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Meendum pallikku is a lyrics-driven track like Gnabagam varudhey, but the excessive nostalgia is getting tiresome. Is that charukesi I hear in Indha nimidam? Lovely stuff! Ramji’s isai mazhalai uses appropriate kids’ chorus in Kaadu padhunguromay and 9 manikku, to highlight the joys of being kids and being in school. Manasu marugudhey has a simple tune with some beautiful orchestration and very Ilayaraja’ish interludes while Rosemary is perhaps where the director panders to front benchers with a remix of Viswanathan-Ramamurthy’s Aayirathil Oruvan classic, Naanamo! The soundtracks’ strong bearing on the film’s theme comes out very well in Bharadwaj’s able compositions!

Keywords: Thangar Bachan, Naren, Sneha

Aap kaa surroor is a case of Himesh-overdose. The tunes are bad - with the exception of Tera mera milna and perhaps, Assalam Vaalekum. The singing is exasperating. The number of tracks (2 CDs) is terribly scary. And, if I may complain, there are way too many vowels in the film’s title. Considering this is HR’s (!) acting debut, he should’ve ideally restricted his singing and let loose that nasal wonder right here. But, as all horrible things in this world go, he has already over-exposed his unbearable voice and here we have - the soundtrack we’d love to hate!

Keywords: Himesh Reshammiya, Hansika Motwani, Aap ka suroor, The Moviee, The Real Luv Story

Yeh dooriyan calls out Shakira! With Shaheed Kapoor doing a Justin Timberlake, this is pretty catchy, more so because Himesh is out of his comfort zone in terms of composition and also lets Hanif Sheikh croon. Tere layee also has a reasonably different and enjoyable sound, barring that repetitive intermittent sound-bits, that have since become the composer’s signature. Sigdi too! Despite Himesh’s singing, the track has an infectious ring to it. Ek kalsa, however, is Himesh’s version of hip-hop and is plain dull and noisy. The remixes are…well…bah! For a choreographer’s film, the music is appropriately racy. Not bad, Himesh!

Keywords: Shaheed Kapoor, Ayesha Takia, Vivek Oberoi, Sunny Deol, Fool ‘n final, Fool and final, sakira ve, shakira ve

Sagar Ballary, debutant Director of Bheja Fry says, in a recent Hindu interview, “There was this movie called Dinner Game, which inspired me”. He also says, “I have adapted the content. Maybe structurally I have borrowed from the film but that is a form of creative expression”. Excuse me! Bheja Fry is a scene-to-scene lift of the cult French comedy. If you’ve borrowed, the right way to acknowledge that is in the credits of your film. Creative expression, my foot! Jeez, when will these DVD directors learn a lesson? When a MNC production house sues the shit out of them?

Keywords: Bheja Fry, Milind Soman, Sarika, Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak

What’s with failed/ neglected composers’ sons making it big with a vengeance in Indian film music? Sardar Malik, RK Shekar, Naresh Sharma…we do have the more popular Roshan as exception, though. But, I wonder what goes on in their minds when they finally made it. Anu Malik says, “The fact that he never made it was a (sic) hurting thing for me but also a motivating thing”. Rahman hasn’t spoken to this effect I suppose, neither has Mithoon. Guess Naresh Sharma could pitch in too, since he’s still around to see his son’s possible/ impending rise. Good sons, proud fathers!

Keywords: A R Rahman, composing, film music, indian films

Woh ajnabee captivates right from the start - with a catchy stacatto rhythm and an extraordinary singing debut by Mithoon, Shilpa Rao pitching-in equally beautifully. That Dhadkan dhadkan line, besides the conscious absence of a conventional mukhda-antara pattern, is particularly a masterstroke that works very well. KK and Syed Quadri are at their soulful best in Beete lamhein, in the singing and lyrics department respectively. Teri tamanna indicates that Zubeen’s vocals are getting typecast, but Mithoon makes it up with zingy orchestration and adding KK’s vocals appropriately. Mausam has the composer crooning again, impeccably, amidst an ambient rock’ish sound. This track also has some fine nuanced innovations in the song’s pattern – most notably the way Mithoon abruptly ends some of the words that were dragged deliciously earlier on. That leaves us with a slightly out of place The Train – An inspiration, who’s lyrics take the train analogy a bit too far, rather cheesily. Thankfully, Mithoon makes it a fairly enjoyable listen with the impressive backgrounds. Mithoon composes and sings his way through this soundtrack and emerges as one of the most promising musical stars from India, next only to A R Rahman. This kid is on the threshold of superstardom!

Keywords: The Train, Mithoon Sharma, Emraan Hashmi, Sayali Bhagat, Geeta Basra

Note: 200 words. Well deserved!

Zubeen and Kunal Ganjawala add to the syllable abuse in Tamil, but the songs, Kangal and Nanbha, have the trademark Ranjit Barot sound wizardry with a some neat vocal harmonies and simple, hum-along tunes. Naram pookkal is a complete surprise, with exotic singing by Nandini Sarkar, multi-layered orchestration, great fusion interludes and pure Tamil lyrics! Nethu vacha has an obviously-catchy rhythm but is a worn-out tune while Veyilum illai has a nifty latin-tinged tune with a guitar-soaked background that doesn’t distract us from Kunal’s involving vocals. A thoroughly enjoyable soundtrack from the composer’s (only) second Tamil film. Welcome back, Ranjit!

Keywords: Urchaagam, Ranjit Barot, V.I.P, VIP, Nandhaa, Nanda, Nandha, Sherin

Beyond all the facade of the lead character becoming the no. 1 racer in the US (!), in IndiaFM’s preview of YashRaj’s next, eagerly (!!) awaited film, Ta ra rum pum, a particular line caught my attention. It says, “However, RV (Saif) and Radhika (Rani) decide not to tell their children the truth (about their recent state of poverty) and construct a skillful masquerade of a reality show where they have to live a poor life in order to win a mythical grand prize“. Roberto Benigni’s Life is beautiful anyone? It’d be interesting to see how Siddharth Anand pulls this!

Keywords: Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Yash Chopra, Yash Raj Films

Despite a very simple hook, Teri yaad is eminently hummable thanks to its sprightly music and Adnan’s dreamy vocals. The title song, Kisi din, is a pretty flat composition and may require a star’s presence to make its mark! But the groovy Baarish, the massy and very filmi Salaam walekum and the excellently orchestrated Waqt help the album considerably. The mellow Koi rehta hai livens up in Adnan’s voice even as the strong middle-eastern flavor in Dekho jaaneman just about saves it. The rest are at best vapid. Adnan could well use an outside composer the next time, for variety!

Keywords: Adnan Sami

Rasiya saajan sounds uncomfortably close to HDDCS’s Albela saajan but is no patch on the classic tune - Zubin being its saving grace. The remix is a plain headache. The same Zubin annoys in Ranaiyan which forces him to use a mild nasal twang. Hume maaf kardo carries a similar HDDCS sound almost as if Sanjay Leela Bhansali forgot to explain the situation. Sajna is straight out of a Dharmesh Darshan tearjerker and convincingly hams. Disappointing album, overall. First, it was his attitude. Then, it was his career. Now, it’s Ismail Darbar’s music. All three seem to be heading nowhere.

Keywords: Neetu Chandra, Ismail Darbar, Mauj