Movie Details of Lagaan
Music: A.R. Rahman
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Label: Sony Music
Director: Ashutosh Gowarikar
2001 was a landmark year for Aamir Khan, with two of the biggest movies of his career coming out over a span of just three months. It was a real treat for music aficionados that both these movies had stellar soundtracks steeped in totally different soundscapes. While Dil Chahta Hai was representative of urban coolness, Lagaan's period album was very rooted in its sound with dominant folk and classical influences, with a smattering of Western classical elements. Among the soundtrack's brilliant lineup of musicians that composer AR Rahman featured in the album were Hindustani veterans Ustad Sultan Khan (sarangi) and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (mohan veena).
Best Song of Lagaan: There are few songs that can give me the kind of inspirational high that O Mitwa does. While Javed Akhtar and the singers were top notch on their part, the star of the song was AR Rahman for the way he structured the song with its brilliant shifts between soothing melodic passages and the electrifying central refrain.
On a related note: Though the album's official credits mention just Javed Akhtar as lyricist, the English segments of O Ri Chhori were reportedly penned by Farhan Akhtar.
The Lagaan Playlist:
Listen to the entire album of Lagaan here:
(With contributions by Praveen VR, co-founder of musicaloud.com)