I was an ardent fan of Jatin Lalit’s music until recently. With Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, DDLJ, Raju ban gaya gentleman, Khiladi, Kuch kuch hota hai, Khamoshi and Yes Boss, to name a few, to their credit, I used to think that you can rely on the duo for good music anytime but come the forgettable Govinda - Aishwarya flick ’’Albela’’ and then the Sunny-Bobby starrer ’’Dillagi’’ and ’’Yeh silsila hai pyarka’’which were disasters and where the duo not only got too much inspired by foreign hits like Anu but also did not refrain from copying the music of their own songs ( that was pathetic), my expectations took a dive into the sharks.
Never after that were they able to redeem themselves in my eyes ( not that they care) , The only exceptions were Mohabbatein and K3G. So I was not expecting much from this one before I listened to it’s songs and I am glad I wasn’t.
(1)Sapno ka yeh Jahan : Oops they did it again! Notorious as this duo is in repackaging their own songs, this time they picked a song from none other than ’’Albela’’. Probably they thought that Albela being a disaster, no one heard this one so they could slip it into their list. The song has a strong resemblance with ’’Kaho to tumhe choom loon’’ which was sung by Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik ( maybe they should have taken Kumar Sanu for this one too instead of his cheap vocal duplicate Babul Supriyo ). Going back to the song, the lyrics are good and the music is fast but is as stale as a week old cheese ball.But if you haven’t heard the Albela one give this one a try you might find it better than most of the songs in this list. (3/5)
(2)Jaane Kise : From a background music point of view this one is totally bland but the chorus and Alka Yagnik and Shaan’s refreshing voices make up a lot and make it worth a listen. I am not sure if it was intentional but the Guitar and the chorus tunes resemble a lot with those in Phir Milenge’s ’’Jeene ke Sahare’’ by Shankar Ehsaan Loy. While the former was richly unique and melodious, this one fails to keep you engaged.(3/5)
(3)Nazron ka yaarana: Remember Shaan’s first album with his sister Sagarika called ’’Naujawan’’ which had a hit song ’’Pyar mein Aisa hota hai’’? Take that song add some fast beats and a chorus ’’Ho Rabba hai Rabba’’ sung by a gamut of singers after every 3-4 lines and whoala! you got this one.Magic ain’t it? the way people can repackage old songs and get away with it.On the whole, the song is fast paced and is good for dancing in parties but misses the mark as far as staying in the memories is concerned. (3/5)
(4)Rok sako to rok lo: Unoriginal but likeable is all that I can say about this one. If you have heard the song ’’Mausam ke sargam ko sun’’ from Khamoshi by Kavitha Krishnamurthy and Shradhha you will realise when you hear this one that this one is actually a faster version of the former with an added chorus singing ’’Rok sako to rok lo’’ giving it a ’’Jo jeeta wohi sikandar’’ feel. How desperate do you have to be to copy your own song?(3/5)
(5)Tera Gham: Fans of Illayaraja or his hindi alter-egoes Anand-Milind can easily say that this one is simply based on one of their umpteen melodious tunes which have a strangely soothing rural feel to it ( notice the flute music) . It’s hard to pick one song from the south indian maestro’s collection but just to make a comparison listen to the songs ’’Chhoti si pyaari si’’ and ’’Rona chahoon’’ from the Venkatesh-Karishma starrer ’’Anari’ by Anand-Mlind which were hindi versions of Illyaraja’s songs from the Telugu movie ’’Chanti’’. This song stands out amongst others because it’s music is different from the others in the list and Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik have done justice to the mellifluous music. (4/5)
(6)Yaaron sunlo:This song has two versions( a sad one) and Abhijeet makes a good effort in keeping you engaged and partially succeeds in doing so.The song has a ’’Ladki badi anjanee hai’’(KKHH) feel to it. Abhijeet starts the song in the ’’Chalte Chalte’’ way .Chorus being an essential part of most Jatin Lalit songs does it’s part well in this one too singing ’’Rok sako to rok lo’’ after each stanza.The tune of this song is easily hummable so it might turn out to be a hit .The sad version is at par with the happier version(3.5/5)
It makes no sense why the duo did not use Udit Narayan in this album (he could have saved the day looking back to all the hits of the duo with him).I have no idea why the critics have been raving about the music of this album...desperate advertising?It’s sad but true that this talented duo like Anand Milind ( who had composed the songs of QSQT) has taken the downhill ride.Honestly friends, close your eyes and try to recall your three favorite Jatin lalit songs and I guarantee you, they will turn out be from the 90’s. How far downhill will they go before we get to hear another JJWS or KKHH? Yeh giraawat....rok sako to rok lo.