(For listening to the soundtrack online, click here.)
The semiclassical melody that kicks off the soundtrack, Aankhon Mein Neendein bears all stamps of a KJo-SEL product, a la Sajda, Mitwa et al. Nevertheless the arrangement has enough spunk in it to make you forgive the repeat element. Plus Rahat Fateh Ali and Shreya Ghoshal do such a beautiful job on the vocals that its hard not to hum along. SEL‘s tribute to Elvis’ Jailhouse Rock in the form of Dil Khol Ke, works majorly owing to the charm of the original itself, though to SEL’s credit they do manage to effectively add some of their own stuff to it. The piano in the first interlude is superb, but I have a feeling it was there in the background of the original as well. The vocalists, Anushka, Akriti and Suraj Jagan, manage to do a good job, but of course no one can match Elvis! Not SEL’s best tributes nevertheless. That would still be Pretty Woman.
The pick of the album happens with Reham O Karam, Shankar Mahadevan and Vishal Dadlani starting off what seems like a piano-backed unplugged track before classic rock elements kick in. The second interlude consisting of a guitar solo backed by an orchestral string sequence is simply brilliant! I must say the chorus singing the Reham O Karam refrain reminded me a bit of Udaan. The serene romantic melody that is Hamesha & Forever again contains everything that a SEL melody signifies in terms of arrangement. The presence of Sonu Nigam alongside Shreya further cements the feel. A good listen, though unlike Aankhon Mein here the repeat factor is bound to grow on you after a few listens. For most part, Sun Le Dua is pretty much an unplugged track, Shreya crooning soulfully to a piano-strings backing. But towards the end the flute (presumably played by Naveen Kumar) takes up the lead and finishes the song in style. The instrumental theme provides a wonderful closure to proceedings with its ambient orchestral elements dominated by the flute and violin. Wonder why the Cerejo couple, Neuman Pinto and Vivienne Pocha were credited on this one as I could not discern vocals at any point.
While the soundtrack for We Are Family is a good package from SEL, it is replete with telltale Karan Johar-esque elements which tell on a couple of songs. It would be best that he change composers for each of his movies.
Music Aloud Rating: 8/10
Recommended Tracks: Reham O Karam, Sun Le Dua, Aankhon Mein Neendein
