Hi everyone, again!
I had been away from MS for months, can’t decide if it’s more out of dissatisfaction about the commercialization of my (former) favorite site or the lack of time and topic to write. I know most people would probably like to believe the latter, but seriously, how many of us visit the site to buy cars and cellphones? Perhaps soon in the future we’d also be getting more MS points or other advantages for liking or disliking specific reviews! Maybe I’m being too extreme, but it did feel that the spirit of selfless sincerity with which I used to write in the site was being hampered somewhere ... I decided I’d rather write elsewhere ... but then somehow I started missing everyone ... AND I’M BACK!!! Rejoice earthlings!
Review begins ...
This album was a b’day gift from my sister who’s all too familiar with my affinity for (the soundtracks of) dark skin flicks. The heavyweight international names like Blue and C21 on the cover give an impression like this was finally going to something, but one hearing and you immediately realize that in spite of all that this album falls amazingly short of anything like Raaz, Jism or Paap ... it’s mediocre with a big M!
At first, the crappy songs ...
There are 4 of these - Ishq Bedardi (Anuradha Paudwal & Alka Yagnik), Sach Hai Sach Hai (Krishna), Hadh Se Jyada Sanam (Sonu Nigam & Shreya Ghoshal) and Jannat Hai Yeh Zameen (Swarnalatha & Krishna), and then (arrrrgh...) a sad version of Hadh Se Jyada Sanam (Sonu Nigam). Can anybody tell me how people tolerate these terribly shrill female voice crooning so exaggeratedly about undying love that you can clearly see how artificial it is? It drives me up the wall everytime I hear that voice! Given a chance I’d love to murder all the Alka Yagniks, Anuradha Paudwals, Shreya Ghoshals, Falguni Pathaks etc of the world - why can’t we appreciate sultrier voices like Norah Jones or Anastacia?
Then, the tolerable one(s) ...
I know you’ve watched Yana Gupta swoon to it a million times to it by now. Oh What A Babe comes in (just) 3 versions, sung by Ritika Sahani, Shweta Shetty and Sunidhi Chauhan respectively, the last one accompanied by the Danish boyband C21. Well that doesn’t make any difference though because the male background singers in the other two are equally brilliant - makes me wonder why (even such a silly) boyband like C21 would want to do something like that! (Well money speaks) ... Apart from the cheesy catchline (no even the true story of Sunil Shetty & Sameer Tandon won’t make that look anything else to me) the song is quite good (means competent). The first version sucks, the Shweta Shetty version - though not quite suiting Bollywood tastebuds - rocks, and Sunidhi Chauhan (the one that’s being aired) is, well you know ...
Finally, the brilliant ones ...
Kya Maine Socha/One Love (Blue and Shaan) is undoubtedly the best song on the album. It’s an upbeat, postive song - similar to the English version sung by Blue - and had earlier appeared in Shaan’s album Aksar.
Quiero (Viva) is the first time the (now-estranged) girl band sings for a soundtrack. I loved it for the light music and the hopeful, feel-good vibes that typical Viva song always try to convey (it’s another topic that their pathetic lyrics fail to carry that job out). Nice song! (except the scary cry of ’’Rhythmo del amore’’ at the end of the chorus)
A word or two about the picturizations ...
Rakht is a perfect example of how the video can kill the song. I got the album when only Oh What A Babe was being aired, and that video fits the song fine (although I personally don’t have a very high opinion of Yana Gupta’s blunt features and monstrous hip and thighs).
But then in a few days they began to show One Love and that video with Abhishek Bachhan in oversized green shades ... I got nothing to say ... to anybody who has liked the original song and intends to see this one: RIP...
And yet then came the video of Quiero and I watched with dumbfound amazement and respect the work of the maestros who can turn a sunshine song into an item number with Amrita Arora (out of all people).
I’ve got nothing against the videos of Ishq Bedardi and Jannat Hai Yeh Zameen which are as crappy as the songs.
HOMEWORK FOR ALL WHO’VE READ TILL HERE ...
- Wish me a belated Happy Birthday (which was, btw, about a month ago)
2. Comment on my improved (or worsened) sense of the use of pun, besides the review
So that’s all folks ...