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Change an alphabet and get an underrated but radiant soundtrack! That’s Dor for you. Shafqat’s Yeh honsla is lilting with layers that unfold slowly. Imaan ka asar blends the composer duo’s thoughtful arrangements beautifully. The traditional Kesariya balam has Karsan Sagathiya’s vocals, with neat Rahman-like orchestration! The sweeping theme’s highlight is clearly Rakesh Chaurasiya’s flute. Pratichi’s Piya ghar aaya & Trilok Gurtu’s Expression of love, with Shankar Mahadevan’s energetic alaaps are enjoyable but not the outlandish remix of Allah. Given the rustic theme, Salim Sulaiman produce very appropriate music while retaining their modern sound. The result is one alluring soundtrack!

Keywords: Nagesh Kukunoor, Shreyas Talpade, Ayesha Takia, Gul Panag

Meri dhoop sounds like a slower version of The Killer’s Hibbaki, with that distinctive latin/ middle-eastern twang. The middle-eastern sound is even more prominent in the disjoint but catchy Rabbi that also recalls Aks’ Rabba. The title song is dreary while Ek din & Humko choone reuses Anu’s fave hooks, again, in excruciating detail. Hadh ko is a stodgy rock track but the 3 remixes by Jatin Sharma (Rabbi, Ek din, Hadh ko) make up for the soundtrack’s overall, sorry dreariness! When was the last time Anu had a release? Doesn’t matter…with efforts like this, he will not be missed.

Keywords: Zindagi Rocks, Anu Malik, Sushmita Sen, Shiney Ahuja

Yeh mera dil and Khaike paan banaraswala hold more visual appeal than anything aural, thanks to some middling remix and the Kareena/ SRK screen presence. The nouveau title track plays it straight with no frills expected off a SRK blockbuster. Morya Re is surprisingly noisy and insipid. Treading between some smart retro arrangements and Alisha’s enticing vocals, Aaj ki raat catches your attention with those trademark SEL hooks. The other highlight is the trance’ish Don revisited theme by Midival pundits! The USP of this remake continues to be one-superstar-playing-another and the composing trio doesn’t seem to be contributing to that.

Keywords: Don music review, the chase begins again, Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra

Yes, Instant Karma did redefine the cheesy remix genre with Dance Masti. Ehsaan, Loy and Farhad’s sound was definitely path breaking within the remix parameters. But here, barring Zubeen’s Raat kali, Mahalaxmi’s Aa jaane jaa and Pervez’s Ki mein jhooth, the rest is pretty humdrum. You sure miss the haunting lilt of their earlier chartbusters like Shaan’s Dil kya kare or the lively Saamne yeh kaun aaya. Is it the choice of songs? Possibly not, but the quality this time is imperceptible! Remixes are more about visuals these days. The cleavage is the focal point now…Rakhi Sawant’s or Shyla Lopez’s!

Keywords: Instant Karma, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendosa, Farhad Wadia, Zubeen Garg, Mahalaxmi Iyer

Go go, I wanna spiderman and the loop-ridden Thobare are routine and aimless. The overall orchestration in Siggutho is pleasant and the tune has a nice 80s feel to it, though the continuous rhythm is jarring. Suryude extols the virtues of the hero, very predictably and is meant for the screen. Parare, despite its done-to-death rhythm, is the highlight of the soundtrack solely due to the life put into it by Shankar Mahadevan. For all the efforts of director Murugadoss to give Chiranjeevi something beyond the ordinary, Mani Sharma makes sure they land back in terra firma, with a thud!

Keywords: Chiranjeevi, A R Murugadoss, Mani Sharma, Telugu film songs

Update 2: End of the issue. Rediff removes the review thanks to Prem Panicker, who got notified about this by another blogger, Amit of India Uncut! Thanks folks.

Update 1: Well, its the darndest thing! Rediff removes the review by S Sudha! Here’s the back-up version, just in case you wish to see it! In PDF (194 KB) | Zipped PDF (182 KB)

My 100 words on Emdan Magan, with music by Vidyasagar went up on August 16th. Rediff’s review was posted by S Sudha on August 21st.

Do I see a Kaavya-styled internalized lift here? Sample these!

Mine: “As a soundtrack, Emdan Magan disappoints…”
Rediff: “Vidyasagar’s score for Emden Magan is not great; in fact, it is disappointing…”

Mine: “Varaaru is marginally catchy, which will need significant help from its picturization to impress better”
Rediff: “Vaararu Varaaru is marginally catchy, but will need significant help from its accompanying visuals to impress.”

Mine: “Kalloori is a routine youngster’s track in the usual Vidyasagar mode.”
Rediff: “Kalloori is a routine youth track in the usual Vidyasagar style.”

Mine: “The composer returns to his Thambi-styled melodies in Koligundu kannu and Mannmeedhu - both are beautifully tuned and very well sung.”
Rediff: “He comes up with his Thambi-style melodies in Koligundu Kannu and Mannmeedhu, both of which are tastefully tuned and very well sung.”

What do you think…do I have a case?

The Swedish-Iranian’s debut ‘Borderless’ features some dazzling and eclectic tracks drawing heavily from Middle-Eastern, Greek and European music. The pick of the album is Cameron’s duet with Khaled, Henna. This is one hell of a dancy duet guaranteed to rock you. The other highlight is the chartbusting single, Roma, in Persian (though there’s a Swedish version as well, AFAIK) with Eurodance and world music influences wrapped in a pulsating arrangement! Other notable, rhythmic tracks include Ninanay, Leyli and the very Latino’ish Toi Azizam. If Arash impressed you in Bluffmaster, get ready for more exotic and foot tapping stuff with Cameron!

Keywords: Cameron Cartio, Khaled, Rai
Note: Henna’s teasers are doing the rounds on Indian telly and is supposed to be out on August 23rd. Whether it releases as a single or Cameron’s debut album ‘Borderless’ comes out in Sony, this is one must-buy for all lovers of world music!

Shake it and U&I are assembly-line punjabi pop tracks with a catchy but oft-heard sound while Yaara ve with Abhishek Nailwal’s spirited vocals impresses mainly ‘cos of its Junoon-styled composition. Jat Yamla is no patch on its classic namesake with little imagination. Nasha has granduer in its mind for its orchestrations but just falls flat. The rest of the album has ingratiating mixes of the above tracks, with almost 3 versions of U&I alone! For an adventure genre film, the producer understandably wants the songs to be show-stopping, lively distractions, but Pritam merely produces a tried & tested, unimaginative soundtrack!

Keywords: Sunny Deol, Viveik Oberoi, Sameera Reddy

Despite the blatant rip-off, Kya mujhe is a scintillating blend of lyrics (Neelesh Misra), orchestration and vocals by Kay Kay. On a perfectly enjoyable tune, James has us yearn for Abhijeet who could have lifted Chal chale to different heights. The 90s Anu Malik sound in the ghazal Tu jo nahin and the Roop Kumar Rathod composed So jaaoon main are very enjoyable melodies. Jawad Ahmad sings his own mellow, passable Bin tere. So, another Bhatt production has excellent music. News? Nope. Pritam has ‘arranged’ music for 2 and fails to credit the original for the best track…now that’s news!

Keywords: Shiney Ahuja, Kangna, Mahesh Bhatt, Peterpan, Tak Bisakah

Varaaru is marginally catchy, which will need significant help from its picturization to impress better. Unnodudhaan is unique since it uses natural sounds with minimal played music, but this experiment may sound better in the film than in the soundtrack. Kalloori is a routine youngster’s track in the usual Vidyasagar mode. The composer returns to his Thambi-styled melodies in Koligundu kannu and Mannmeedhu - both are beautifully tuned and very well sung. Purinjidicha, despite its simple tune, packs a punch in its construction, arrangement and interludes. As a soundtrack, Emdan Magan disappoints, but it just may complement the film well!

Keywords: Bharath, Gopika, Emttan Mahan