When I first heard “Chakna Chakna” on the TV promo I was thinking Himesh Reshammiya
is appearing in the limelight after a while and his comeback is so lame. Then
after hearing the full song and its remix I was satisfied with his doings. People who don’t keep up to their words are hypocrites so Reshammiya time and again told he will never act but his multi million project “Aap ka suroor” will hit theaters in some months I guess.
Criticism apart lets scrutinize the album NamasteY London, why is the y there I don’t know. When I found out that Namastey London was an album with 18 tracks a 2 disk collection I thought I
would never review it. The promos were scintillating so I decided to watch the
move and it was ok but the music really excited me. The crux of the matter is there are only 7 tracks which as remixes and a new experiment by the maestro Mehfil mix with the legendary lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar reciting some lines himself. So all the lyrics are written by Javed Akhtar, music
Without doubts is by Himesh, remixes arranged by DJ Akbar Sami with rap by Arya. Cover
informs the songs are recorded by Aamir Shaikh. The album is released and marketed by Eros music as film is under the banner of Eros Entertainment, it has all the codes for the ringtones and singtones you’ll need for a musical
cell phone.
Ok
now to the album, the cover is an eye candy. With enough information and being
well versed the cover goes in sync with the whole album. The inlays has middle
parted pictures of the two lead actors which seems nice, both disks are printed
are printed with same picture depicting the patriotic feeling that the film
effervescently carries. Lets *scrutinize
the music of this elaborate album and put the 18 numbers under the scanner*.
The album kicks off with the songs we first heard in the promos “Chakna Chakna” the guru himself as
usual has sung this song. Lyrics are to the mark but the music seems
unconvincing. Still Himesh relies on the 4/4 techno beats but the percussion
does have that let’s dance effect on it. The funjabi song with lyrics that
depict love is misplaced in the bar. Consequently, again it’s Reshammiya
the singer trying to sing “Viraaniya”.
This song has heartfelt tragic https://lyrics. Melody goes with the flow, the use of
violin is formidable but at times you think the percussion is more than needed.
Next we have “Main Jahan Rahoon”
simply my favorite track of this compilation. It is amazingly executed
by “Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Krishna”.
Rahat the Pakistani music marvel has lent his voice to astonishing numbers like
“Lagan Lagi- Paap” and “Jiya Dhadak –
Kalyug*”. The film kicks off with the remix version of this track I wanted
it to be a love song but it turned out to be a patriotic one. Nevertheless, the
music of the song is addictive; the balance between rhythm, melody and
percussion is impressive. The singer scores on all grounds. About the lyrics,
it can be said it depicts lots of love but for the country.
Subsequent
track on the list Track 4 of disc 1 is **“Yahi
Hota Pyar”** by Himesh and Sunidhi
Chauhan. Lyric of this song are incredible focusing that love never looses
hope. The singers have uttered the lyric in a remarkable fashion. Music of the
song seems slow but goes very well with the theme of the song. One octave low
but Himesh has proved his metal in different octaves. Following it we have “Rafta Rafta” it is credited to R D
B. The song is well vocalized by the singers, it says Rafta Rafta but the
words are uttered at a fast tempo. Music is the regular Himesh techno theme
dance track kind but as the lyrics demands it has the earthy feel to it. The
shortest song amongst the lot it measures 4:44. Next is “Aanan Faanan” it is astoundingly vocalized by Jayesh Gandhi and
Akriti Kakkar. Jayesh has the popular track “Ishq Ne- Ahista Ahista” under his belt and Akriti has sung many
tracks for and with Reshammyia. The songs has up beat lyrics, now typical
Himesh music is heard with the hard hitting beats and melody woven together.
Lyric of this is *change focused with all
the things that change* in the film. The last real track of the album is “Dilruba”, it is effervescently sung by Zubeen
Garg and Alisha Chinai. If I write about Alisha Chinai it will be never
enough but Zubeen I noticed from
“”Jane Kya – Pyar Ke side Effects” from then he has lent his voice to many
hip numbers. He has a narcotic voice that goes inline with the song.
The song has a romantic lyric but the music is in vogue and dance friendly.
Reversely the use of violin here also had added the extra zing to this song.
Again this songs also is placed in a club setting the **song’s lyrics is facing East and the song’s visualization is facing
West**. Reshammiya still stick with the never fail formula of DJ friendly
songs, which will be a hit if not they will be played loud in the discos
because DJs will remix it what so ever. At track 8 and 9 of Disc 1 we come
across “Viraaniya Mehfil Mix” and “Aanan Fanan Mehfil Mix”, Mehfil mixes
are not that different mixes of the original they just have Javed Akhter
uttering some lines of his poems at the beginning and in the middle as well
and more conventional instruments are added in the songs like the tabla
so I’ll skip the detail description of these tracks. On the contrary I’ll try
to elaborate what I feel about the remixes.
Jumping
to Disc 2 now at the 10th track of the album the track 1 of 2nd
disc, we stumble upon **“Chakna Chakna
Remix”** I have had always liked the remixes of Himesh’s tracks that also
mainly done by DJ Akbar Sami. DJ Sami has remixed all the tracks including this
one. This particular track is peculiar; it seems like a dhol mix in the
beginning but has mixed flavors as you go into it further. Well, it’s a dance
floor oriented track and must listen to all party goers. Next track on the list
is “Dilruba Remix”, without
respecting the lyrics the song has been remixed relentlessly. The rap by Arya
stand out here and “Namastey London” is also audible at places. The remix is
very in vogue and is all set to make your heart beat racing. The 4/4 beats
go very well with the hitting percussions utilized to remix this song. Subsequently,
“Main Jahan Rahoon Remix” comes in
the list. It has been amazingly remixed by the DJ. Keeping the feelings of the
song intact the song has a haunting effect when remixed but the DJ has done a ...
*Geshan Manandhar
Full reveiw is around 1450 Words, as one is not allowed to post a review of more than 7500 Characters for full review see
https://geshan.blogspot.com/2007/04/reshammiya-vying-to-be-best_02.html