Music review : 1971: Beyond Borders

Four lyricists, three music directors and more than 10 singers… With such an ensemble line up for five songs, the album of the latest Mohanlal film 1971: Beyond Borders raises humungous expectations.
The album has a bit of everything, just as the many other military movies we have watched – an inspirational song, a nostalgic track, a romantic track and a ‘what-has-the-war-done’ number.
The makers resort to a bit of musical story-telling, about someone bidding goodbye, through the first song Oruvakkinal. The song, composed by Rahul Subrahmanian, has two versions – by M G Sreekumar and by Swetha Mohan and both the singers deliver the ‘song of pain’ with a lot of panache.
The next is a catchy, smooth yet simple melody Pesipokuthu, rendered by Vipin Lal, N K Priyanka and Meenakshi Ilayaraja. Music director Siddarth Vipin is its composer and as you listen to it, you’d feel like floating in the moonlight. It also has some western flavoured interludes and it’s one of those tunes that will linger in your mind for days.
The next is the must-have song of a war drama. Sung by Hariharan and composed by singer-turned-composer Najim Arshad, the Hindi song Armaan is the one that would remind you of the camaraderie of soldiers, how they march ahead despite hurdles and give it all for the nation. An inspirational track, even for those who might not follow the lyrics, the rhythm, singing and the overall feel of it would do the trick. Though a lengthy one, just like other songs of the genre, Armaan might form the backdrop of some of the highlight sequences of the film.
The whistles and whispers of a storm starts off the next song Sarhade, sung and composed by Najim Arshad, with Vipin Xavier. It’s again in Hindi, and echoes the feel of a barren land post war, echoing sadness and purposelessness of a battle. It’s brief and decent while it lasts, but not one of those songs you might want to go back to and listen regularly.
Dooreyaavni is the Malayalam version of Pesipokuthu and has Vipin Lal, Merin Gregory and Sithara Krishnakumar behind the mike. Just as the Tamil track, this too holds your interest but it’s possible that the song may not win as many fans as its original version.