There are some film albums which get a lot of attention when they release. Then, there are some which do not create much of a noise when they arrive but become extremely popular with time. The soundtrack of the Irrfan starrer ‘Rog’ belongs to the second category.
In the mid-90s, Mahesh Bhatt made ‘Criminal’, a film shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu, with Nagarjuna. The film, which was loosely inspired from the Hollywood thriller ‘The Fugitive’, did not make much of an impact at the box-office but its soundtrack did. While the Telugu audience was familiar with M. M Keeravani’s work, the Hindi audience woke up to the genius of the maverick composer through this film. In Hindi films, the composer preferred to be credited as M. M. Kreem. ‘Criminal’ had an incredible soundtrack and one song which took the entire nation by storm was a dulcet melody called ‘Tu Mile Dil Khile’, sung by Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik and K.S.Chithra.
After ‘Criminal’, M. M. Kreem went on to collaborate with members of the Bhatt family on a few other films including ‘Zakhm’, ‘Sur: The Melody Of Life’ and ‘Jism’. The albums of all these films not only became successful upon its release but also earned the epithet of being cult classics over time. In the year 2004, Kreem composed the songs for ‘Rog’, a film produced by Pooja Bhatt and Sujit Kumar Singh, written by Mahesh Bhatt and directed by Himanshu Brahmbhatt.
‘Rog’ was one of the early films which featured Irrfan in the lead role. The film was based on a very interesting premise. It was about a cop falling in love with a woman who is presumed to be dead. He discovers the woman through her photographs and other material that she has left behind. Driven by this unique concept, one would have expected ‘Rog’ to be a very exciting film. However, owing to the weak screenplay, the innovative concept and the film did not land well. The soundtrack, however, did not disappoint at all.
The film had four original tracks (plus two alternative tracks derived from original tracks) put together by M. M. Kreem. While one song was written and composed by Gaudi, the ‘Rog Theme’ was designed by Music Mushrooms. Neelesh Misra wrote all the songs composed by Kreem, barring one one (“Tere Is Jahan Mein”) which was written by Sayeed Quadri. Kreem had earlier collaborated with Misra and Quadri on ‘Jism’.
The album opens with “Maine Dil Se Kaha”, the finest song written by Neelesh Misra in his illustrious career as a lyricist. Sample this, “bechaara kahaan jaanta hai, khalish hai yeh kya khala hai, shehar bhar ki khushi se, yeh dard mera bhala hai, jashn yeh raas naa aaye, mazaa toh bas gham mein aaya hai”. The song is filled with poetic gems that leave a lasting impact on you. Neelesh’s poetry is wonderfully complemented by an emotionally rich tune composed by M. M. Kreem. The song comes at a juncture in the film where Inspector Uday Singh Rathod (Irrfan) is suffering from depression and is not sure as to which direction his life is heading in. Kreem, through his composition and Misra, through his words, bring out the pain and restlessness within the character to the fore effectively. Another highlight of the song, of course, is KK’s heartfelt rendition which makes the song all the more special.
“Tere Is Jahan Mein”, which has a wonderfully haunting feel to it, arrives at a point in the film when Rathod feels the world is a lonely place without the ‘dead woman’ he has developed feelings for. M. M. Kreem composes a highly evocative tune that could leave one with goosebumps. Neelesh, on his part, ensures that the feelings of the character come to the fore effectively. A sense of gloom and melancholy remains throughout the song. A special mention must be made of the arrangements which contribute towards accentuating the sombreness and haunting feel of the song. The violin, one of Kreem’s favourite instruments, arrives at the 03:50 mark and is one of the many musical pieces in the song that you remember long after you finish listening to it.
“Khoobsurat”, sung by Udit Narayan, is perhaps the most conventional song on the soundtrack. That, of course, does not mean that it is not of good quality. It is an extremely catchy melody with a lot of heart. Set in a similar mould as “O Saathiya” (‘Saaya’), another composition by M. M. Kreem, this is the kind of song had the potential to reach out to a wide audience owing to the way it has been designed. The percussion instruments are used well throughout the song and contribute towards making it sound upbeat. The romantic verses, written by Neelesh, are very good. The alternative version, sung by Kreem, is exactly as long as the original.
Just like “Tere Is Jahan Mein”, “Guzar Na Jaaye” has a haunting feel to it. Both the songs, however, are very different from each other. “Guzar Na Jaaye” is a song in which two individuals are walking through deserted roads late in the night, enjoying each other’s company and dreading what would happen when this “khwaab sa safar” or dream-like-journey comes to an end. KK and Shreya Ghoshal sing this song in a whisper-like manner and that makes it all the more enticing. Their rendition plays an important role in bringing the sensuousness in the song alive. M. M Kreem composes a bewitchingly beautiful melody and the thumping arrangements, too, make a solid impact.
“Sufani”, a track from Gaudi’s non-film album, found its way into the ‘Rog’ soundtrack. The track, which has a psychedelic feel to it, features some eccentric electronic beats that eventually come together well as a cohesive unit. In the background, one can hear a voice faintly reciting lines from the popular folk “Naa Kar…”. Though “Sufani” has a very different soundscape from the rest of the album, it still makes for a good addition to the soundtrack.
The ‘Rog Theme’, which is the last track to be featured on the CD (and not the album uploaded by the label on YouTube), has a duration of 4 minutes and 31 seconds. The track features a bevy of diverse instruments including piano and sarangi and makes for a good hear. It nicely encapsulates some of the elements in the film including suspense, thrill and melancholy.
A large part of the film shows Irrfan introspecting about life and his feelings for a woman who, as per the information he has, is not alive. Most of the songs in the film convey this state of mind very beautifully. ‘Rog’ released without much fanfare and failed to make any noise at the box-office. This had a direct impact on the film’s album. Despite featuring some great songs, the album just did not get its due back then. However, with time, it got much of the love it deserved. This was one of those rare instances of a soundtrack not getting any attention at the time of its release but becoming popular after years. If one looks at the views of some of the songs from the album like ‘Maine Dil Se Kaha’ and ‘Khoobsurat’, one realizes that a large number of people have made an effort to listen to this soundtrack and have, perhaps, recommended it to their loved ones as well.