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But for some corny angrezi additions, the title song appeals instantly, thanks to the lilting orchestration and Shaan’s sparkling vocals. The stage-song’ish O janeman too is an addictive listen, with Raghav’s gorgeous mixing and vocals, while Bekhauf mohabbat’s retro tune in mod package and Kunal Ganjawala’s rendition are imaginative! Chal haath mila manages to make even Sukhwinder Singh’s monotonous vocals stand out with its enthusiastic tune. Loot rehashes the standard calypso tune and works only because of Dominique’s scintillating vocals, while I am bad is saved by the conversational tune between Sunidhi and Kunal! Very enjoyable soundtrack from Sandesh Shandilya!

Keywords: Sandesh Shandilya, Nana Patekar, Dimple Kapadia, Rehan Khan, Sunil Shetty, Vidya Malvade, Anjana Sukhani, Tum Milo Toh Sahi music review

NW1W. Bah!

Saare jahaan goes overboard on its techno sound that is both outdated and annoying. Aidhurojula pelli, with a host of voices and a calculated mish-mash makes for an interesting listen, while out of Hemachandra and Malavika’s two duets, Kalalu kaavule makes a mark with its harmonious tune and ambient arrangements, even as Thalambraalatho is merely adequate background material. The composer attempts an interesting Hindustani style fusion in Bahusha vo chanchalaa that holds attention intermittently. Relaare relaare is a terribly predictable stock tune from Manisharma that it is a massive put-off. Only Allu Arjun’s on-screen antics can enliven this mediocre soundtrack!

Keywords: Allu Arjun, Arya, Gunashekar, Manisharma

Jadu nasha and Sargoshiyon are uncomfortably similar to many songs Adnan has composed for his albums – despite largely likeable tunes. Shaan’s Dekha tujhay is a flat ballad, while the composer scores with the Latino-tinged duet, Taaron bhari. Man mouji and Pehla pehla are tiresome and Richa Sharma and Sabri Borthers’ Sona lagda is just saved by its rhythmic sound. Despite Rekha Bharadwaj’s effort, the title song feels too long (at 8:40!) and just drags. Left to himself, Adnan could have made a difference, but Raj Kanwar seems to have imposed his staid ‘ol style all over this sorry soundtrack.

Keywords: Adnan Sami, Luv Sinha, Ferena Wazeir, Rekha, Shabana Azmi, Hema Malini, Rishi Kapoor

MG Sreekumar and Sithara’s Mallipoo is instantly catchy, despite its standard stock of pleasant’ness. Thanthanelelo works like a modern-day Ilayaraja lullaby with added layers by Sharreth, while Kaliyarangu is marred by non-Indian sounds that rob the nativity promised by the prelude. The villupaattu-style folk tune in Anandam is sung brilliantly by Sharreth himself even as Oh vaaname sounds exactly like a Hamsalekha tune, with twists unique to the Kannada composer. The composer shines best in Sadukudu, a spring-in-the-foot duet and Salambakkam, a hyper-enthusiastic track sung by Sharreth and Ajjoo, with seemingly never-ending captivating lines. Despite occasional stutter, Sharreth doesn’t disappoint!

Keywords: Kalabhavan Mani, Sharreth Vasudevan, Sharath Vasudevan, Pullimaan music review

O mere khuda & Tere liye – Prince (Hindi – Sachin Gupta)
Prince is one of those massy, commercial soundtracks that simply clicks – hummable tunes and good orchestration by Sachin Gupta and a masterstroke decision to use Atif all over the soundtrack. Listen to the Sachin-sung version of Tere Liye too, besides the Atif’s variant.

Ye teega puvvuno & Bale bale magadivoy – Maro Charitra (Telugu – Mickey J Meyer)
That Mickey is going strong is no news, but in Maro Charitra, there are definite signs of him going the Mithoon way – where Mithoon started with a pulsating bang and gradually faded into an oblivion created by his own jaded tunes and sounds. Mickey’s tunes are starting to get to that level, but he firmly asserts himself with the 2 unlikely songs in this soundtrack – re-tuning MS Viswanathan’s 2 evergreen songs from the original. And brilliant re-tunes, they are!

Meri aashaon ki – Right Yaaa Wrong (Hindi – Monty)
This song is a shocking surpise from Monty in an otherwise predictable soundtrack. Vaguely reminding me of Raman Mahadevan’s ‘Teri talaash hai’ from his debut pop album, Ramanasia, this is stunning melody sung by Amitraj. One of those songs that tell me to not judge soundtracks by the track record of the composer or how B-grade a project looks.

Alvida – My Free Spirit (Indipop – Shibani Kashyap)
Shibani Kashyap’s voice continues to irritate me and I continue to subscribe the view that she’s better suited for certain types of songs. And, the only 2 songs that stand out her in her latest album are the ones composed by herself. She should have done that all through the album instead of getting more composers to score for her.

Title song & Chaahata dil – Shaapit (Hindi – Aditya Narayan & Chirantan Bhatt)
Chaahata dil is almost Pritam, but not to be left behind, Chirantan uses his own stock of interesting sounds to score a lovely track. The title song, on the other hand, showcases the film’s singing hero, Aditya Narayan’s composing skills more than his vocals – nice, rock’ish catchy track.

Ganga & Procession – The Composition of World Harmony 2010 (Mrigya)
While Ganga has that reliable fusion feel like that of L. Subramaniam, Procession is where the band goes all out in their imagination and scores a brilliant track layered with guitar, violin and verses in Sanskrit, besides the Sufi addition. Lovely experience.

After the spellbinding debut, Tabeer, Shafqat’s second album sure comes loaded with expectations. Kyun dooriyan plays it in typical Shafqat-style fusion and is generously helped by Nabeel Nihal’s energetic guitar, while Kya haal sunawan sounds straight out of a Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy soundtrack. Jaayein kahan’s ambitious groove tries too many things, unsuccessfully, but Shafqat’s reworking of Raju’s original track, Mahiya, does the trick, with its beautifully laid out ballad’ish tune that has a strange connection with The Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody! After a pensive start, the traditional folk wedding tune in Naukar tere is absolutely scintillating in the way it is arranged. Aamir Zaki’s guitars boom all over the pulsating Naal naal – stupendous sound that is incredibly addictive! Comparatively, Saada dil, while sounding adequately interesting, has the end-of-his-career Ali Haider sound. Paharhi is where our man lets fully loose his magical vocals wrapped in breathtaking orchestration appropriate for the soulful thumri. Tu hi sanam is largely filmy and is saved only by Shafqat’s vocals, while the 26/11 tribute, Wo jaanta hai is a solemn attempt, lyrically. Tabeer’s Kartar makes it appearance again and is a mesmerizing listen. Kyun dooriyan doesn’t scale up to Tabeer’s high, but is still a compelling listen.

Keywords: Shafqat Amanat Ali, Kyun Dooriyan music review, Tabeer

With a tune bordering on Old MacDonald, Mohit Chauhan and Swanand Kirkire’s Hum toh apni is sprightly folk fun, while Ila Arun’s Meri banno apes Mera joota hai japani unabashedly in a suave mod package, along with a surprising sprinkling of Kannada Telugu! Raja Hasan’s Pani ko taraste, has a rhythmic sufi base with an occasional, enthusiastic frenzied departure. Raja’s other track, Rahiman ishq ka has Ashok Mishra’s lyrics as its highlight, even as Shantanu’s tune is conventional. Sandesa too is pleasant, but is soaked in the familiar Shantanu template, except for Rupankar’s standout vocals. Likeable, but predictable tunes from Shantanu.

Keywords: Boman Irani, Sammir Dattani, Minissha Lamba, Shantanu Moitra, Raja Hasan, Ila Arun

Ab ye kaafila is atmospheric and lilting enough except for that cringe-worthy English phrases; Karthik, KK and Kreem himself pitch in fantastic vocals to lift this lively track. Daler Mehndi is roped in for crooning Musafir and he does a breath-taking job of the sweeping melody going against his usual ebullient self – Kreem’s orchestration, in particular, blends beautifully with the vocals. Rang de, in reality, sounds more like Daler material, but Shankar Mahadevan does a remarkable job in this chest-thumping Punju track that despite treading awfully familiar material, packs enough punch to distinguish itself. It is in his vocals that Kreem scores big time, in Saaware, with an almost Rahman’ish sparseness to the haunting tune and orchestration. His version of Musafir too adds just that touch of melancholy over Daler’s attempt, that sounds enormously appealing. Piyush Mishra’s lone track, O re bande, with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shilpa Rao is his trademark sound with a qawali’sh, discordant rhythm that is highly addictive. Not to be outdone, composer Wayne Sharpe score stupendously with his instrumental theme that has Lisbeth Scott’s soaring vocals even as the tune rises even higher to a stunning crescendo! Completely unexpected gem of a soundtrack!

Keywords: Lahore, MM Kreem, M.M.Kreem, Daler Mehndi, Lahore hindi music review

Up? Yes, seen it and loved it.

The Princess and the Frog? Heard about it; don’t feel like seeing it.

Fantastic Mr. Fox? Wes Anderson – must see. Soon.

Coraline? My hot favorite for Best Animated Feature Film Oscar – over Up! Brilliant film and it’s a pity it is releasing in India almost an year after it released – don’t miss this film.

The last (and 5th entry) for the nominees under Animated Feature Film was The Secret of Kells! Secret of what? I haven’t even heard of this film. Till I finally managed see it recently.

Frankly, it went way above my head, as a concept – medieval set-up, magical book, biblical reference et al – it was watchable, but didn’t really add up in the end. But, what really engrossed me is the hyper-imaginative animation – much like how beautiful it was in Coraline.

If Coraline had a brooding, Tim Burton-sensibility in it’s animation that was instantly enchanting, Kells had incredibly creative, but far more simpler strokes and cuts. Some of the ideas in animation are visually breathtaking and I’d recommend the film at least for a deep analysis of the imagination that has gone into drawing the film!

And oh…as a cat lover, I adored the broad strokes of an animated cat character in the film (that thankfully doesn’t talk), named Pangur Ban – it is brilliant! And so is this ethereal song, where a fairy girl (Aisling) changes Pangur Ban into a ghostly thing so that it helps her in releasing the film’s central character, Brendan. Enjoy the song and the visuals!