raavan.

The film, which stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai in lead roles in the Hindi version and Vikram and Aishwarya in the Tamil version, has music by Oscar winner A R Rahman. According to a post in the internet recently, a song — titled Kaadale... in the Tamil version — has been sung by the lead actress Aishwarya herself!

However, music composer Rahman has denied that any such song features in the film. “Someone’s pulling a fast one,” is all he said. All eyes are on Raavan’s music as it will be the first album with the Mani Ratnam-Rahman combination that will be out after the composer’s double delight at the Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire. Besides Raavan, A R Rahman’s current projects include Rajinikanth’s Endhiran and Sultan, Couples Retreat and Vinaithaandi Varuvaaya.

Oscar winning composer AR Rahman is all set to stage a glittering musical show in Los Angeles, according to reports.

And those attending the event would include celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, David Beckham, Owen Wilson. Soul singer PJ Morton is also expected to participate in the event. Rahman, who has reportedly recorded sales of over 300 million, has been called the ‘Mozart of Madras’ by the western media.

EXPECTATIONS

There are limited expectations from the music of Jail. Reasons being that a) the movie's genre doesn't quite warrant popular music in the offering and b) Barring Fashion, Madhur Bhandarkar's films (though belonging to a league of their own) haven't quite relied upon the music. Yes, one does come across an occasional song or two from movies like a Page 3 or a Corporate that manage to make a mark. However, it has never been the case of music helping the film succeed. This is the reason why one plays the four songs (two each by Sharib-Toshi and Shamir Tandon) without expecting chartbusters after chartbuster to follow!

MUSIC

In the recent times, Sharib-Toshi combine has come up with some good stuff in films like Jashn and Raaz - The Mystery Continues. Thankfully they carry on the momentum with 'Sainya Ve' that has Vishesh Films and Emraan Hashmi written all over it. A sufi rock track which is written by Sharib-Toshi themselves with Toshi coming behind the mike, the songs does impart a sense of deja vu in the beginning. However, after a couple of hearing, one actually starts enjoying this club track that features the lead pair of the film - Neil Nitin Mukesh and Mugdha Godse. Even though lyrics are quite ordinary, it's the rhythm of 'Sainya Ve' that keeps the momentum on. Designed for the dance floors, the song also finds an expected 'rock version' as well as a 'remix version' (both also featuring Neil Nitin Mukesh) for it. Expect DJs to put this one up in their 'favourites' list.

It's bona fide rock with the sound of guitar that begins proceedings for 'Milke Yun Lagaa'. In fact for the first few seconds, the listener is transported to the world created by Pritam in 'Martaba' [All The Best]. Second composition by Sharib-Toshi in the album, 'Milke Yun Lagaa' is written by Sharib-Turaz and is sung by Sharib. The song carries forward the trend that Pritam started with Life In A Metro and has consolidated further with Tum Mile. A painful love song with deep passion involved, this one makes for a good hearing even though it is situational in appeal. The song is also quite uncharacteristic of what one expects in a Madhur Bhandarkar film; something which is a welcome change.

The musical team of composer Shamir Tandon, lyricist Sandeep Nath and singer Sonu Kakkar get together for an item song made for the masses 'Bareily Ke Bazaar Mein'. Aimed at the gentry of the single screens and that too only for the smaller centres, 'Bareily Ke Bazaar Mein' would have been dismissed right away had it not been created for a Bhandarkar film. The tune, which has a rooted feel throughout and has no Western influences, doesn't have anything unique to offer and at most remains to be situational with a restricted shelf life.

Lastly arrives Lata Mangeshkar's 'Daata Sun Le' which is set in the same mode as 'Itni Shakti Hamein Dena Daata' [Ankush]. Seemingly set in a jail with inmates coming together and praying, 'Daata Sun Le' moves at an extremely slow pace, something which suits the genre that it belongs. What amazes though is to hear the 80 year old singer getting the right pitch at various junctures even at this age. No wonder, composer Shamir Tandon doesn't allow many instruments in the background and let's the vocals hold centre-stage.

OVERALL

Jail won't quite go the whole distance like Fashion which actually had music as an integral part of the narrative and also boasted of more than a couple of chartbuster tracks. However, it does have some decent songs with 'Sainya Ve' boasting of popular appeal and 'Daata Sun Le' keeping those happy who are fans of Lata Mangeshkar and followers of devotional tracks.

On Friday afternoon when the deceased legend Michael Jackson's brother Jermaine arrived to collaborate with Adnan Sami, there was a sense of disbelief in the city. Jermaine arrived with his wife Halima. They both checked into the Taj but spent the entire evening at Adnan's place discussing music, food, social concerns and Michael Jackson (MJ).

"It's been an exhausting but amazing time since Jermaine arrived," chuckles Adnan after an exhilarating session with Jermaine at the newly-revamped T-Series recording studio. "That's why I didn't make any announcements about Jermaine's arrival. I didn't want to sound premature in my excitement since Jermaine had visa issues and his arrival in Mumbai was uncertain till the last minute."

Adnan and Jermaine have got together to record a tribute to Mumbai City. "It will be part of an album we've been working on for two years long before Michael Jackson's sudden death. Jermaine loves India and Mumbai. I could've easily joined him in Los Angeles to record the song. But Jermaine insisted on coming down."

Adnan intends to make the third of the Jackson siblings familiar with the sights and sounds of Mumbai and India. "After the recording is over, we're going to Chowpatty and all the other hot spots of Mumbai. Jermaine loves Indian food. But he doesn't want to have the 5-star stuff. He wants to taste the pao-bhaji, paani-puri, bhelpuri, batata-vada and all the street-slurps."

A visit to the Taj Mahal is also on the anvil. "We'll visit the Taj and Fatehpur Sikri where as you know, Tansen once sang. I'd have loved him to stay in my house. But I thought a hotel would be more comfortable for Jermaine and Halima. I'm bowled over by his humility and his hunger to learn and know about Indian culture. His down-to-earth nature reminds me of Mr. Bachchan."

Adnan plans a very exclusive sit-in dinner party in Jermaine's honour at his home on October 7.

Jermaine also heard Azaan's music and loved it. The Jermaine-Adnan album will be marketed in India by T-Series and internationally on Jermaine's label. "T-Series re-revamped their entire studio and equipment for Jermaine's recording," says Adnan. "We're doing two songs together, one of them a tribute to Mumbai and its unstoppable energy"

Rating: ***

After the success of “Fashion”, Madhur Bhandarkar returns with “Jail”, which stars Neil Nitin Mukesh and Mugdha Godse. And the filmmaker has roped in composer brothers Sharib and Toshi Sabri along with Shamir Tandon to score the music.

The film has only four tracks, but the soundtrack boasts of melodious as well as pacy numbers.

“Bareli ke bazaar mein”, which seems to be an item number, is crooned by Sonu Kakkar. It is a confluence of rustic influences with western electronic beats, which to a large extent makes it a song for the masses. It is a fast-paced and energetic number.

The song has a remixed version too, which includes English lyrics as well. This version is average.

Next in line is a devotional number “Daata sun le” by melody queen Lata Mangeshkar. The very fact that it is sung by the veteran singer, gives the song an edge. Apart from that, it is a soft track and has a soothing effect on the listener.

The song also has a contemporary version, which is not very different from the original – just a little more orchestration in parts.

Then there is “Milke yun laga”, a love ballad that has Sharib behind the mike. It has a strong rock feel and creates an impact.

Finally there is a power-packed song “Sainya ve”. The song by Toshi sure does start with a bang.

The song has two more versions – one a remix and the other rock.

There is nothing special about the remix version. It just packs in more beats. However, the rock version is promising. It has great musical backing that lifts the song completely.

In short, the album is an appealing mix of slow and fast numbers.

Minmini, who is best known for her song “Chinna Chinna Aasai,” in Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film, Roja, is in thoughts to open a music academy. The academy will open at Vazhakala near Kochi and will train students in Western/Classical training in piano, guitar, violin, keyboard and vocals.

Minmini has been into singing since she was five years old with Kalabhavan orchestra. She debuted in films as a playback singer with Swagatham, Venu Nagavalli’s Malayalam film and to Tamil with Meera (1991), starring Vikram. Minmini has so far sung in seven languages and has sung over 2,000 film songs. She is the winner of many awards like the Tamil Nadu State Government Award, Cinema Express Awards and Filmfare Award. Due to an illness, she had to take a break from singing but she got back to songs in no time.