Salim Sulaiman have in the past delivered some of their best works for Nagesh Kukunoor. And considering that they ended last year in style with some brilliant tracks in Fashion and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, this soundtrack of theirs was something I was looking forward to. And I wasn’t totally disappointed. The music review for you.
Nazaara Hai
A rock song to start off the proceedings. And Salim-Sulaiman picked up the ideal singer in Pentagram-vocalist Vishal Dadlani (of Vishal-Shekhar). The guitar solos in the second interlude and towards the end are quite catchy. Salim-Sulaiman go on to prove that they too are well-equipped to join the rock bandwagon which is really catching up in Bollywood music these days. DJ Amyth comes out with a remix version of the song, which dilutes the rock effect with a lot of electronic music and makes a mess of it. I thought at least rock songs would be spared from being remixed!!
Haafiz Khuda
Salim Sulaiman do a Pritam with a haunting romantic song akin to their own Mar Jaawaan from Fashion, though less subtle in its instrumentation. Being a genre right down his alley, Mohit Chauhan delivers it with ease. Joining him is Tulsi Kumar, daughter of Gulshan Kumar. I have not been a great fan of her in the past and have always held the opinion that had it not been for her illustrious father she would have got far less chances in Bollywood than what her repertoire shows now. Its no coincidence then that so far she has sung only in albums brought out by T-Series!! Having said that, she has changed my views quite a bit having done a decent job in this song, and this could even qualify as one of her best works till date. However, I would have preferred someone like Shreya Ghoshal or Shruti Pathak (Mar Jaawaan) for this one. The remix version by DJ Amyth kind of spoils the mood trying to pep it up with an increased tempo and beats.
Aaja Maahi
Neeraj Sridhar dons dual roles of music director and singer in this romantic song which is reminiscent of his Bombay Vikings days, complete with the initial English lyrics. Tulsi Kumar has been taking some good music lessons of late I guess, coz she does a pretty good job in this song as well. In places her rendition and the mood of the song reminded me of Tere Mera Pyaar Sanam done by Bombay Vikings with Phalguni Pathak. Neeraj Sridhar has composed a song previously in Rules – Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula, but this is the first time I guess that he is credited as himself for the music instead of Bombay Vikings. This is one remix that does work DJ Amyth’s way in that it is quite listenable, though not as good as the original.
I Got the Picture
Bohemia dishes out a typical desi hip hop number which I presume would be featuring alongside the end credits. Though the Hindi rap does sound interesting, the song gets boring after some time as the same lines keep repeating. And quite strangely, the last one and a half minutes of the song is just the instrumental loop played over and over again!! On the remix front, for once DJ Amyth displays some creativity in using some Indian percussion and other beats rather than just the usual electronic loops. Though not the greatest of remixes, this one definitely is the best remix of the album.
Kuchh Is Tarah
Haafiz Khuda reproduced bit by bit with different lyrics. Wonder why this was done. If one was a male version and the other female, it was still understandable but this one has the same two singers singing both the songs!! And as if three versions of the same song weren’t enough, there is a remix version for this one too!! Whatever the actual purpose behind having four versions of the same tune in the soundtrack, it definitely does serve the purpose of spoiling the impression created by Haafiz Khuda by tiring you of tune!
Nagesh Kukunoor has set a sort of precedent by having a remix for every song of the soundtrack (half of them unnecessary and unattractive, I might add)!! Salim Sulaiman have kept their end up with two very good tunes, and Neeraj Sridhar has also done a commendable job. On the whole a decent soundtrack, which, like I said for 13B, is more than enough for a suspense/supernatural thriller, as in most cases songs don’t hold a lot of importance in such movies.
