During one of my recent conversations on music with my father, who also happens to be a Hindustani Classical violinist, he made a statement. “There are just three good film music composers in the country today and they are all from the southern part of India…Ilaiyaraja, AR Rahman & MM Kreem. Goes on to say that the region is serious about its music.” And that gave me the idea for this edition of vinyl review.

While much has been written about Ilaiyaraja and ARR, MM Kreem has somehow remained largely hidden. The idea here is to bring him to the spotlight through talking about his score in the movie, ‘Zakhm’ (Wound), Mahesh Bhatt’s brilliant sign off feature as a director.

The critical role of music in quality cinema is to add to the story-telling in the right way, whether it’s the background score or the songs. And that’s what the music of Zakhm does. The story, set against the backdrop of Mumbai riots, is about a compelling relationship between a mother and son, wherein the son is more like a friend to her and he wants his parents (who are separated because of the circumstances) to unite. Barring a few happy moments, there is an attractive melancholy that hangs throughout the movie and Kreem’s music, along with the great Anand Bakshi’s lyrics fluidly reflects that beautiful melancholy.

The entire album is one sonorous flow, pretty much in the stream of consciousness manner, with one song leading to another in an organic way, adding to the narrative. This is supported by the gushing Sitar, Sarod, Tabla, Violins and Chorus and even Kreem himself, humming and singing. He usually does that in most of his albums. Something that the above mentioned musical giants also do.

Overall, the album belongs to Alka Yagnik and she has done full justice to all the songs. Story has it that Chitra was supposed to do the album but because of the ‘dates’ issue, Alka had to be brought in. Chitra does make a small appearance with a humming version of Maa Ne Kaha (the last song of Sid A). All the 9 songs in the album are great but the two stand out tracks are the opener of the album, Hum Yahan sung very carefully and melodiously by Kumar Sanu and the last track of the album, Gali Mein Aaj Chand Nikla sung by Alka Yagnik. While the former reflects the pain of the protagonist, garbed in the form of a love song for his partner, the latter sums up the story of the protagonists mother, who rarely gets to see her partner. Anand Bakshi’s lyrics add to the feel in the latter. Ye Naina Bin Kaajal Tarse / Barah Mahine Baadal Barse / Suni Rab Ne Meri Fariyad / Gali Mein Aaj Chand Nikla.

MM Kreem is an old school film musician. He believes in using traditional authentic instruments, big orchestra, rich sound and structured sweet melodies following the standard Antara – Mukhda (Verse – Chorus) pattern, probably because his primary instrument is a violin. And the results are always beautiful and memorable. Take the songs of Sur, Jism, Is Rat Ki Subah Nahin, Criminal, among others.

But for me this is his stand out work. One of the most beautiful and complete modern day Hindi film music albums, where no song is skippable. Zakhm’s songs open up and heals the wounds of the heart, at the same time. Thank you Mr. MM Kreem, Mr Anand Bakshi and Mr Mahesh Bhatt.

Album: Zakhm

Year: 1998

Music / Poetry: MM Kreem / Anand Bakshi

Label: Sony DADC

Rating: 4.5/5

Reviewed by Meraj Hasan

Meraj Hasan is a Mumbai based communication professional (and an amateur poet/musician) with a passion for listening to music the vinyl way. His 25 year old Technics turntable along with a humble collection of LPs across genres like Classic rock, Classical, Blues and Jazz (amongst others) are his prized possessions.

He can be reached at +91 9833410791 or email: meraj.hasan@gmail.com