When one speaks of Sandesh Shandilya, the first things that will come to the mind are the Chartbuster album ’’Piya Basanti’’ , ’’Suraj Hua Madham’’ from ’’Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’’ and the moderately successful album ’’I love you’’ which featured Udit Narayan’s debut into the world of pop albums. And then there are the not so successful scores from ’’Road’’, ’’Rules’’, ’’Agnivarsha’’ and ’’Khullam Khula Pyar Karen’’. Moving back to his successes, ’’Chameli’’ puts one more victorious notch in his belt. This album is Sunidhi Chauhan’s fare all the way and explores her versatility in the field of music. This album also sees the debut of the television scriptwriter Irshad Kamil as a lyricist.Television serials like Ravindra Peepat’s ’’ Na Jaiyo Pardes’’ and Lekh Tandon’s ’’ Kahan Se Kahan Tak’’ , Pankaj Kapur’s ’’Drishtaant ’’ , ’’Smriti’’ on Channel Nine Gold , the more recent ’’ Choti Maa…Ek Anokha Bandhan’’ on Zee and Sony’s ’’Dhadkan’’ are a few representations of the charisma that his pen evokes. He also ventured into dialogue writing with Manish Goswami’s Kartavya but this is his first venture into the world of Lyrics writing. This album also features the lyrics by Prof. R.N. Dubey, who has already made his debut in ’’Rules-Pyaar ka Superhit Formula’’, which also had the music of Sandesh Shandilya.
1. Bhaage re Mann : 5.33..... This song sung by Sunidhi Chauhan starts with a melodious flute music which reminds you of the beginning of the song ’’Jaane kya dhoondta hai’’ from ’’Sur’’. This is followed by a low pitched ’’Behta hai mann kahin..’’ in Sunidhi’s sweet husky voice which gradually picks up with ’’Bhaagere mann kahin aagere manchala jaane kidhar jaanoon na..’’. The lyrics by Irshad Kamil are in perfect rapport with the pace of the music. If you have heard ’’Piya basanti’’ , you wiil certainly notice the likeness of the portion ’’Bhaagere mann kahin aagere manchala ...’’ with the song from that album sung by Chitra ’’Chalere kanhaar chale kaandhe chale doli..’’ . An absolutely lovable song.
- Sajna ve sajna:3.57..... This track is a fast peppy youthful track and serves as a stage to showcase the versatility and the range of modulation in the voice of Sunidhi Chauhan, how she can swerve from a track where she sings in a sweet husky voice to a high pitched item number.The song features an amazing fusion of Indian Classical and Punjabi folk music with western beats. The apt use of Sarangi in the background further enthralls your hearts and adorns the fusion.The lyrics by Irshad Kamil again blends well with pace of the music.
3.Jaane :4.33..... This dulcet track is a duet by Udit Narayan and Sunidhi Chauhan. The song starts with the rhytmic Guitar strings and Saxophone music which stay throughout the song followed Udit singing in a whispering voice ’’Bheegi hui koi shaam ho , mehkaa hua koi naam ho...’’ and then gradually the song picks up pace with ’’ Jaane hua hai aaj kya hume, jaane kyun humko yaad aaye woh...’’ which forms the most catchy portion of the song but suddenly reminds you of the title song of Udit Narayan’s album ’’Jaanam’’ and the uncanny resemlance that the portion ’’Jaane hua hai aaj kya hume..’’ bears with ’’Jaanam , na jaana chhodke hume kahin..’’.This song goes on to prove why Udit Narayan is the most sought-after-singer in recent times. This track flows so mellifluously that time flows away and the song ends before you can wake up from the magical stupor that this song sends you into. Irshad Kamil does a good job in this one too.
4.Yeh Lamha 4.8.....This track is another solo by Sunidhi Chauhan which also showcases her ability to bring in a vast range of modulation in her voice in the same song. The song starts with ’’Thaki thaki si ye shaam’’ which is low pitched and then gradually moves on into the high pitched, upper scale portion ’’Zindagi ud rahi banke dhua dhua’’. The amazing ease with which she changes the pitch and scales fills one with delight. This song reminds you of a similar song in ’’Mast’’ (the title song) by Sunidhi during the beginning of her career where her ability to change from lower to upper scales with ease stole the hearts of millions of music buffs. This is the only song which has the lyrics of Prof. R.N.Dubey and he has done his job well. Even though this track has it’s own charm , it still gets masked by the other superior tracks and fails to leave a mark after you are through with the whole album.
5.Bhigee hui 4.33.....This is another version of ’’Jaane hua hai’’ and features the talented singer who featured in a couple of tracks in ’’Haasil’’ and ’’Zamaanat’’ , Javed Ali, who sounds so much like Sonu Nigam that you might have to look at the album credits to confirm that it is not Sonu Nigam. Pun intended, the style of this singer is so similar to Sonu that he even goes overboard at places in the song just like him. But one thing’s for sure, with such talent , this singer is certainly going to shine someday if he gets the deserved opportunity. This duet is almost as good as the earlier version.
6.Jaane 4.23..... This track is a solo version by Sunidhi Chauhan and is as good as it’s other two counterparts.
- Soul of Chameli 4.9..... This is an instrumental version of Jaane. This version by Tala on the Saxophone is an enthralling experience and is much better than it’s vocal counterparts.
Overall ’’Chameli’’ is an amazing journey in a magical world of music. The strongest points in all the songs is the exclusive use of a particular instrument throughout a song...be it the Flute in ’’Bhaage re’’ , the Saxophone in ’’Jaane hua hai’’ or the Sarangi in ’’Sajna ve sajna’’. Listen to the songs and you won’t regret spending your time and money on the album.