Ashutosh Gowariker’s films are synonymous with A.R. Rahman’s tunes, but for his ‘What’s Your Rashee?’, which has Priyanka Chopra and Hurman Baweja in lead roles, the director has got on board a new composer, Sohail Sen – who has done a commendable job.

From fast pacy numbers to romantic songs to Arabic and folk tunes – Sen, son of music composer Sameer Sen, has packed interesting compostions in the album.

The film has 13 songs, one each for the 12 zodiac signs and one is a mix of all. The young composer has roped in the director as well has his sister Aslesha to sing.

The album kickstarts with a pleasing and soft number ‘Jao na’ crooned by Sen himself along with Tarannum Malik. It is quite intriguing and the part where the song suddenly gains momentum works well for it. It will surely appeal to the younger generation.

Up next is ‘Aaja lehrate’ that has vocals by Shaan and Bhavya Pandit. It is quite fast-paced and has western influences with English lyrics thrown in here and there. But the peppy number doesn’t stand out in the album.

‘Bikhri bikhri’, sung by Sohail Sen and Marianne D. Cruz, will have a tranquilizing effect on you. A soft, soothing and melodious number, it immediately strikes a chord with the listener.

Then we have ‘Mannunga mannunga’. Director Ashutosh Gowariker himself goes behind the mike along with Pamela Jain to sing the song. But the track is unappealing and unexciting.

‘Sau janam’, a love ballet by Udit Narayan, Madhushree and Sen, is one of the best songs in the album. A mushy number, it has a strong musical backing and stays with you long after. A great composition.

Next in line is ‘Aa le chal’. Sung by Aslesha Gowariker, it is nothing extraordinary. An average number.

‘Pyaari pyaari’ is another feel-good song with some amount of sweetness in it. It is crooned by Alka Yagnik and Sen.

Then there is ‘Su che’. Soaked in Gujarati flavour, it is sung by Sen and Bela Shende and is a fact-paced track. It was meant to be a fun song but fails to make a mark.

The next number, ‘Salone kya’, is a song with an Arabic feel. It is sung by Sen and Tarannum Malik. Even though the music is captivating, the lyrics are a big put off and take away the zing from the song.

‘Dhadkan dhadkan’ has edgy music with a strong musical backing. Once again Sen and Tarannum team up for the song that has a haunting feel to it. The number does impress.

‘Pal pal jisko dhoonde’ has influences of jazz music. A soft and free flowing number, it is sung by Sen.

‘Koi Jaane na’ is an interesting number sprinkled with folk flavour. A poignant song, it is sung very well by Rajab Ali Bharti and Bela.

Finally, there is ‘Chehra jo dekhe hain’ by Sen again that is the title track of the film. The song includes samples from the other 12 songs.

On the whole ‘What’s your Raashee?’ is a decent album, even though long. The budding composer has done a good job.

Source: IANS

According to director Zoya Akhtar, Baaware is “Rajasthan on acid.” For those who know about the ways of the psychedelic world, it is easy to figure out why. But for the uninitiated here’s the lowdown.

Baaware (Shankar, Ila Arun, Loy, Rajasthani Ensemble) is picturised on a circus, and features traditional Rajasthani mangangyar singers, who grab you by the scruff of your neck with the sheer intensity of their voice. Folk gets a twist later in the song, blurring the lines between acoustic and electronic, with a trance track merging with the folk beats and melody. If you like Baaware, you will be bowled over by the remix, at the end of the album by Midival Punditz. Definitely a must-have on all DJ consoles in the days to come.

Pyar Ki Daastaan (Mahalakshmi Iyer, Amit Paul) is the quintessential love song, the kind that invariably makes its way to any romantic sequence, with dholaks and lyrics that go, “Sapnon ka yeh mausam hai/Dil se dil ka sangam hai/sulge sulge hothon par/halki halki shabnam hai.” Chiffons on the Swiss Alps anyone?

Predictability flies out of the window with Pyaar Aaj Kya Ho Gaya. Sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, the song opens with a sunny, breezy, guitar riff, and bares a soul that is very southern-rock. In fact, with the delicious little guitar and keyboard solos, SEL sound unmistakably like the Allman Brothers Band, known to be the architects of Southern Rock in 70′s USA. One can safely predict this song doing the rounds of college campuses, with guitar-strumming young ‘uns and friends joining in the chorus parts.

Sapnon Se Bhare Naina sees Shankar Mahadevan delving deep into his classical roots. Based on Bhairavi, a poignant morning raga, this loungy song has been winning fans ever since its first airplay. And it is easy to see why. Shankar’s deft vocal maneuvers are set against a rich, deep drum and base rhythm track, which is hypnotic and clubby at the same time.

Up next, O Raahi re, is a poignant, philosophical song with a subtle sufi flavour. And what sounds like a 12-string guitar. A neat little guitar riff keeps pulling at your heartstrings every now and then, while Shankar’s mature rendition of the song makes it for a very pleasant listening.

Given the fantastic response to the music of Rock On (detractors be damned!), SEL could have been vulnerable to their own success. Instead, they seemed to have moved on, and happily so. With Luck… they seem to have got more adventurous, bettered their craft the process. The result is the kind of music that certainly raises the bar of motion picture soundtrack in Bollywood.

Verdict: The producers’ note says, “Luck By Chance is a contemporary tale set in a world desperate to escape its own reality.” The music of Luck by Chance is your ticket to escape-land. Enjoy!

Rating: 4/5

Label: Big Music

Toshi, whose early exit from a talent hunt show sparked off lot of debate few month back, lives up to all the promise he had shown. Toshi has the voice of a hero that’s powerful and doesn’t screech at higher notes. A couple of good songs could do wonders for this singer, who doesn’t sound uncomfortable with playback unlike Abhijeet Sawant and Rahul Vaidya.

Mahi sets the ball rolling as one moves onto the successive tracks with mounting expectations. And when it’s KK, chances are you wont be disappointed. O Jaana is a foot tapping club number that’s not blockbuster material but good as long as it lasts. O Jaana returns with a racier dance remix. And unlike Mahi this time the remix towers over the original. After a few listens the O Jaana Remix grows on you and you’ll soon find yourself humming the catchy hook.

Krishna and Sonu Niigaam-Neeraj Shreedhar sing two different version of Soniyo. A laidback love ballad, Krishna’s version of Soniyo is composed in the Life In A Metro mode. Sonu’s rendition on the other hand is more traditional Bollywood with a more Indian feel in the song. It’s nice to hear Sonu do a no nonsense romantic song after a long time.

For a so-called horror flick, the album’s packed with rather lively numbers. But Kaisa Yeh Raaz Hai fills the space of a haunting theme track. Sung once again by KK, this lavishly composed song could make a bigger impact on the screen. For KK fans it’s another opportunity to enjoy this versatile singer’s voice. Despite three songs, KK would however be missing a chartbuster in the league of Jannat.

Krishna gets one more song in Bandaa Re. The track has a loud orchestra with mantras being chanted constantly iby the chorus. Spiritual lyrics and a Sufi sound indicate that this Gourov Dasgupta composition could be a part of the movie’s dramatic finale.

The music of Golmaal Returns starts with Tha Kar Ke, which begins sounding like ’80s pop and then becomes Hindi hip-hop. The chorus is quite catchy, and the part after that is sung in a way that reminds me of a song by UK-based rapper/hip-hop artiste Badshah and Honey Singh.

Vacancy starts with the word ‘Golmaal’ being repeated 3-4 times in every sentence. It’s a very okay song, nothing you want to sing along with. Anushka Manchanda’s voice is quite nice, and they’ve taken parts of the title track of Golmaal Part 1. Somehow, the parts of the song seem to fall in place only when Anushka is singing, the rest of it sounds very half-hearted.

Tu Saala has clichéd lyrics for most part, except the chorus where Anushka sings ‘tu saala kaam se gaya’. The verse and chorus both are good, but a slight build-up to the chorus by adding a part before of after the chorus would’ve made this song a big dance hit.

Meow is the first good song in Golmaal Returns. It starts with guitar strumming, and it has, what I believe is the first blend of English and Hindi lyrics that actually sound good! Suzy Q and Monali sing really well, and I’m curious to know which other Hindi movies they’ve done the playback singing.

Meow is followed by the English version of Meow, which has a guy saying ‘This is a stupid dumb/dog mix’. Hey, this is proper music! The lyrics on this version of Meow are different in a lot of places, and so is the music. The basic structure of the song is the same, but some minor changes make Meow (English Version) a good listening experience.

After which comes the Kilogram Remix of Vacancy! But this version is a lot better than the previous Vacancy. I have to say Hindi hip-hop type lyrics are getting slightly better. But that’s not a compliment, for I’m not sure I want a woman calling me a ‘hunky, funky, junkie, monkey’, though. ‘Let’s carry on with Golmaal, Golmaal/ Life goes on with Golmaal, Golmaal’. Let’s carry on with the review, instead.

The Tha Kar Ke remix sounds like it’s building up a groove, and that any moment we’ll get some trance beats. Unfortunately, nothing of the sort happens and you wait for the next remix. Oh, well.

Another Meow remix. This version is by DJ Nikhil and DJ Naved and has been arranged by Zoheb. Gee, thanks guys.

Is remixing every song 3-4 times the latest Bollywood music trend? The people who decided what was going to be on this CD decided there was no way Tu Saala could be left out, so here’s the remix. No English version, no Kilogram remix, just plain remix.

Okay, here’s the song Golmaal, from Golmaal Part 1. Anushka has a strong voice, something that you enjoy listening to. Even if the composition is not great, you just wait to see how she sings what she sings next. I like her style.

Aage Peeche is the first song that has an Indian touch to it, probably for a wedding in the movie? Sneha Pant’s vocals are very welcome, I don’t think I’ve been so happy to hear old-song type singing before. Shekhar sings pretty well, and he can sound funny! I don’t think I’ve heard him sing before. This song has nice lyrics, too!

Another Golmaal remix, this time with three guys singing. The lyrics are simply terrible and this version is plain boring. Shaan, KK and Vishal Dadlani doing timepass, I think.

After this comes track 13, and you guessed it right. It’s yet another remix of Golmaal, as unexciting as the previous all-guy version. What a way of filling up a CD!

Oh, finally! Rehja Re has nice beats. My ears are so fed up of listening to three remixes of every song, that even something close to decent sounds like good. Javed Ali is a good singer, certainly better than the trio who assaulted my ears with two redundant remixes a few minutes ago. Sunidhi Chauhan and Javed both do a good job, Rehja Re is upbeat and has lyrics in Punjabi, English, Hindi. Good to dance to!

The last song is Golmaal and with Anushka’s infectious singing, it sounds great. The beat and vocal style is very catchy, I heard this song being played in cars when Golmaal Part 1 came out. I wish they had more good songs on the album, instead of unnecessary remixes.

Meow, Aage Peeche and Rehja Re is such good listening, the album would’ve been very good, had Vishal-Shekhar included more compositions, instead of subjecting the listener to remixes. Still, not bad at all.

RATING: 2/5

source:buzz18

But there is more to Ghanekar’s resume than just a few off-beat films. Alongwith Pathak, Dhruv has been producing commercial or jingle music under the Smoke Music label and today the duo (aka Ashu-Dhruv) is better known for Blue Frog, which is a production house, a live music club, sound lab and a record label to promote niche and non-mainstream music.

As you may have guessed by now, Ghanekar, an immensely talented guitar player (he was earlier with a popular band Chakravyuh, which finds mention in Rock On!!) is not really a regular choice for a Bollywood flick. Maybe that is why the makers of Drona, which is supposed to be a cutting-edge superhero film, chose him as the music composer.

True to his grain, Dhruv brings to the Drona soundtrack the shine and slick production values of jingle music tempered with very global pop, rock, electronic and even jazz sounds. Drona’s music in other words is extremely stylised, which also makes it somewhat unapproachable.

The title track, Drona, is receiving a fair amount of air play and has the potential to be a hit with the club-hopping crowd. Dhruv lends his voice and his guitar, to this track, which is fast, energetic and boasts of a neat arrangement, clutter-free and catchy. A lot of interesting sounds, loops and effects are layered upon each other, making it a fun track to explore and by far the most ineteresting song of the album with two very different versions.

Up next is a pop track Oop Cha, sung by Sunidhi Chauhan. Quite a trippy number, once again which has a nice beat that you would want to shake a leg to. Especially when it is remixed later on in the album.

The surprise number is Banda gi, a slow song performed soulfully by Sunidhi Chauhan and Roop Kumar Rathod. It is refreshing to hear Sunidhi in a soft, emotional number, bombarded as we are all the time with her overpowering dance numbers. Nice set of lyrics here by Vaibhav Modi.

A let down is the next, a lullaby by Sadhana Sargam. Nanhe Nanhe is so overtly stylised that you are left wondering why the composer has killed a nice melody with such excess of harmonies and elaborate arrangement.

By now, you will have noticed Rahman’s influence in the way Dhruv treats his songs. Which is a great point of reference really. But with Khushi, he treads the same path as Rahman’s in Jaane tu. Like the Jaane Tu jazz track, Khushi turns to big band jazz with a bang. Khushi begins with a lot of promise really, and you may find yourself swinging to the sound. But Shaan’s voice is not really cut out for such a true-blue jazz number. With a different voice, Khushi could have yielded happier results.

Verdict: Overall, the music of Drona is interesting, but not ‘exciting’ or ‘grand’ enough for a superhero/action flick. Dhruv Ghanekar does experiment a lot and the production values and arrangements are superb – he has included the best of contemporary musicians like Ranjit Barot and Sivamani and has recorded and mastered at the best of facilities. But Drona’s music fails to leave a lasting impression.

Rating: 2.5/5

source:buzz18.com

Director Siddharth Anand’s last film with Yash Raj was Ta Ra Rum Pum, a title inspired by a song. The film was a disaster; the music fared better.

Anand returns. And he returns with another song-inspired film title – Bachna Ae Haseeno. While the box-office verdict of this film is still a long way off, the music is already climbing up the charts.

Bachna Ae Haseeno has Yash Raj written all over it – completely unapologetic in its mush and sheen. [IN PICS: Stills from Bachna Ae Haseeno]

The first track Khuda Jaane by KK and Shilpa Rao is a lovely, silk-smooth song, conjuring visions of the lead couple in exotic locales, flowing hair, flowers and sweeping cameras. Particularly nice is the use of tabla and guitars (Chintu), which give this track a quaint yet contemporary sound. Shilpa Rao has a voice that is not your usual saccharine sweet kind, but rich and grainy. Nice scale changes and a soaring chorus make this song a must-listen. [MUST WATCH: The Bachna title track! ]

While the filmmaker and music directors insist it is Lucky Boy, which is the ‘superhit song’ of the film, I’d rather put my money on Khuda Jaane, especially since the remix version of the song works equally well.

Nonetheless Lucky Boy, sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, Hard Kaur and Raja Hassan is a strictly formulaic dance number with a touch of Punjabi folk and Hinglish lyrics.

Aahista Aahista by Shreya Ghoshal and Lucky Ali could well be the dark horse of the album. It has some neat flamenco style guitar parts and the slow, soft melody against the fast electronic beats give it a very clubby feel. This track has a lot of potential if it receives enough airplay.

Jogi Mahi sung by Sukhwinder Singh, Shekhar and Himani Kapoor is a Punjabi love ballad, which fails to strike a chord. As does Shankar Mahadevan’s Small Town Girl. The Hinglish lyrics however are interesting and overall it’s a fun song.

Finally, we come to the most important song of the album – its title track – Bachna Ae Haseeno. It takes a lot of guts to revisit a classic, especially if it features RD Burman and Kishore Kumar. Vishal-Shekhar maintain the essence of this 31-year-old ‘youthful’ song and yet manage to add their characteristic flavour to it. The result is a track that is as feisty and naughty as it was when first heard.

For most of RD Burman’s classics, it is the prelude that give the songs a unique identity. Whether it is the guitar and tinkling glass in Chura Liya or the guitar solo in Dum Maro Dum, you can tell the songs simply by listening to the first few notes. Bachna Ae Haseeno’s opening section is one of these.

The remix too begins with the signature horn section, the absolutely full-bodied, raunchy introduction, big-band style, blending seamlessly to some very sharp rap lines by Vishal. Superb arrangement and production here. Bachna Ae Haseeno features Kishore Kumar’s youngest son Sumit Kumar, with parts of Kishore Kumar’s original song with Vishal’s rap, giving it a very crunchy, peppy, refreshing twist.

Verdict: The album is worth a listen for Khuda Jaane and the title track Bachna…. Trust me, you’d find it difficult to sit still through the song.

Rating: Three stars on five

Album Title: Bachna Ae Haseeno || Music Director: Vishal-Shekhar || Released by: YRF Music

The album comprises 12 tracks of which six are remix versions. That brings us down to six original tracks of which the title track is by far the catchiest. Four other songs from the album – Jee Karda, Bas Ek Kinng, Bhootni Ke and Talli Hua – are just about okay.

But if you’re one of those who simply swear by hardcore Punjabi music, Singh is Kinng is the kind of music you should buy. It has an international Punjabi feel to it and you know it’s directed towards the NRI junta who oh-so-love being in touch with their roots through their music.

In this light, Teri Ore, the only love ballad in the album stands out for its soulful tunes, music arrangement and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shreya Ghoshal’s voices. But this is also the one song, which sounds as if it’s been forced in the whole ensemble of bhangra and bhangra-inspired music.

A word about the title track sung by Snoop Dogg and Akshay Kumar. The track has chartbuster clearly written over it, though the fusion of dhols and drums may not necessarily impress you all the time. Nonetheless, it’s one of those tracks that will become a hit or a flop depending upon its picturisation.

Just a small warning to those who haven’t had a taste of the North Indian culture – be ready to hear some not-so-pleasant words. It’s part of the vocabulary, as the F word has become almost a must-use in the urban Indian context.

So you have a song that goes Bhootni ke (one of those untranslatable gems of the Punjabi language) or another one that goes Talli Hua (you don’t want us to translate that, believe us). However for the more curious and outrageous, we’d suggest listen to Jee Karda. It’s what will give you an insight into this wonderful culture of the Punjabis.

Verdict: It’s your regular Punjabi fare. Buy it if you like that genre a lot.

Rating: 3/5

source: buzz18.com