Bollywood Music Analysis 2012

The thing I love about Bollywood music is that its so diverse, so vast and so immensely addictive that once you are in, you can't get out of its magical world. People may call it plagiarism, but Bollywood takes inspirations from every single musical forms around the world, so that it has everything, the sheer beauty of Spain, the sonorous beats of Africa and of course the soulful and systematic Indian approaches to music. Hindustani dominates, but Carnatic is not rare. We see experimentation, hear new sounds and watch new techniques evolve with each passing day in the industry. New talents come up and new systems poke out and the tastes of the audience, after all it is all about the audience, changes, gradually, slowly.
2012 was a giant leap for that change since we saw tremendous experimentation dancing their way off through the technical as well as creative side.

Here is my analysis of 2012 viewing from the music angle.

2012 opened its account with 'Players' which had music by Pritam with couple of engaging melodies like 'Dil Yeh' and 'Kyun Doorian' but overall faring average. January had a bumper in the offering in the form of 'Agneepath' where Ajay-Atul exceeded expectations through the magical score which produced gems like 'Abhi Mujh Mein' and 'O Saiyaan'. Not to mention 'Gun Gun' and 'Shah Ka Rutba'.
Amit Trivedi's 'Ekk Mein Aur Ekk Tu' came in January with a fairly good score comprising of the melodious  'Ahatein' and peppy 'Aunty ji'. A R Rahman's 'Vinnaithandi Varuvaya' music remake as 'Ekk Deewana Tha' was good but failed to click. While 'Jodi Breakers' had some good melodies under the composition of Salim-Sulaiman, 'Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya' had Atif Aslam tag on it with melodies like 'O re Piya' and 'Tu Mohobbat' although this Sachin-Jigar composition's gem was 'Jeene De' sung to excellence by Mohit Chauhan.
March saw Ali Zafar composing for Bollywood in 'London Paris New York' which had a quirky 'Voh Dekhney mein' while Sharib-Toshi's 'Will You Marry me' produced the excellent 'Soniye'. The real winner came with 'Kahaani', where Vishal-Shekahar were in top form through 'Piya tu', 'Tore Bina' and 'Kahaani'.!
Pritam came back with a bang with 'Agent Vinod' which was immensely appreciated and gave hits like 'I'll do the talking', 'Dil Mera Muft' and the gorgeous 'Raabta'. 'Blood Money' had decent compositions from Jeet Ganguly like 'Chaahat'.
April started with duds 'Housefull 2' and 'Bittoo Boss', while the former was irritating, later was hearable and had couple of good tracks in the form of 'Mann Jaage'. Then came the surprise surprise 'Vicky Donor' bringing along with it the wonderful 'Pani Da' composed and sung by the lead actor Ayushmann which proved to be a super hit and undoubtedly one of the best songs of 2012.! 'Hate Story' had stale music and 'Tezz' was bad from Sajid-Wajid.
Pritam scored again with 'Jannat 2' in May with the dreamy 'Sang hoon Tere' and soulful 'Rab Ka Shukrana' along with other good songs. 'Dangerous Ishq' had 'Naina Re' and 'Tu Hi Rab' to its grace and 'Ishaqzaade' was wonderful stuff from Amit Trivedi. 'Pareshaan' and 'Chokra Jawani' topped the charts.!
'Rowdy Rathore' released in June had massy, brainless tracks even though 'ChinTata', 'Dhang Dhang' and 'Chammak Challo' proved to be hits. 'Shanghai' was truly excellent attempt from Vishal-Shekhar with 'Dua' and 'Khudaaya'.!
'Ferrari Ki Sawari' was very good, un-Pritamish, but under promoted, even with 'Mann Re' and 'Good Night'. 'Teri Meri Kahaani' had decent music by Sajid-Wajid and 'Mukhtasar' topped the charts.!
The real shock came with 'Gangs of Wasseypur' where Sneha Khanwalkar produced a whopping 14 tracks, each different and creatively distinct from the other getting overwhelmingly positive response from the critics. 'O Womaniya', 'Hunter' and 'Keh Ke Loonga' were among the most popular.
July had an average 'Bol Bachchan' with massy 'Chalao Nainon Se' but shot up in spirits with the release of 'Cocktail', where once again, Pritam proved his worth through 'Tumhi ho bandhu', 'Daru Desi', and 'Yaarian' being the top tracks.
'Kya Super Cool Hai Hum' tried to be cool with remixes, but worked in vain and the under promoted 'Aalaap' by Agnee had a graceful track listing with excellent songs like 'Shuruvat Pyar Ki' and 'Dil Yeh Awaz De'.
The tremendously over hyped 'Jism 2' released in August first week with a new music director Arko Pravo Mukherjee and he used Ali Azmat to mazimum extent through 'Maula' and 'Yeh Jism'. 'Gangs of Wasseypur Part 2' came and took our breath away again by the tremendous number and variety of songs. Even though not being par with GOW 1, part two also had an excellent track listing comprising of gems like 'Moora' and 'Aabroo'. Sallu Bhai's biggest blockbuster 'Ek Tha Tiger' came with huge expectations from composer Sohail Sen but only 'Saiyaara' proved its worth and Sajid-Wajid's bland 'Mashallah' worked only due to Katrina. 'Shirin Farhad Ki toh nikal padi', 'Joker' and 'From Sydney with Love' had decent music from Jeet Ganguly, Gaurav Dagaonkar and Sohail Sen respectively but only 'Joker' scored' with 'I want to love you'.
Raaz 3 gave September a melodious start with some good deal of beautifully tuned songs like 'Deewana Kar raha' and 'Zindigi Se'. Well, the wonder of the month was 'Barfi', Pritam in mad maddy style retro music mode with almost all songs topping the charts thus becoming one of the best albums of the year! 'Ala Barfi', 'Phir le aye dil', 'Kyon', 'Ashiyan' to name a few.! 'Heroine' had very good music but didn't click while 'OMG Oh My God' gave chart busters like 'Go Go Govinda' and 'Mere Nishaan'.
October saw release of the light hearted and beautiful 'English Vinglish' producing out of the world tracks like 'Dhak Dhuk' 'Gustakh Dil' and 'English Vinglish'. A treat from Amit Trivedi. Amit's own 'Aiyaa' released next which met with mixed response but 'Dreamum Wakupum' and 'Aga Bai' topped the charts. 'Chittagong' marked the account opening of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with situational yet absorbing songs like 'Bolo Na'.
Vishal-Shekhar's 'Student of the Year' had fair music but strong promotions propelled 'Ishq Wala Love', 'Disco Deewane' and 'Radha' to top positions in no time. 'Ajab Ghazab Love' was stale while 'Rush' gave 'O Re Khuda'. 'Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana' was appreciated by critics and '1920 Evil Returns' had conventionally cliched yet melodious tracks namely 'Apnaa Mujhe Tu Lagaa' and 'Uska Hi Banana'.
November had other three biggies, SRK-A R Rahman's 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan', Ajay-Himesh's 'Son of Sardar' and Aamir-Ram Sampath's 'Talaash'. Jab Tak Hai jaan had soulful music and even with mixed critical response, almost all songs topped the charts, 'Heer' being the pick of the lot. 'Son of Sardar' was massy but had a gorgeous melody in the form of 'Bichchdan' and an amazingly catchy 'Rani Tu mein Raja'. 'Po Po' was brainless but worked due to Salman factor. 'Talaash' had a perfect score with each track being beautiful and influencing but were under promoted. 'Jee Le Zara', 'Jiya Lage na' and 'Lakh Duniya kahen' were real products of immense creativity.
December saw Himesh-Akshay's 'Khiladi 786' giving some outrageous massy tracks which nevertheless topped the charts even with mixed response. 'Balma', 'Lonely', 'Long Drive' and 'Hookah Bar' were the most noted. End of the year was with a good 'Dabanng 2' where Sajid-Wajid played safe by creating a musical sequel to 'Dabanng' hence nothing went wrong and nothing more. 'Dagabaaz Re' and 'Fevicol' were the pick of the lot.

Such a memorable year with so many good songs, so that it has become a huge task to filter out the best among the lot.

Top Composers

Talking about the composers, the best among the lot were Pritam, Amit Trivedi and Vishal Shekhar. Sneha Khanwalkar comes to the list too with GOW but that is strikingly unconventional so I don't know if she'll fit into the usual league.

Pritam Chakraborty : Had one of his career's best performance in 2012. Palyers was a dud but Jannat 2, Agent Vinod, Cocktail, Ferrari Ki Sawari, Barfi! and Rush were all super good and filled with chart busters!  Pritam has undoubtedly produced the biggest no: of hits this year. He was massy in Cocktail and classy in Barfi! and consistent throughout in quantity and quality hence without any doubt, the composer of the year!
I wish he wins his first Filmfare award this year, he deserves it!

Amit Trivedi : As usual, Amit concentrated in the quality and versatility of his songs rather being too commercial. 'Ekk Mein Aur Ekk Tu', 'Ishaqzaade', 'Aiyyaa', 'English Vinglish', and 'Love Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana' were his works in 2012. I found only 'English Vinglish' and 'Ishaqzaade' completely absorbing. But then each album is definitely different from the other and I doubt anyone else in the industry now apart from Amit Trivedi(and A R Rahman by default) could produce a track like 'Dreamum wakeupum'. Creativity at its best.!

Vishal-Shekhar : With no doubt, the music composer duo are the most technically advanced composers in the industry now. Four albums this year, three of them hugely classy(Kahaani, Shanghai, Arjun The Warrior) and one an out-and-out commercial attempt(Student of the Year). Kahaani and Shanghai will be cherished forever by the music lovers even though the tracks were not so popular. It happens in Bollywood so no point complaining.

Sneha Khanwalkar : Gangs of Wasseypur. A total of 28 tracks.! Total dedication and immense creativity. Words won't be enough to praise Sneha. Spontaneous and spot on she is while being thoroughly research oriented in her music. A hell lot of home work, creative brainstorming and new ideas all evident from her work. She traveled to Trinidad and Tobago for the movie, stayed there for a month and studied their folk culture just for the music of the film! That much was not necessary but she did it out of utmost passion.! Hats off.!

Ajay-Atul : An excellent 'Agneepath' to their credit.

Ram Sampath : A very good Talaash which went rightly with the mood of the film even when under promoted.

Jeet Ganguly : Worked his way through remakes of his own Bengali songs mostly in Raaz 3, Blood Money and Shirin Farhad ki toh Nikal Padi. A good year for him nevertheless.

A R Rahman : Ek Deewana Tha failed to click but Jab Tak Hai Jaan was a wonderful collection of melody.

Himesh Reshammiya : HR went through twist and turns this year. He announced his comeback to full time music direction and without surprise, projects were immediately on his way. Dangerous Ishq was too Indian and fitted the mood of the film. While all other scores, namely, Bol Bachchan, Oh My God, Son of Sardar, and Khiladi 786 were outright commercial. Interestingly HR gave music to highest number of highest grossing films of the year.! Good for him!

Salim-Sulaiman : Not a good year, but I loved their Jodi Breakers and Heroine.!

Sajid-Wajid : The duo were out of ideas this year undoubtedly. A long list of duds. Tezz, Housefull 2, Teri Meri Kahani, Ajab Ghazab Love, Ishq In Paris, Kamaal Dhamaal Malamal, Rowdy Rathore and guest compositions in Ek Tha Tiger and Son of Sardar worked in vain. Rowdy Rathore worked due to tremendous promotions and the year end Dabangg 2 was the only safe album. Thumps down.! Bad luck.!

Sachin-Jigar had a good Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya and guest composition in Kya Super Kool Hai Hum.



Top Singers

Male

Sonu Nigam : Its Sonu, I don't have to explain. Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin, and Apna mujhe tu Laga.

Mohit Chauhan : Singer of the year 2011, going strong this year too.!
Jeene De, Ala Barfi, Rab Ka Shukrana, Siyaara, Saans.

Arjit Singh : Promoted heavily by Pritam(Arjit is Asst. Music director of Pritam) Arjit scored this year with his sombre and soulful singing.
Phir Le Aye Dil, Sawali Si Raat, Raabta, Dua

Vishal Dadlani : Various songs, his as well as others. Jee Le Zara being my favorite.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan : Not a very good year even with a lot of songs only two made the list.
Soniye, Bichdan

KK : Loved his 'Sang Hoon Tere' and Kahaani title track.!

Papon :  Kyon, mind blowingly beautiful.!

Piyush Mishra : Ik Bagal and Aabro. Also his stress reliever Husna from Coke Studio.

Ayushman Khurana for Pani Da.



Female

Rekha Bharadwaj : Phir Le aye dil. One song. One beautiful classic song. It is enough!

Shilpa Rao : Gustakh Dil, Aahatein, Gubbare, English Vinglish, Ishq Shava

Harshdeep Kaur : Heer, Luv Shuv Te Chicken Khurana, Jugni

Shreya Ghoshal : Kahaani, Raabta, Saans, Dagabaaz Re, Piya Ore Piya, Aashiyan

Nandini Srikar : Dua, Dil Mera Muft

Shalmali Kholgade : Pareshaan, Daru Desi, Aga Bai

Sunidhi Chauhan : Yaarian, Kyon

Sona Mohapatra : Jiya Laage Na



Check the next post for Top songs of 2012

Good Bye 2012. 



Life Sucks. Music Doesnt!

Music Reviews I Missed in 2012

The birth of this blog can be attributed solely to my undying passion for music. Yes, I hear music a lot, a lot, literally, and I try to share my thoughts here as regular as possible. But alas, due to unavoidable commitments, which can come in various forms like my exams, cultural and technical festivals in my college, and of course my laziness, I have thoroughly missed reviewing some albums. Not that I missed hearing them. But I was, due to various reasons, not available at the time of their release and by the time I got back, other albums wold have released and it would have been too late for a review.

So here I give the albums of 2012 I liked and I missed reviewing. I hope such a post doesn't come next year.  Cheers! :)

1. Players : Was an average album, but I liked Dil ye bekraar, both versions immensely.

2. Will You Marry Me : Was a good album and I'm still hooked to Soniye. Brilliant stuff!

3. Bittoo Boss. Good, and liked Mann Jaage.

4. Gangs of Wasseypur : I actually didn't write it intentionally due to the simple fact that I was perplexed by the sheer brilliance and complexity of the album. I didn't know what to write, since I was unfamiliar with many of the genres. As I observed, even many of the top reviewers didn't get the entire genres correct even when they praised the album. GOW was excellent for me and I'll always admire Sneha Khanwalkar for the hard hard work she did. 

5. English Vinglish : Oh, how I regret not writing this review.! I had exams, I presume but this one is just excellent stuff! Loved each and every track and kudos to Amit Trivedi.!

6. Chittagong : Excellent score from Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. A tad situational, but novel.

7. Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana : Good work by Amit Trivedi. But below par considering English Vinglish.

8. 1920 Evil Returns : Some good songs, overall average.

9. Kahaani : Undoubtedly one of the best albums of 2012. Vishal-Shekhar has put their heart into the music score even though many tracks were not featured in the movie, which was equally outstanding.! Piya Tu, Tore Bina and Kahaani title track are beautiful and absorbing!!

Dabangg 2 Music Review

Dabangg 2 Music
Music Direction : Sajid-Wajid
Lyrics : Sameer, Jalees Sherwani & Sajid

What I expected? : From Sajid-Wajid, some competant stuff since this time Salman is involved hence they can't go haywire like the past six months. Humongous is the word! 

Dagabaaz Re is standard Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shreya Ghoshal duet template, melodious, Qwaali-ish and folky with an engaging tune and even when milking on 'Tere Mast Mast Do nain', makes  up for a good hear!
Pandeyjee Seeti by Wajid, Mamta Sharma & Shreya is quirky and desi dance track with march-band background setup drawing inspirations heavily from various sources and energetic vocals which must work hugely on screen.
Remix is techno.
Fevicol Se, the Kareena track, the expected item number by Mamta Sharma, Wajid, Keerthi and Uvie, absurd, desi, nothing new and emitting a heard before feel, thankfully not having the 'Munni' hangover still not in par.! Worth a hear!
Saanson by Sonu Nigam and Tulsi Kumar is engaging for its retro melody quotient and good singing by the singers though Tulsi snails behind Sonu in quality, nevertheless giving a good hear!
Dabangg Reloaded by Sukhwinder Singh is Ud Ud Dabangg reloaded, flaunting fair quantums of heroism and was more engaging for me than the original. 

Verdict : Dabangg 2 is a safe package of pretty good tracks many of which can work highly on screen due to star power and good choreography even when lacking inborn hit potential . A good hear, not a perfect follow up to Dabangg. Try it!

Must Hears : None

BELOW AVERAGE<AVERAGE<GOOD<VERY GOOD<EXCELLENT!

Le Gaya Saddam Music Review

Le Gaya Saddam Music
Music Director : Jaideep Choudhary/Amjad Khan??

What I expected? : Nothing

Dhin Chak by Roop Kumar Rathod is a fairly engaging folk dance song with traditional backdrop of dholak beats which has a heard before feel somehow, still a good hear!
Maula is predominantly sufi, sung to brilliance by the unmistakable Krishna and arranged aptly giving a good hear!
Bill Gates Ki Poti, an easily recognizable desi item number track with horrid lyrics, predictable execution and average singing by Rithu Pathak!
Ye le ye le : Skip!
Le Gaya Saddam : Skip!
Jugni by Krishna is quite a good  hear for its anthem-ish sound and good singing!
Madmast Nigahein by Sidhant Madhav and Anushka Manchanda is just a terrible club track!

Verdict : Two good songs, rest avoidable! Below average.

AVOIDABLE<POOR<BELOW AVERAGE<AVERAGE<GOOD

Khiladi 786 Music Review

Khiladi 786 Music

Music Direction : Himesh Reshammiya
Lyrics : Shabbir Ahmed, Sameer, Himesh Reshammiya

What I expected? : A very good deal of commercial massy tracks, couple of engaging melodies, since music director concerned is Himesh Reshammiya and the movie is his home production.

Khiladi 786 Title Track sung by a long list of Vineet Singh, Aman Trikha, Yashraj Kapil, Alam Gir Khan & Rajdeep Chatterjee is amusing and pleasantly captivating which will make your head sway no matter what, thanks to the careful arrangements and perfect singing thus giving a good hear!
Remix is chakhaas! 
Lonely by Himesh Reshammia, Yo Yo Honey Singh and Hansika Iyer showcases Himesh in his middle octave best and nasal worst simultaneously, which is quite amusing and the song being packed in a pretty catchy and peppy arrangement setup with very good support from Hansika, volunteers for a good and addictive hear even when the placement of Honey Singh's rap seems a bit awkward.! Good hear!
Remix is engaging.!
Balma brings in the much awaited Bollywood debut of Indian Idol Sreeram Chandra alongside Shreya Ghoshal and gets to sing a full on masti song which must work on screen since the structure and execution is heavily mediocre. Worth the hear for Sreeram's and Shreya's singing.
Remix is foot tapping!
Long Drive by Mika Singh is just 'wow!' material  turning out to be an addictive, seductive, haunting and modern  slow moving Punjabi club outing(spurting faint tints of Himesh's own 'Chakna') with amazing vocals by Mika and striking arrangements, delivering definitely a grt hear!! #repeat
The Bhangra mix included is an added bliss, thoroughly entertaining! 
Saari Saari Raat by Himesh Reshammiya is essentially intense, nasal yah, but easy on ears with some aptly crafted melancholic arrangements and innovative singing along with nice lyrics making up for a good hear!
Hookah Bar by Himesh Reshammiya, Vinit Singh and Aman Triikha is pleasantly spot on, catchy and refreshing dance track with the high point being the captivating tune and orchestration with terrific job in the singing department.! Good hear!
Tu Hoor Pari by Javed Ali, Shreya Ghoshal, Chandrakala Singh and Harshdeep Kaur elegantly does it job even when being a situational Punjabi dance track with classical elements mixed beautifully into it and sung equally charmingly giving a good hear!

Verdict : Soundtrack of Khiladi 786 mirrors Himesh in a hatke mode(in his old self somewhat, I'd say) with the album containing some terrific massy tracks of inborn hit potential and good repeat value! Even the remixes seems pretty great!  You don't have to hear this album. It'll be all around you in the coming months! Blasting work! Go for it!

AVERAGE<GOOD<VERY GOOD<EXCELLENT!<OUTSTANDING!

Must Hears : Long Drive

Trivia : There is a line in Lonely, 'teri yaad saath hai', the same on from 'Mein Jahaan Rahoon' of Namastey London for which Himesh and Akshay previously collaborated, added deliberately as a relive of the movie.

Talaash Music Review

Talaash Music

Music Direction : Ram Sampath

Lyrics :  Javed Akhtar

What I expected? : From a suspense thriller, music expectations were pretty low. But then its Ram Sampath, so, lets see.

Muskanein Jhoote Hai by Suman Sridhar is slow, seductive, meaningful and with an element of fear(really!) mixed with it, thanks to the careful jazz infused background arrangements giving a good hear!

Jee Le Zara by Vishal Dadlani works well in bringing that melancholic soft rock sound throughout the track which emits excellent doses of sadness and rage with superb slow arrangements and good lyrics giving a great hear!

Jee Le Zara Remix takes a complete transformation from the original and crafts itself in to a club song! Good hear indeed.!

Jiya Lage na by Sona Mahopatra and Ravindra Upadhyay, with the ghazalish tint semi classical fusion material is essentially a great hear where the high point is the composition and the excellent singing which has the right amount of feel and grief in it! Grt hear!

Hona Hai Kya by Ram Sampath made me remember 'Hey yeh maya' from Don 2 since both are are haunting and heroic slow moving rock songs, the former boasting of some boggling and intense arrangements and low pitched singing by Ram Sampath making a good hear!

Laakh Duniya Kahe again by Ram Sampath  is soft rock, low pitched and simple love song, agonizing and feelful which will make your head sway in bliss with the quality of Ram Sampath's singing! Grt hear!

Verdict : Talaash flies over expectations with the quality of songs exceeding expectations. Not much commercial value, but a delight for music lovers!

AVERAGE<GOOD<VERY GOOD<EXCELLENT!<OUTSTANDING!

 Must Hears : Jiya Lage na, Laakh Duniya Kahe

Rush Music Review

Rush Music

Music Director : Pritam Chakraborty

Lyrics : Ashish Pandit, Kumaar, Sayeed Quadri & Hard Kaur

What I expected? : Was immersed in JTHJ so nothing much.

Chup Chup Ke (Film Version) by Ash King, Muazzam & Rizwan Ali Khan seems like many of Pritam's own works mixed together, especially Rabba, I love you and Pee Loon. Nice hear but nothing special.

Chup Chup Ke by Shaan , Muazzam Beg & Rizwan Ali Khan is a better hear mainly due to good rendition by Shaan.

Fukraa by Jazzy and Hard Kaur turns out to be a Punjabi R&B track, somewhat catchy but not much engaging.

Mumkin sung by Anupam Amod and Tulsi Kumar works due to Anupam's vocals which is quite fresh  in front of Tulsi's pale singing. Nice melody and a good hear!

O Re Khuda by Adnan Sami and Javed Bashir is just lovable with Javed's sufi rendition mixed with Adnan's 'Darling' infused singing crafted upon a pretty strong melody giving us a good hear!

Rab Ka Junnon by Inderpreet Singh, hard rock crap. Not appealing to me.

Hote Hote by Ash King and Hard Kaur, partly engaging club song with heavy beats.

Verdict : Average work from Pritam. Some songs may get popular due to good promotions.

AVOIDABLE<POOR<BELOW AVERAGE<AVERAGE<GOOD<VERY GOOD

Must Hears : None

Jab Tak Hai Jaan Music Review

Jab Tak Hai Jaan Music

Music Director : A R Rahman

Lyrics : Gulzar

What I expected? : You really want me to say?

Challa by Rabbi opens the soundtrack with refreshing and super cool guitar riffs, riding through an urbane-Sufi setup and even when it take references from Rabbi's own Bulla song, manages to impress big time as a standalone track with excellent and stylish neoteric arrangements! Good hear! 

Saans by Mohit Chauhan and Shreya Ghoshal is unbelievably intense, melancholic, soulful and sweet being a signature Yash Chopra romantic track boasting of an excellent tune, arrangements and soul stirring lyrics! Shreya show all the way and a great great hear!!

Saans Reprise by Shreya Ghoshal is short yet heaven!!

Ishq Shava sung by Raghav Mathur and Shilpa Rao is kind of a heard before Rahman dance track of the 90's,  yet engaging in every way, the catchy tune, fresh rendition and the seductive, modern, Arabic and Spanish influenced arrangements building up for a good hear!

Heer by Harshdeep Kaur, an amazing Punjabi flavored sweet and passionate track, slow, powerful with novel arrangements and sung to perfection by Harshdeep.! What a composition.! What great lyrics! No words, great great hear!!

Jiya Re by Neeti Mohan must be picturised on a modern Anushka Sharma since the track is a youthful and sonorous joyful-holiday-celebration mood ride with unconventionally good singing by Neeti(loved the raps in between!) and urbane cool arrangements giving a great hear!

Jab Tak Hai Jaan by Javed Ali and Shakthisree Gopalan, the title track hopefully, starts off in a lively, intense, romantic high pitched mode then transitions itself into a complete Qwaali style with the shrill voice of Shakthisree going perfectly in sync with the setup. A good hear but a tad underwhelming! Could have been better.

Ishq Dance, a 3 minute long instrumental showcases modern African dance beats. Good hear!

Jab Tak Hai Jaan Poem, the serene and literally beautiful poetic dialog piece by SRK and written by Gulzar sahib given upper lift by some cool romantic background is nothing but classic!

Verdict : Another Rahman magic.This album has everything from romantic, modern, desi and poetic tracks without letting us down even by a single bit.! What I loved about this one is that all the songs go straight in to our heart, it clicks and sinks in without taking any time at all unlike many of the Rahman albums recently. You'll hear it. You'll love it! JTHJ all set to rule the charts in the coming weeks! Highly Recommended!

AVERAGE<GOOD<VERY GOOD<EXCELLENT!<OUTSTANDING!

4/5

Must hears! : Saans, Heer, Jab Tak Hai Jaan poem

Son Of Sardar Music Review

Son of Sardar Music

Music : Himesh Reshammiya, Sajid-Wajid
Lyrics : Sameer, Shabbir Ahmmed, Irshad Kamil, Manoj Yadav

What I expected : Being the soundtrack of a completely commercial entertainer, some very catchy and massy tracks.

Son of Sardar by Aman Triikha and Himesh Reshammiya, the title track, starts off with an interesting dialogue piece by Ajay Devgan but moves on to become quite a catchy Punjabi setup which changes to nostalgic-slow at parts. Good singing by Aman and a good hear!
Remix is fast paced and catchy.
Rani tu mein Raja by Yo Yo Honey Singh, Mika Singh and Bhavya Pandit is an amazingly catchy dance track, beginning with Honey's superb Punjabi hip-hop and then translating to a total romantic Mika affair and Bhavya supporting beautifully.! Good hear!
Remix is not good.
Tu Kamaal di Kudi by Vinit singh and Mamta Sharma is a good Punjabi dance track, heavily arranged, and sung rightly making the track worth the hear.
Bichdann by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is powerfully intense, sad and melancholic, boasting of meaningful lyrics and accurate, first class Hindustani arrangements with straight-from-the-heart singing by RFAK producing a gem of a song! Great hear! This is gonna linger for a long time.! 
Bichdann Reprise by RFAK itself has completely different arrangements, modern, sweet, romantic and a good hear!
Po Po sung by Vikas Bhalla, Aman Trikha and Himesh Reshammiya is basically another Punjabi dance track, nevertheless catchy and aptly arranged with foot tapping desi beats and full on energy singing. Good hear!
Yeh Jo Halki Halki Khumariya by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, composed by Sajid-Wajid is a painfully boring and wonderfully bad composition with below average arrangements(WTF with that rock fusion arrangements?!) with the saving grace being RFAK only.
Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein (Funk Version & House track trance) composed by Sandeep Chowta is just a dialogue piece by Mr Devgan with some Punjabi background setup.

Verdict : SOS soundtrack justifies expectations. Minus the Sjid-Wajid track, the album is a good and safe one which is predominantly Punjabi in flavor. Himesh Reshammiya has produced some good and catchy tracks having the potential of climbing charts in coming months.! Try it!

AVERAGE<GOOD<VERY GOOD<EXCELLENT!<OUTSTANDING! 

Student of the Year Music Review

Student of the Year Music
Music Direction : Vishal-Shekhar
Lyrics : Anvita Dutt Gupta,Vishal Dadlani

What I expected? : Karan Johar is simply a musical person and with the name Vishal-Shekhar attached to the album, nothing but anexcellent album.!

Ratta Maar by Vishal Dadlani and Shefali Alvarez is a breezy-cool-cheerful-lazy track with some engaging  guitar riffs, suited arrangements and singing, making it worth a hear!
Radha by Shreya Ghoshal, Udit Narayan and Vishal Dadlani throws a pleasant surprise, the track being an enjoyable urbane dance track which begins on a sweet Hindustani note by Shreya but moves up in pace with cool beats and a refreshing tune sung sonorously  by the three singers, giving a good hear!
Ishq waala Love by Shekar Ravjiani, Salim Merchant and Neeti Mohan is a slow moving romantic track with some hatke fusion arrangements and apt singing with a lot of feel by the three singers making up a good hear!
Kukkad by Shahid Mallya is a desi infused dance track with heavy modern arrangements, which is strictly situational and nevertheless catchy. Worth a hear!
The Disco Song by Vishal Dadlani, Sunidhi Chauhan and Nazia Hassan is a booming remix of  Nazia Hassan's the once popular 'Disco Deewane' song, which has been done elegantly with the singers doing a terrific job in the singing department! Nazia's voice from the old song is featured towards the middle of the song which has a very catchy chorus and totally a grt execution!
Vele by Vishal and Shekhar is an average Punjabi hip-hop R&B track with so many unwanted elements which leaves the listener confused.

Verdict : Student of the Year falls short of expectations, still manages to give some good listens in the form of Disco song, Ishq waala love and Radha. Overall a decent effort, not V-S's best!

AVERAGE<GOOD<VERY GOOD<EXCELLENT!<OUTSTANDING! 

Heroine Music Review

Heroine Music
Music Direction : Salim-Sulaiman

What I expected? : Salim-Sulaiman, Madhur Bhandarkar, both when associated previously gave a musical hit Fashion. So expectations pretty high, also because the movie is about Bollywood and Bollywood films. Its ought to be musical.

Halkat Jawani by Sunidhi Chauhan, the highly hyped item number filmed on Kareena has all the elements of a typical Bollywood item song(Desi arrangements, seductive singing) and apart from some very good layering of instrumentation, nothing more nothing less. Must work with the video. Good hear!
Saiyaan by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, a melancholic sad romantic track with a bit of Rajasthani folk elements in it, is immensely forgetful if not for Rahat who brings that smooth singing edge and goes well with the mood setup of the song, thus giving us a good hear!
Mein Heroine Hoon by Aditi Singh Sharma should be the title song, slow, secretive and seductive with suited singing talking about the life of a heroine with some excellent mix of  modern and  classical elements as arrangements should work well with an apt video of same mood.! Good hear!
Khwahishein showcases Shreya Ghoshal's smooth and silken vocals in this situational soft rock track which emits some kind of addictive energy with good lyrics making up a good hear! Loved it!
Tujhpe Fida by Benny Dayal and Shradha Pandit is a pleasant urbane cool romantic track with Benny Dayal sounding as fresh as ever and Shradha supporting beautifully with her modern-ish sweet vocals
along with some lively electric arrangements.! (Has a heard before feel, somehow)Good hear!

Verdict : As expected, Heroine is high on musical elements with some really cool tracks, which if not working as standalones, must work with the situation of the movie. Waiting to see the songs on screen meanwhile enjoying the music! Salim-Sulaiman comes up with a winner in Heroine soundtrack! Go for it!

AVERAGE<GOOD<VERY GOOD<EXCELLENT!<OUTSTANDING!

Oh My God Music Review

Oh My God Music 

Music Direction : Himesh Reshammiya, Meet Bros. Anjjan, Sachin-Jigar
Lyrics : Shabbir Ahmed, Sameer, Subrat Sinha, Swanand Kirkire

What I expected? : Judjing from the theme of the movie, musical expectations were a bit low. But names like Himesh, Meet Bros and Sachin Jigar, people usually with good track record featuring on the album, one looks forward to the album keenly.

Go Go Govinda by Shreya Ghoshal and Mika Singh gives a 'chakhaas' start to the album, the track being a typical 'govinda' tapori number boasting of foot-tapping heavy beats, catchy interludes and masala lyrics, which would have gone astray if not for Shreya who gives an out-on-out rendition with the same charisma she had shown in Chikini Chameli, with Mika as puching as ever! Good hear!
Go Go Govinda(Reprise) featuring Shreya Ghoshal and Aman Triikha is essentially the same thing except for Mika's voice which has been replaced by Aman's, which is nevertheless good!
Tu Hi Tu by Mohd. Irfan seems like a soulful romantic song starting with flute, violin, guitar, cool beats and lyrics like 'tu hi tu dil mein hey mere", but turns out to be a song praising Lord Krishna with modern arrangements, which is light on ears, having a catchy tune and simple rendition which makes up a good hear!
Tu Hi Tu(Reprise) sung by Suraj Jagan has only the lead singer changed and everything else remains the same.
Tu Hi Tu Unplugged has a fresh sounding Ash King singing along with basic guitar strings and flute, a good hear indeed.!
Tu Hi Tu Remix has faster resounding electric arrangements and nothing new.
Oh My God Soundtrack  by Zubeen Garg is just a rehash of Tu Hi Tu Chorus with devotional arrangements in the background.
Don't Worry(Hey Ram) by Benny Dayal, Himesh Reshammiya and Arya Acharya is simply addictive from the word go!, beginning with super cool guitar riffs, riding on Benny Dayal's urbane cool full-on-energy vocals(wonder where HR is? Maybe in the chorus) and Arya's surprise rap as an added bliss, altogether making up a superb hip-hop number and a good hear! 
One just hopes that the arrangements in the interludes could have been better, lively.
Don't Worry Remix rectifies this problem which has elevated and booming over the top arrangements which totally changes the face of the song thus producing a complete disco buster! Grt hear!
Mere Nishaan by Kailash Kher with Meet Bros. as composers is an intense sentimental track, inclined to Hindustani classical music, the highlight being Kailash's sad, haunting vocals and good lyrics from Kumaar with apt and needy arrangements giving a great hear!
Hari Bol sung by Kirthi Sagathia and composed by Sachin-Jigar is a typical desi devotional dance track with Indian arrangements on the background, good lyrics by Swanand Kirkire and suited singing but somehow lacking the intended punch, not Sachin-Jigar's best effort, nevertheless making up a good hear at the end!
Krishna Theme(Flute) by Paresh Nath, composed by Meet Bros. is poetic piece of beautiful flute executed elegantly giving a fresh feeling and definitely a good hear!

Verdict : Oh My God sound track doesn't make you say OMG! with awe, but is a fairly good and safe album indeed. Album has some good variety of songs offering a different musical experience which won't leave you disappointed at the end! Try it!

AVERAGE<GOOD<VERY GOOD<EXCELLENT!<OUTSTANDING!

Barfi! Music Review

Barfi! Music
Music Direction : Pritam Chakraborty


What I expected : After seeing 'Ala Barfi' on TV, expectations were quite high, given Pritam's and Ranbir's track record together.!

Ala Barfi! by Mohit Chauhan makes a great start to the album, the track being a quirky-narrative like funny lazy song sung to excellence by Mohit Chauhan and delightfully orchestrated! Grt hear!
Ala Barfi! (Version 2) by Swanand Kirkire has a bit toned down and different arrangements and I felt Swanand's singing too is a bit on the downside compared to Mohit's version. Anyway a good hear!
Main Kya Karoon by Nikhil Paul George is a pleasant confused-romance song dominated by excellent guitar riffs and good singing by Nikhil, making it a good hear!
Phir Le Aya Dil by Rekha Bhardwaj is a soul stirring true blue ghazal, rightly giving us that melancholic longing feeling, all credits to Rekha, and aptly arranged with great lyrics! Grt hear!
Phir Le Aya Dil (Reprise) by Arijit Singh follows up the original truly but with an elevated slow electric arrangements in the background, mourny rendition by Arjit and good lyrics making up a good hear!
Kyon by Papon and Sunidhi Chauhan is totally out of the world, sonorously arranged and smartly sung romantic song leaving the listener confused at the first hear but catches up and sticks to you in repeat hearing. All credit goes to the intelligent tune, superb arrangements and secretive singing by Papon and Sunidhi which makes all the difference.! Grt hear!
Aashiyan by Nikhil Paul George & Shreya Ghoshal is a pleasantly composed romantic track boasting of a lively tune, good singing and ear pleasing arrangement setup comprised mostly of western classical instruments, making it a good hear!
Saawali Si Raat by Arijit Singh is a gem of a song, slow moving, haunting, low pitched, feelful and terrifically sung by Arjit, making a perfect nighttime sit alone song and a grt hear!

Verdict : Pritam has outdone himself again in the album which shows the true talent and dedication of the composer. Not a single song lets you down, and this one's gonna play in my player for a long time! Go for it, the whole album.!


4/5
AVOID<POOR<BELOW AVERAGE<AVERAGE<GOOD<VERY GOOD<EXCELLENT!<OUTSTANDING!!

Raaz 3 Music Review

Raaz 3 Music

Music Direction : Jeet Ganguly  & Rashid (Song # 1)
Lyrics : Sanjay Masoomm (Song # 2,3,4 ), Rashid (Song # 1) & Kumaar (Song # 5,6)

What I expected? : Jeet Ganguly, Bhatt camp, Raaz legacy, so a very good fresh, modern and romantic outing!


Deewana Kar Raha Hai sung by Javed Ali is an outstanding feel-ful romantic song sung to perfection by Javed, composed elegantly and arranged soulfully giving the listener a Grt hear.!
Zindagi Se by Shafqat Amanat Ali is standard Bhatt template milking on 'Maahi' of Raaz 2, nevertheless haunting, catchy and impressive with a hummable tune, good rendition, arrangements and lyrics.! Good hear!
Rafta Rafta by the ever mesmerizing K.K. ends up a beautiful poetic piece of a song riding on KK's fresh vocals, the lovable romantic tune and apt soulful arrangements! Grt hear!
Oh My Love featuring Sonu Nigam & Shreya Ghoshal is another sweet-sugary romantic outing with the singers sounding almost perfect, with good lyrics which overrides the cliché arrangement setup.! Good hear!
Kya Raaz Hai by Zubeen Garg & Shreya Ghoshal, clubbish dance track song, serves the purpose being a melancholic, secretive, peppy arranged track with Shreya stealing the show and Zubeen supporting perfectly.! Good hear!
Khayalon Mein is all Shreya Ghoshal show, the song being composed beautifully, tailor made for Shreya, sweet, romantic, husky and full of life! Suitable orchestration and good lyrics make it a Grt hear.!

Verdict : Despite the accusation of plagiarism to the first song, Raaz 3 manages to impress big time as a whole album, with all songs being just lovable.! Excellent work from Jeet Ganguly as expected! Go for it!  


3.5/5

Update 1 : Oh My love is a rework of Jeet's own Bengali song 'Oh My love' from movie Amanush, originally sung by Kunal Ganjawala and Shreya. 

Update 2 : Rafta Rafta and Zindagi Se are Jeet's own reworks of their Bengali counterparts, 'Bojhena Se' from Prem amar and 'Porle Mone' from Awara respectively.
Courtesy : Milliblog

Joker Music Review

Joker Music

Music Direction : G.V. Prakash Kumar & Gaurav Dagaonkar

Lyricist : Shirish Kunder

What I expected? : Given the music directors, the director being Shirish and the genre of the film, a musical feast.!

Kafirana by Sunidhi Chauhan & Adarsh Shinde is a faltu wannabe-item number track which falls flat with nothing special to mention about it.

Jugnu by Udit Narayan is a good deal of a song with the soulful sounding Udit at the helm of affairs in  this refreshing track with interesting arrangements. Good hear!

Sing Raja by Daler Mehndi & Sonu Kakkar is an instantly catchy number with Daler and Sonu contributing equally well to this R&B track with Bhangra backdrop! Good hear!

Yeh Joker by Sonu Nigam & Shweta Pandit, the title song probably, serves its purpose well with the track having an Indian feel overall and the singers doing  a decent job. Not great, not bad either, must work with the video.

Tears of Joker - Instrumental. Simply gorgeous play of  Flute flowing along with Violin, Sitar and Tabla chained with elegant use of Veena!! Mindblowingly beautiful!

Alien Arrival - Instrumental. Standard march song band template. Decent one.

Verdict : Music wise, Joker is a bit on the downside, with the best track in the album being an instrumental piece. Hearable songs, but with a lack of novelty. Average.

2.5/5

Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi Music Review

Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi Music

Music Director:   Jeet Ganguly

Lyricist:    Amitabh Bhattacharya, & Faraz Alir (Song # 6)

What I expected? : Jeet Ganguly is simply an innovative music director, so from him, some very good fresh songs.

Ishq Main Tere Bina by K.K. & Shreya Ghoshal is a simple light romantic outing with basic softrock arrangements and soulful singing by both singers, but of less shelf life. Worth a hear!

Khatti Meethi by Shreya Ghoshal must probably have the heroine dreaming about something pleasent, given the lyrics, which is strange in a way(Hinglish) and tender singing by Shreya with a light and fresh sounding background setup makes up a Good hear!

Kaafir Andhere by K.K. makes a start with melancholic guitar along with slow soulful singng by KK, before it changes to the rock mode and back again, moving with good lyrics, ending up again with a good song but which won't be playing long.
Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi by Neeraj Shridhar is the theme song which is peppy, funny and somewhat catchy.
Kuku Duku by Mohit Chauhan has a funny sounding Mohit behind the mike, singing this quirky piece of a song with intersting arrangements! Good hear! 
Rhamba Mein Samba has Usha Uthup singing this heavily arranged funny track, quite catchy, but needs a good visual to work. Good hear!


Verdict : As, Milliblog points out, Jeet has redone his original Bengali songs for the movie, which is somewhat good, ending up with a decent album which is light on ears. Try it!


3/5

Ek Tha Tiger Music Review

Ek Tha Tiger Music

Music Direction : Sajid-Wajid (Song # 1) & Sohail Sen

Lyrics : Kausar Munir (Song # 1), Neelesh Misra & Anvita Dutt Guptan

What I expected : Its Salman Khan, its Sohail Sen and Sajid-Wajid, its Yash Raj, so nothing but an excellent album.!

Mashallah, sung by Wajid and Shreya, sole song done by Said-Wajid, is basically a bland composition with Arabic belly dance loops mixed with predictable vocals, cliché guitar arrangements and average lyrics, adding up to a forgetful affair! Remix is nothing good.

Laapata by K.K. & Palak Muchhal has quite a catchy setup with impressive rendition by KK and Palak, with cleverly arranged Latino music background. Good hear!
Remix is just fast paced.

Banjaara by Sukhwinder Singh showcases the singer again in an easy high pitch mode with a stunningly good Celtic/Irish inclined addictive arrangements! Good hear!
An equally good remix with increased tempo is included!

Saiyaara by Mohit Chauhan & Taraannum Malik, is the best song of the album, tailor made for Mohit with melancholic vocals by Ms Malik supporting beautifully, ends up being a perfect romantic outing with soulful arrangements and fabulous lyrics. Grt hear!

Tigers (Theme) composed by Julius Packiam is Don-Theme infused wannabe Hollywood-ish track with a heard before feel at many parts. Still an engaging one!

Verdict : Ek Tha Tiger is a good soundtrack with Sohail Sen clearly spilling his magic over the three tracks he got. Sajid-Wajid disappoints(again!) through Mashahllah, but minus that, the album is an enjoyable ride. Go for it!

3/5

 

Gangs Of Wasseypur 2 Music Review

Gangs Of Wasseypur 2 Music

Music Direction : Sneha Khanwalker
Lyrics : Varun Grover & Piyush Mishra

What to expect? : Nothing but excellent, given GOW1 was outstanding!

Chhi (Chha Ledar) by Durga is a funny, peppy and addictive folk song mixed with electric backgrounds, with hilarious vocals and lyrics! Grt hear!

Kaala Rey by Sneha Khanwalkar is true blue gem of a song with the tender sounding melancholic Sneha, along with slight soft rock imaginative arrangements.! Song of the album. Grt hear!!

Electric Piya by Rasika D Rani is a quirky folk item number-ish song with only Dholak and Harmonium in the background, which holds your attention for its funny occasional Hinglish lyrics and rawness. Good hear!

Electric Piya (Fused) by Rasika D Rani has more modern electric  arrangements and thats it!

Bahut Khoob - Instrumental is a chaotic mix of random village children sounds. Donno wat to say, it doesn't qualify as a song.

Bahut Khoob 8 Bit by Shubhankar Dutta. Electro mix of the word Bahut Khoob a 1000 times along with other random words and strange electro sounds.!

Taar Bijli by Padmashree Sharda Sinha is that kind of hardcore village song where people(here, all women) sit in a group and sing along basic instruments, which is damn catchy and folkish! Grt hear!

Aabroo by Piyush Mishra & Bhupesh Singh is another strange hardcore village dance song with dholak in the background, which is strictly situational but works for its purpose.! Good one!

Perpendicular (Theme) - Instrumental takes another route in mixing random sonds which is, must say, not that catchy.

Moora by Sneha Khanwalkar & Robbie Styles has a low singing soulful Sneha with Calypso influenced arrangements. Good hear!

Moora (Morning) - Instrumental is surprisingly pleasant and fresh with enhanced electric arrangements.! Good hear!

Tunya - Instrumental. Strange.
KKL by Sneha Khanwalkar  is as a final say, with folkish mix of Keh Ke loonga, hell lot of sounds, electric loops with occasional vocals shows what Sneha Khanwalker is. This is one of her signature styled tracks.!


Verdict : GOW2 is a very good outing, but pales compared to GOW1, which had more variety of genres in it. Neverthless, Sneha Khanwalker as a composer scores second time in a row, and her prowess is never to be underestimated! This one is imaginative, innovative funny and simply beautiful. Go for it!


3.5/5