Producer: Ganesh Acharya
Director: Ganesh Acharya
Cast: Manoj Bajpai, Juhi Chawla, Mithun Chakraborthy
Music: Nitin Arora-Sony Chandy
Singers:  Nitin Arora, Sony Chandy, K S Chitra, Hariharan,

Ganesh Acharya, most well acclaimed for his hip shaking style, barters his role as a choreographer with that of a director in his directorial debut ‘Swami’. In this movie, our director takes a leave from the cheek Bollywood mainstream movie and instead chooses a unique script to foray his directorial skills. In this venture he successfully manages to rope in ace actors like Manoj Bajpai and Juhi Chawla for playing pivotal leads. Even the music by the musical duo Nitin Arora and Sony Chandy and lyrics by Sameer tries to leave behind a different appeal.

‘Swami’ consists of 14 soundtracks but the duration of this album is hardly around 30 minutes. The opening track, ‘Shubharambh’, is a gentle theme piece that brags of western classical arrangements with notes of piano creating a sophisticated ambience.

The very first song in this album, which is also the title track, called ‘Swami’ features K S Chitra humming down the notes in the conventional South Indian classical style where she is later joined by Hariharan. The initial soft notes of the electronic flute produce a warm effect to this soul-stirring duet fashioned after classical music that continues to mesmerize us for around 5 minutes.

The next track hints of A.R Rehman influence. This track titled ‘Naa Tin Dhinna’ is a peppy number where Chitra and Hariharan once again go behind the mike with a huge orchestra tuning out a foot tapping score. The track closes with a choir reliving the Rehman spirit yet once again.

‘Mumbai Jaayenge’, the next track is captivating where Manoj Bajpai reads out his apprehensions, but only a few words are audible as notes from the flute overshadow his voice that continues to linger in our minds long after the piece is over.

The next track from the album ‘Gullak’ is a murky song where an intricate orchestra follows a brief instrumental note with male chorus to produce a lingering effect. The song ends on a contemplative note.

The pensive strain of the film continues to pervade in the next track ‘Aa Ri Ra Ru’ as well. Voiced by Chitra, this track reverberates a few words from Juhi Chawla and ends on the notes from the piano. A theme track around a rocking chair that has a vital significance in the film, aptly titled ‘Kursi’ is also present in the album and is an easy on ears 80 seconds piece.

The next track too is soaked up in more pain as we hear Hariharan softly crooning ‘De Jab Duaayen’ with Chitra joining him in the end, quietly humming Swami. This track is a moving piece with a few instruments working in the background and the track is elegantly brought to close with flute piping down an enchanting tune.

‘Talaash’ is another instrumental where piano and flute along with sitar strum to produce an enigmatic melody. ‘Aankhon Ki’, is another track of Chitra, which is a sad version of ‘Swami’ where Hariharan assists her in the latter half.

The happy notes tune back with the track ‘Ta Ra Ri Ra’ where violins and piano assist to create a cheerful note together with the crooning of the choir. But the album relapses to its pensive mood again in the track ‘Vyakul’ which is a slow paced track with fat pauses in between. It is also the longest track in the movie and aptly suited to the climax scene.

Hariharan returns with yet another track ‘Radhe’ where all he does is to croon ‘Radhe Radhe’ to create a gloomy impact. The soundtrack of this film ends with ‘Dhyaan’ with soothing notes from the flute creating magic justly accompanied by violin strains. In the end Chitra once again breaks out into ‘Shubharambh’ to recreate the classical magic.

The very music of this film suggests the slow and grave ambience of the movie. The tracks are very unusual from the popular trend of music and are basically used as background music. Overall the classical tinge of this album succeeds to captivate only a few ears.