Showman Ghai is back again and this time with Hritik, Kareena starrer ’Yaadein’. Having given musical blockbusters like Khalnayak, Pardes, Taal etc. his new film’s music was no doubt a big Draw. So what’s Mr. Ghai is upto this time? Does Yaadein live upto its promise? Well at first hearing it was very disappointing but after a dozen, or so, runs it convinced me to write a review. Well the Album starts with Sunidhi Chauhan’s Alaap long enough to be mentioned but too short to comment on. Then comes the much hyped title track sung by Hariharan. Well it looks like Mr. Anu Malik, Anand Bakshi & Mr. Ghai tried too hard to churn out a classic but what comes out is the worst song of the album. Well the music is acceptable but the lyrics are too average for a Subhash Ghai film. The 5-minute song looks like eternity. Well in short a famous quote says it all. Some people(songs) are born great, some achieve greatness & some have greatness thrust upon them.. This song belongs to the last category. But respite comes soon after with Sukhwinder Singh & Udit Narayan’s Jab Dil Miley. Here also the lyrics don’t impress but the song heavily relies on its brilliantly orchestrated music & Sukhwinder Singh.
Though he has not much to sing but his flashes of brilliance are enough to hook you. But right at the end of the song anu malik also reminds you of his old inspired by form. Sonu Nigam is finally back with Chamakti Shaam. This is a love & dance song at its almost best. Finally Anand bakshi’s lyrics manage to catch up with the music. Sonu Nigam proves that acting has still not affected his singing though his ’Oye Baby’ instances sound out of tune. All in all a thoughroly enjoyable song which will keep you thumping to its beats What lies next is a surprise, even after considering Subhash Ghai’s & Anu malik’s exeptional track record. Eli re Eli sung by Kavita (krishnamurthy) Subramaniam & Hema sardesai is the best track of the Album. Anu Malik’s music has very beautifully managed to fuse the pure (classical) form of singing to the traditional flmi singing. Kavita’s voice adds icing to the cake. A must for any music lover. Hariharan’s Kuch saal Pehle is a love story told through a song. Lyrics don’t dissapoint this time. Hariharan always impresses me with his singing. Aye Dil is a sad song on wafa - bewafai. This is an average song which you won’t mind listening to. K.K. ’s ’tadap tadap ke’ style of singing impresses once again.
Yaadein female version comes next which has nothing much to talk about except little better lyrics & few lines of the song recited by Subash Ghai. Well I dont know how he decided to include that part but I think Mr. Ghai is overdoing things a bit. Chanda Tare is a typical Sukhwinder Singh song and he shows the brilliance of ’Chaiyya Chaiyya’ once again. He pumps so much energy into his singing that he sometimes overshadows the music but you won’t mind that as thats what makes the song very effective. Kavita subramaniam provides able support to him and the seven-minute song flies by before even you realise. (This one is rumoured to be another boat song ala KNPH) Theme of Yaadein is a decent effort but average by Ghai’s standards. Being the theme of the film, it should have been better, much better.
4 good songs out of eight is not a bad score for a hindi film but is definately dissapointing for Subhash Ghai film. Subhash Ghai’s films have always been trendsetters in music be it ’1 2 ka 4 Ram lakhan’ or ’Choli ke peeche Khalnayak’ or ’Dil deewana Pardes’ or ’Ishq Bina Taal’ but this time the music gives a strong sense of ’Deja Vu’. Though the songs are good, and no song, except the title track, keeps you waiting but there’s nothing new. Some people say that as long as the music is good nothing matters, but to a man who has built his reputation by always giving something Fresh & New, be it music, stars, presentation etc., ’Deja vu’ should sound as a distress call. But lets spare a thought to the man who wanted to make a small film straight from the heart with two new comers and with no major commercial intensions. But to his bad (or should we say good) luck the two new comers are now the biggest stars of the industry and his film is the most awaited film of the year especially in the stock markets of the country. So his smallest mistakes will be now scrutinized, analysed and most probably penalised (financially, I mean).
All in all Yaadein is a good album. Anu malik has given some great music though he has not been consistent. There are visible patches of mediocrity in almost every song. But the music grows on you as you listen. The more you listen the more you like the songs. The album may not be a trendsetter but if you don’t except wonders from it you’ll be a very satisfied customer. Three and a half star is what it hould get but i’ll give it three because firstly it being a Subhash ghai film the dissapointment does creep in and secondly Mouthshut does not allows half star ratings. ;-)) Do enjoy your music.