Raunaq: Conversation of Music and Poetry is a 2014 studio album composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics penned by Kapil Sibal. The album is described as a conversation of music and poetry that takes one on a journey of varied emotions. Selected tracks of the album depict social scenario of India through Sibal's lyrics. The album was a result of Sibal's anthology of poems to which Rahman added visuals from Raja Ravi Varma's paintings, thus, developing songs and corresponding videos to it. A. R. Rahman has played the role of a visual storyteller and has conceived the narrative of the music video "Aa Bhi Jaa". The album was announced through an introductory video backed by the track the same song. The album being a visual story telling sort of, the marketing strategies developed were to have each song's individual marketing and promotional activity released over a period of time. The album had an introductory launch by Salman Khan at an event held in Mumbai on 27 February 2014. The album was released on 29 September 2014. The album was dedicated to Vogue Empower, a social awareness initiative that draws attention to women's empowerment.
Development
In an interview with Mid Day, Rahman stated that in the year 2013 he was gifted a book of Raja Ravi Varma's paintings. Influenced by those, he wished videos of the recorded songs to have visuals from paintings. Rahman met Kapil Sibal at a common friend's place who read out Sibal's poems at a function. Sibal showed Rahman the anthology of poems wherein Sibal added that how inspiration strikes him anywhere, anytime. Rahman was fascinated by the seven to eight poems from these collection of poems. Rahman began composing music for the same, around six months before February 2014. Adhering to the development, the record Sony Music agreed to back this musical production. The track "Aa Bhi Jaa" is based on a love-separation theme whereas the track "Laadli" is a tribute to all the women of the country.In the album, Rahman has played the role of a visual story teller and has conceived the narrative of the "Aabhi Jaa" music video, apart from his role as a music composer and singer. In April 2014, director Bejoy Nambiar with cameraman Sanu Varghese were involved in filming of the song "Laadli". On recording the track, Rahman stated that when he heard the lyrics of "Laadli" for the first time, he felt that Lata Mangeshkar would be the right voice for it. The singer heard the song and agreed to do it but not the same day as she was keeping unwell. At that time, Rahman had come to India for a day just to record that particular track and had to fly back immediately to continue recording film score of an international flick. Post three-and-half later, Rahman met singer Lata Mangeshkar and told that if now she'd disagree to recording the track then he won't release the album.Sibal on the song stated, "This song "Ladli" is for all the women in the world who spread cheer among the people around. For me, a woman is someone who stands tall despite difficult situations. She is a creator, nurturer, which is why we thought we would pay respects to a woman." On May 2014, whilst on board with Rahman's Infinite Love Concert in Singapore, K. S. Chithra had begun recording the track "Sach Kahoon" for the album.
Track listing
The album contains seven tracks and reflects the current social scenario of India mixed with the lyricist Kapil Sibal's personal experiences. Sibal had worked on the songs for more than a year and half. The songs range from being an individual’s journey through life to the story of a woman who struggles to eventually become successful.
Marketing
announced the album through his YouTube channel. The 36 second teaser clip introduces the album title Raunaq, backed by the song "Aa Bhi Jaa" by Jonita Gandhi and an image where Rahman is working on the music with Sibal sitting next to him. A personal incident with his son A. R. Ameen wherein the story revealed that he was working on the post-production of the album in February 2014. Kapil Sibal announced the album through his official website. Images from the music video inspired by Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings were released a day before the album's release. Yami Gautam is the part of the same video.Sony Music India marketing director Sanujeet Bhujabal revealed that they were marketing the album across social and online paid media making initiatives on social media vary from meet and greets to music programming strategies. Moreover, the activity will take place across Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Line and on A. R. Rahman's and Kapil Sibal's social media handles. He further added that the album being a visual story telling sort of, the targets were to run multiple Cost Per View campaigns. Each song will have an individual marketing and promotional activity releasing over a period of time.
Release
Commercial music streaming service Gaana.com released the first track "Kismat Se" sung by Shreya Ghoshal as a single from the album on 27 February 2014. The track "Aa Bhi Jaa" sung by Jonita Gandhi was released on 13 May 2014. On the day of the music launch, the video of the track "Laadli" sung by Lata Mangeshkar was released.The video of the song starts with a girl running with a paper airplane. It proceeds with the phases of her life and the kind of laughter she brings among her friends and family. She fights for another girl who is molested by a group of men on the street and rescues her, whilst on-lookers do nothing about it. The song finishes with her fulfilling her ambition of becoming an air force pilot. Sony Music Entertainment had exclusively partnered with Fever FM as the radio partner, Nokia digital download store and MTV Indies as their music channel partner. The album was unveiled by Bollywood actor Salman Khan on 27 February 2014 at a function held in Mumbai.
