| Raunaq | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 31 May 2014 (2014-05-31) (Introductory launch) 1 September 2014 (2014-09-01) (Music launch) 15 October 2014 (2014-10-15) (CD release)[1] | |||
| Recorded | 2013–2014 | |||
| Studio | Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios,Chennai | |||
| Genre | Indi pop | |||
| Length | 37:06 | |||
| Language | Hindi | |||
| Label | Sony Music | |||
| Producer | A. R. Rahman | |||
| A. R. Rahman chronology | ||||
| ||||
Raunaq: Conversation of Music and Poetry is a 2014studio album composed byA. R. Rahman with lyrics penned byKapil Sibal. The album is described as a conversation of music and poetry that takes one on a journey of varied emotions. Selected tracks of the album depictsocial scenario of India through Sibal's lyrics. The album was a result of Sibal's anthology of poems to which Rahman added visuals fromRaja Ravi Varma's paintings, thus, developing songs and corresponding videos to it. A. R. Rahman has played the role of a visual storyteller and has conceived the narrative of the music video "Aa Bhi Jaa". The album was announced through an introductory video backed by the same song. The album being a visual story telling sort of, the marketing strategies developed were to have each song's individual marketing and promotional activity released over a period of time. The album had an introductory launch bySalman Khan at an event held inMumbai on 31 May 2014. The album was released on 1 September 2014. The album was dedicated toVogue Empower, a social awareness initiative that draws attention towomen's empowerment.[2][3]
In an interview withMid-Day, Rahman stated that in the year 2013 he was gifted a book ofRaja Ravi Varma's paintings. Influenced by those, he wished videos of the recorded songs to have visuals from paintings. Rahman metKapil Sibal at a common friend's place who read out Sibal's poems at a function. Sibal showed Rahman theanthology of poems wherein Sibal added that how inspiration strikes him anywhere, anytime. Rahman was fascinated by the seven to eight poems from these collection of poems. Rahman began composing music for the same, around six months before March 2014. Adhering to the development, the recordSony Music agreed to back this musical production. The track "Aa Bhi Jaa" is based on a love-separation theme whereas the track "Laadli" is a tribute to all the women of the country.[4][5] In the album, Rahman has played the role of a visual story teller and has conceived the narrative of the "Aabhi Jaa" music video, apart from his role as a music composer and singer. In April 2014, directorBejoy Nambiar with cameramanSanu Varghese were involved in filming of the song "Laadli". On recording the track, Rahman stated that when he heard the lyrics of "Laadli" for the first time, he felt thatLata Mangeshkar would be the right voice for it. The singer heard the song and agreed to do it but not the same day as she was keeping unwell. At that time, Rahman had come toIndia for a day just to record that particular track and had to fly back immediately to continue recordingfilm score of an international flick. Post three-and-half later, Rahman met singer Lata Mangeshkar and told that if now she'd disagree to recording the track then he won't release the album.[6] Sibal on the song stated, "This song "Ladli" is for all the women in the world who spread cheer among the people around. For me, a woman is someone who stands tall despite difficult situations. She is a creator, nurturer, which is why we thought we would pay respects to a woman."[7] In May 2014, whilst on board with Rahman'sInfinite Love Concert inSingapore,K. S. Chithra had begun recording the track "Sach Kahoon" for the album.[8]
The album contains seven tracks and reflects the current social scenario ofIndia mixed with the lyricist Kapil Sibal's personal experiences. Sibal had worked on the songs for more than a year and half. The songs range from being an individual's journey through life to the story of a woman who struggles to eventually become successful.[9]
All lyrics are written byKapil Sibal; all music is composed byA. R. Rahman.
| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Laadli" | Lata Mangeshkar,A. R. Rahman | 05:56 |
| 2. | "Sach Kahoon" | K. S. Chithra,A. R. Rahman | 05:34 |
| 3. | "Geet Gaaon" | Jonita Gandhi | 05:45 |
| 4. | "Aa Bhi Jaa" | Jonita Gandhi | 05:48 |
| 5. | "Kismat Se" | Shreya Ghoshal | 04:52 |
| 6. | "Kho Jaayein Hum" | Shweta Pandit, Jyoti | 05:16 |
| 7. | "Khatta Meetha" | Mohit Chauhan | 04:01 |
| Total length: | 37:06 | ||
A. R. Rahman announced the album through hisYouTube channel on 1 May 2014. The 36 second teaser clip introduces the album titleRaunaq, backed by the song "Aa Bhi Jaa" by Jonita Gandhi and an image where Rahman is working on the music with Sibal sitting next to him.[11] A personal incident with his sonA. R. Ameen wherein the story revealed that he was working on the post-production of the album during the same month.[12]Kapil Sibal announced the album through his official website.[13] As a part of the promotional purposes, stills from the music video inspired by Raja Ravi Varma's paintings were released on 28 May 2014, ahead of the album release withYami Gautam being a part of the same video.[14] Sanujeet Bhujabal, marketing director ofSony Music India, revealed that they were marketing the album across social and online paid media making initiatives on social media vary from meet and greets to music programming strategies. Moreover, the activity will take place acrossFacebook,Twitter,Google+,Line and on A. R. Rahman's and Kapil Sibal's social media handles. He further added that the album being a visual story telling sort of, the targets were to run multipleCost Per View (CPV) campaigns. Each song will have an individual marketing and promotional activity releasing over a period of time.[4]Sony Music Entertainment had exclusively partnered withFever FM as the radio partner,Nokia digital download store andMTV Indies as their music channel partner.[4]
The introductory launch for the album was held on 31 May 2014 atMumbai,[15] with the presence ofBollywood actorSalman Khan.[16][17] Commercial music streaming serviceGaana released the first track "Kismat Se" sung byShreya Ghoshal as a single from the album on the same day.[18] The track "Aa Bhi Jaa" sung byJonita Gandhi was released on 29 June through4K-Ultra high definition version and thus became India's first video song to be released in this format.[19][20] Sony Music hosted the premiere of the video song exclusively on 28 June, owing to the anticipation of viewers and listeners, with Sanujeet opining that "watching a video in this format is an immersive experience in itself" and A. R. Rahman stating that "We wanted this video to be in a format that gives viewers a visual delight as the essence of the video is taken from Raja Ravi Varma's paintings".[21] The song featuredYami Gautam and Muzammil Ibrahim which focuses on love and separation during the days of dynasties ruling India.[22] The track "Laadli" sung byLata Mangeshkar was released on 1 September 2014, during the occasion of the film's music launch.[7] The video of the song starts with a girl running with a paper airplane. It proceeds with the phases of her life and the kind of laughter she brings among her friends and family. She fights for another girl who is molested by a group of men on the street and rescues her, whilst on-lookers do nothing about it. The song finishes with her fulfilling her ambition of becoming an air force pilot.[7]
After an introductory launch of the album in May 2014,[17] Rahman published the eight-song soundtrack on 1 September 2014 at another function held in Mumbai, with lyricistKapil Sibal among other celebrities being present.[23] He further added the soundtrack will be dedicated toVogue Empower, a social awareness initiative that focuses onwomen empowerment.[24][25] Theaudio CD tracks were released directly into the market on 15 October 2014, a month after its launch.[26]
The album received mostly mixed to positive reviews from listeners. Namrata Thaker ofBollywoodlife.com commented the track "Aa Bhi Jaa" in her review for the song, opined the music of the film as "fantastic" and commented " the Mozart of Madras (A. R. Rahman) has done a fine job with the music as always". For the visuals of the song, Namrata called it as "delightful" and stated "the track has been shot beautifully and the4K ultra high definition makes it worth watching even more", further adding that "the visuals reminds us of the American fantasy seriesGame of Thrones".[22] Vipin Nair ofMusic Aloud called "Raunaq has some nice music from A R Rahman, but lacks the wow element as an album. Given that this is the first proper non-film album from the maestro in over five years, one would have expected more", and addedGeet Gaaoon,Sach Kahoon, Laadli andKho Jaayein Hum as his favourite picks from the album, with a rating of 7 out of 10.[27] Karthik Srinivasan ofMilliblog had commented "Rahman provides more than adequate luster to this Raunaq".[28] Critic Ramesh Bala in his review forAssorted Collections stated that "the album is filmy with great compostions by A R Rahman but lacks enough punch for multiple listens" and rated 7.5 out of 10.[29] Sunil Khatar in his musical review forThe Indian Express, stated that "the album hardly resembles anything that A. R. Rahman has offered before", but called "even by his standards, the album sounds very original and thus proving his stamina of setting trends is not worn out yet". He concluded the review saying that "the album should be a consolation for all the listeners who thought A. R. Rahman had drifted apart from his melodic days".[30]
Credits adapted fromA. R. Rahman's official website[31]
Dr. Narayan,Nivas,Santhosh Hariharan, Deepak Blue,Arjun Chandy,Yazin Nizar,Pooja Vaidyanath, Maalavika Sundar,Sowmya Raoh,Veena Murali, Niranjana Ramanan,Maria Roe Vincent, Varsha, Surbhi,Shashaa Tirupati, Debolina Bose, Swagatha Sundar &K.M.M.C. Choir
