India's top music director proves his versatility once again with an outstanding score for the Shyam Benegal directed film, 'Zubeidaa'.

'Zubeidaa' is also titled, 'The Story of a Princess' and it this bygone era that Rahman has effortlessly conjured up. His musical compositions lend themselves to a long vanished world of princes, princesses, palaces, zenanas..

Rahman's tunes have a tendency of growing on you. The album starts off with the gently haunting 'Dheeme, Dheeme' sung with inimitable style by Kavita Krishnamurthy. The soft strains of this song flow into more robust folksy rhythms as the dhol eases in. The slower numbers highlight the vocal, while buttressing the spare musical framework with instruments like the santoor. The soulful 'So Gaya Hai' has the dulcet voice of Lata Mangeshkar bouncing off a string composition, 'Hai Na' has Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik weaving a vocal spell around an instrumental bridge that centres around the santoor. Both 'So Gaya Hai' and 'Hai Na' have a distinctly Western classical 'feel' to them though in the use of instruments and manner of rendering, they remain firmly Indian in conception and execution.

'Mein Albeli' sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy and Sukhwinder Singh is a catchy number that incorporates diverse elements. There is a mesmerising Arabic feel to the song and Sukhwinder is, as usual, an excellent choice for a song that requires a voice with 'body'. 'Chhodo Mora Baiyan' by Richa Sharma is a thumri that completes Rahman's journey through varied musical experiences.

This is an outstanding album. Evocative of a bygone era, this is what a film score was supposed to be; a help not a hindrance, an asset not a distraction. It is aided by some outstanding lyrics by Javed Akhtar. Ultimately, the whole music-vocal-lyric synergy shines through the album.

Rating: Rahman is in top musical form. This album shows creeping influences of Western classical musicprelude to Rahman's long awaited musical collaboration with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, perhaps? Don't blame us if you find yourself humming these tunes in a couple of days..

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