Rahman Praying For His Brothers

Here are three reasons why you should be listening to A. R. Rahman’s latest single, Pray For Me Brother:
a. Because it is Rahman
b. Because it is Rahman’s first English composition.
c. Because it is for a noble cause - It is an initiative by A.R. Rahman Foundation to collect funds for the U.N. Millennium Development Programme, aimed at eradicating poverty.

And here are two reasons why you should be watching its video:
a. Because it is shot by Bharatbala of ‘Vande Matram’ fame.
b. Because it is the world’s first music video which is shot in vertical cinemascope (for mobile phones) rather than the usual horizontal picture.

And here is one reason you’ll forget about it soon enough:
a. It’s all the same as before.

A.R. Rahman is known for his musical contributions to social causes – whether it was ‘Vande Matram’ or ‘Jana Gana Mana’, Rahman always gave out a social message through his (non-film) compositions. Pray For Me Brother does just the same.

A mix of traditional western and rap, the music of this track sure has a global appeal, but there’s nothing new in it. The very first time you hear it, you’d say you’ve heard it before. Sure, Rahman has given great vocals, but a great song has more than just great vocals.

The lyrics are clichéd and tend to be preachy: “Be what you wanna be now, let’s heal the confusion…” Moreover, the much-hyped video is so typically Bharatbala. It has nothing very innovative to offer. Except the fact that this one is in black & white, and is shot in vertical cinemascope, it’s the same as the other Rahman-Bharatbala videos.

There is no doubt that Rahman is one of the greatest music directors we have. And there’s no doubt that he’s a genius of a kind. But sometimes geniuses also need a change. Maybe.