Nov 11

Sooraj Barjatya has roped in good friend Ravindra Jain to write the lyrics and compose the music for his “Ek Vivaah… Aisa Bhi”. Together, they stick to their old, tried and tested formula, but Jain has nevertheless created melodious and romantic songs.

Shaan turns to be the real stunner in the album.

“Mujhme zinda hain woh” doesn’t deviate from the kind of numbers Rajshri Productions’ films usually belt out. With Shaan and Shreya Ghoshal at the vocals, this number is a typical ‘Indian’ track. Jain’s composition and lyrics are average. The number plays a second time as well, but for a shorter duration.

“Dekhe akele humne solah mele” is similar to the previous track except in the vocals as it is a solo rendition by Shreya. This number too is a slow, romantic piece that has the Indianness intact with the presence of classical music. Jain’s melodies are soothing and Shreya’s voice is soulful. The song does get boring at places but maintains its rhythm.

“Mandir hain ghar yeh hamara” is the kind of track that almost every Barjatya album would have. A “we are a happy, Indian family” sort of a number, “Mandir Hain…” has been rendered by Suresh Wadekar.

From a perfect family, Jain moves on to a perfect couple in the next composition. Rendered by Shaan and Shreya, “Sang Sang rahenge” doesn’t waiver from the path that the album has taken. The two sing the piece with great emotion. The music has been kept classical yet again.

The composer moves on to a marriage number with “Banna Banni” - a typical Indian folk song.

Shaan gets his solo outing with “Kya soch ke aaye the”. Yet another romantic piece, this one has the guy’s version of how he falls for the woman he loves. Shaan emotes well and his rendition goes well with the song’s mood.

The festivities continue and “Lo ji hum aa gaye” takes the album forward. Shaan is joined by Satish Dehra, Farid Sabri and Pamela Jain, who together give us a faster, peppier track.

“Jhirmir jhirmir meha” sung by Shaan and Shreya is set against the backdrop of rain. Jain writes some very poetic lyrics for the piece that adds to the mood of the song.

“Neend mein Hai” is Shaan’s second solo number. He does a splendid job with the ghazal. And with Jain’s lyrical and musical expertise, the song should find many fans.

“Ek Vivaah… Aisa Bhi” resembles Rajshri Productions’ earlier hit “Vivah” as far as music goes. Almost every song is coated with soulful music and poetic lyrics, but it can tend to get a bit boring. The album follows a certain pace, which may get slightly monotonous.

Oct 7

Film: “Fashion”
Music Director: Salim-Suleiman
Lyricist: Irfan Siddique, Sandeep Nath
Singers: Salim Merchant, Neha Bhasin, Sukhwinder Singh, Shruti Pathak, Robert Bob Omulo, Satya Hinduja, Mohit Chauhan
Rating: ***1/2

Composers Salim-Suleiman have created great music for the film “Fashion”. And the success or failure of Madhur Bhandarkar’s movie at the box office wouldn’t change the fate of the album, which, beyond doubt, is a commercial success.

The album starts with the interesting song “Aashiyana”, which is five-and-a-half minutes long. Salim and Suleiman have put together an engaging mix of sounds that are complimented by Salim’s rendition and Irfan Siddique’s lyrics.

Next is “Fashion ka jalwa” that talks about the reality of the fashion world. Sandeep Nath’s lyrics are meaningful. Sukhwinder Singh sings it well along with Bob Omulo and Satya Hinduja.

It’s a pleasure to hear Mohit Chauhan’s rendition in the romantic number “Kuch khaas”. He teams up with Neha Bhasin of Viva fame to sing the lovely song. It may not top the charts, but is very soothing to listen to.

“Mar jawaan” is one of the best tracks of the album. It is already creating waves on the small screen. Salim takes over the vocals once again and this time Shruti Pathak gives him company. She adds something fresh and likeable to the number.

“Theme of fashion” is an instrumental piece. While it is not a great piece in terms of composition, it might suit the situation during the course of the movie.

It’s very hard to find anything wrong with the album. Salim-Suleiman have done a wonderful job as composers and have brought out the essence of the movie in a remarkable way. Irfan has come out with great lyrics and every singer has given his or her best shot.

Aug 24

Film: “Chamku”
Music Director: Monty Sharma
Lyricist: Sameer
Singers: Shreya Ghoshal, Soumya Raoh, Kalpana, Parthiv Gohil, Shail, Anaida, Saleem Shahzada, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Vaishali Samant and Richa Sharma
Rating: **

After the huge success of “Saawariya”, expectations were high from composer Monty Sharma’s next work. But sadly, the music of “Chamku” disappoints. The album has six tracks but none of them can be termed brilliant.

“Aaja milke” starts the album on a sweet note. A romantic number, it has been perfectly rendered by Shreya Ghoshal. Known for giving her best shot to romantic tracks, Shreya does a splendid job. The lyrics are impressive and go well with the music.

Richa Sharma croons the next track titled “Kithe Jawa”. Her voice is suitable for folk songs, but Monty Sharma makes her sing the number that is interspersed with Western influences. The song is just an average piece.

“Gola gola” continues with the rustic theme and is sung by Abhijeet Bhattacharya and Vaishali Samant. It isn’t a very interesting number.

Next is “Trance”. This track comes out of the blue and strikes you with its Western touch. Lyrics are nice and the music is quite heady and unheard of in Bollywood. But how popular this song by Soumya Raoh, Anaida and Saleem Shahzada will become is yet to be seen.

“Dukh ke badri” is another average song rendered by Parthiv Gohil, Shail and Kalpana. The lyrics have been penned by Sameer. This slow, sentimental track is quite avoidable.

On the whole, the “Chamku” album is unimpressive. Of all the songs, “Aaja Milke” can be termed the best, but otherwise, the album is really not recommended.