Time and again I have repeated to my friends, I can’t stand Himesh Reshammiya! A friend rightly named him - HIM. Like the cackling, rouged villain in Powerpuff Girls? Don’t remember? That’s besides the point anyways. Bottomline, I just can’t stand his voice or hackneyed music. Thanks to SEL yet again, I don’t have to.
I am not a Radio Mirchi person while driving. Give me my own Oasis, thank you! Or, now, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, please. Yes, the songs are pleasing. It goes furthermore to strengthen their position as the only contemporary music to feature on the Outlook Top 10 Greatest Hindi Film Songs of All Time list. I do not exactly dig the Kal Ho Na Ho title track, but I like it and really appreciate the rest of the album in spite of lacking the gut to tolerate any movie from the Karan Johar clan. SEL’s music, yes please!
Heck! I have most all SEL music apart from Shool and Nayi Padosan. But this isn’t a review of the trio. I will do my usual stuff - review per song.
Kabhi Alvida na Kehna
Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik
It is a earworm, I tell ya! No, really. I am not much of a mush lover, so I usually pass love songs. But, when something like this plays at work, I can’t help humming it, it is SO melodious. Alka Yagnik’s voice, in the high pitch, annoys me unless there’s a piano overdose. She sounds as if she has swallowed gas or something. In this song, she sounds like a nightingale, much like her Tum Yaad Aaye album, apart from the Kabhi Alvida na Kehna part somewhere in the middle where her voice skids a bit.
Mitwa
Shafqat Amanat Ali, Shankar Mahadevan, Caralisa Monteiro
I like any sound that goes Fu. I like Foo in programs, Fu in Futons, and Fu (pronounce "few" in this case) in Fuzon. I have their album Saagar, and it surpasses any Indian effort at pop or fusion, in my opinion. Remarkable voice and orchestration. Mitwa does justice to Shafqat’s talents and retains the semi-classical, folk flavor with a good dose of traditional stringed instruments. The lyrics are effervescent. You can imagine yourself in a lehenga (only if you are a girl), swirling round and round and round and then som, like a dervish dancer, to this music on one of the terraces in the Udaipur forts. You know what I mean? It is that earthy inspite of the English interludes.
Where’s the Party Tonight
Shaan, Vasundhara Das, Shankar, Loy Mendonsa, Ehsaan
Comparisons to It’s the Time to Disco from Kal Ho Na Ho is inevitable. You can have only so many versions of a disco song on the scale. It has traces of the omnipresent boyband sort of songs from the 90’s, but only in good taste. It is groovy and quite enjoyable in parts mostly because of the way Vasundhara’s voice races. Bunty aur Babli’s Nach Baliye sort of a beginning, but not very apparent. Party hard.
Tumhi Dekho Na
Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik
I didn’t find anything remarkable about it. Rendered well by the singers, but it is the usual Hindi film song with lots of instrumentation keyed in. But when she says Ke Din me hui kaisi Chandni in a childlike manner, it kills me, it sounds so sweet.
Mitwa - Revisited
Shafqat Amanat Ali, Shankar Mahadevan, Caralisa Monteiro
A touch of Trance and Techno added to the original Mitwa. Yeah, I liked it, but give me the original song anyday.
Rock ’n’ Roll Soniye
Shaan, Shankar Mahadevan, Mahalaxmi Iyer
I found traces of Yeh Kya Ho raha - Ooh Yeah in this maybe because of Mahalaxmi’s voice. Since that one was a dud and people (apart from some like me) hardly heard its music, no harm done. Groove to it!
Farewell Trance
Shweta Pandit, Caralisa Monteiro
Buddha Bar anyone? This doesn’t sound like it. It isn’t enthralling, but it is a good piece. You will enjoy it with a glass of cooler in your hands when relaxing.
SEL have played it safe this time and have created the tried and tested masala songs. You will definitely not regret buying the album though. It lives its shelf-life at the price you pay for it though there are less chances of outliving it.