Patriotic films are always tough to carry out but to pen patriotic songs is even more difficult. For too long we have celebrated the classic patriotic tracks like AR Rahman’s 'Vande Mataram', Mahendra Kapoor’s 'Rang De Basanti Chola' from Manoj Kumar’s (1965). The modern era has thrown up decent numbers, but it’s rare to find a refreshing patriotic song. That wait though could be over with Raag Desh’s 'Tujhe Namaami Ho', which was released today.
Desh raga, one of the Hindustani classical ragas, is commonly used in songs with a sentimental patriotic feel. Perhaps, this is why director Tigmanshu Dhulia named his film Raag Desh. The inspirational lyrics by Sandeep Nath induce a feeling of patriotism. The gist of the song is paying respect, bowing to one’s matrabhoomi (motherland).
Gurubaksh Singh (Amit Sadh), PK Sahgal (Mohit Marwah) and Shah Nawaz Khan (Kunal Kapoor) are the three protagonists, but the beauty of 'Tujhe Namaami Ho' lies in the soulful voice of its four singers Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, KK and Rana Mazumder.
Sunidhi and KK lead with the aalaap, while the duo are good, the song comes alive when Ghoshal and Mazumder join in. Ghoshal stands for her melodious voice, while Mazumder for his unique tone. The four voices gel wonderfully, especially for the chorus. Chauhan perhaps is not clear in the antara as she sounds stressed while singing the words 'dishaheeni ka khumar hai hai'. That though is just a little aberration in an otherwise soothing performance by the four eloquent voices.
The visuals of Indian flag and the All India Muslim League flag with Hindus, Muslims united for Independence is a sight to behold.
Apart from the singing, Mazumder gets a huge plus for scoring soft, soothing but gripping music. It would be unfair to compare the songs with the great patriotic songs, but Mazumder and company have managed to produce a patriotic track that the Hindi cinema will remember for long.
Watch the 'Tujhe Namaami Ho' track below. Raag Desh is set to be released on 28 July.