Bade ho ja, bachche ...
Time and again, I have read in many articles that Bollywood needs to grow up. Now, I have nothing personal against Thumbs Up, I even tolerate their idiotic commercials featuring semi-nude aliens like Sallu Lallu, but I believe that Bollywood does not need to drink Thumbs Up i.e. it does not need to grow up.
Well, agreed, we do have the odd film which features 47 (ok, might be 48, I didn’t count) family members standing in a queue and dancing as if they are signalling leg-byes (Doesn’t the Dhik Tana step remind you of that?). Yet, Bollywood, in my opinion is realistic to the core. Well, if not the films, at least the titles of Bollywood flicks are realistic.
Talking about realism in Bollywood, we have witness a number of films whose titles have been inspired by real-life celebrities. The trend of biographies and autobiographies was started by ’Mera Naam Joker’, whose title was quite obviously inspired by the revered President of the United States, a certain George W Bush. We also had ’Do Aankhen, Baarah Haath’, whose title was inspired by Laloo Yadav and Rabri Devi’s philosophy of ’Do Insaan (?) Baarah Bachche’. More recently, Karan Johar was confused about his own gender - Kabhi Male Kabhi Female. This confusion gave birth to the title of his masterpiece which went to pieces - ’Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham’.
And then, someone who went crazy about Yuvraj Singh (perhaps Kim Sharma), suggested the title to Mani Ratnam - ’Yuva’.
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A.R. Rahman, also known as ARR, has always made me go ’’Arr Arr Arr’’ with exasperation. He has talent, no doubt, but in the past, has tended to be repetitive and gone overboard with his obsession with electronic sounds. A number of his albums may have sounded great on first hearing, but I believe that true music is something which one can enjoy even years later. Roja, Bombay, Dil Se and Saathiya have been the only Rahman albums (in Hindi music) which I have been able to savour even today, years after their release.
Incidently, all the above four films have a common factor - Mani Ratnam. Ratnam directed the first three films I mentioned and he also directed Alai Payuthey (I hope I got the spelling right), from which Saathiya’s music was adapted. That is why I believed that Ratnam gets the best out of Rahman. Kindly note the past tense.
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Since the title of this film has been inspired by Yuvraj Singh, let me introduce you to the songs - cricket ishtyle.
Dhakka Laga Bukka - When Inzy Falls On An Ant.
Now, I am not Maneka Gandhi, yet I might well up in tears if an ant is unfortunate enough to have Inzamam-ul-Haq fall on it. Imagine the way the ant would wail! If you cannot imagine the ant’s screams, just listen to ’Dhakka Laga Bukka’. Rediff termed this song as ’rowdy’ and may I say that I agree. Rowdy would be an understatement as the singers compete with each other in the game ’Who can shout more than Kajol did in K3G?’ Did I mention that the lyrics are quite inane? In fact, the song’s lyrics strangely remind me of the title music of a programme my kid brother loved watching - ’Shaka Laka Boom Boom’ !
Rating: 1/10.
Ae Khuda Haafiz - When Saurav Ganguly Unleashes A Silken Cover Drive.
Let sanity be restored. After experiencing hell in the first song, this one is heaven for sure! Just like a Saurav cover drive, this one is sheer poetry. Sunitha Sarathy’s vocals are seductive, as they should be. After all, the video features the sinful Kareena Kapoor! Lucky Ali has the tendency to sleepwalk through certain songs, but he is simply mind-blowing in this number, as his pitch zooms up and down with amazing control. A wonderful use of electronic sounds in the right proportion, great vocals and an effervescent beat ensure that this one is the best song of the album!
Rating: 10/10.
Kabhi Neem Neem - The Way Sehwag Reminds You Of Tendulkar.
Just the way Veeru, who apparently drank doodh-shoodh today while scoring an amazing double ton, reminds one of Sachin Tendulkar, similarly, this number reminds me of Naina Milaike from Saathiya. In spite of the obvious similarity with his previous number, Rahman is in fine form, both as a composer and as a singer. Madhushree, who incidently sang Naina Milaike as well, sings well, too.
Rating: 8/10.
Dol Dol - Paul Adams’ Bowling Action
Paul Adams may boast of having a unique bowling action, which reminds me of Prabhudeva’s dance steps. Yes, he is different, but does that make him a great bowler? Dol Dol is rather similar, different from the stereo Bollywood number, yet the techno-cum-trance-cum-rap (God, how many ’cums’ ? I’m sounding like Aamir of Raja Hindustani, saying ’’You cum cum!’’) number is a major disappointment. In fact, it reminds me of the usual techno pieces dished out by DJs at discotheques ...
Rating: 4/10.
Baadal Baadal - Inzy Is Back!
Inzamam is back in form, and back in this review as well. The Inzamam of Bollywood, Adnan Sami renders this song along with Alka Yagnik. Both the singers are in fine form, and the number is melodious, yet peppy.
Rating: 6.5/10.
Fanaa - The Name Is Bond. Shane Bond.
Bond is the quickest bowler in the world, among those who actually bowl (and not chuck). This song matches Bond for speed and is extremely catchy. Rahman sings amazingly and the way the word ’Fanaa’ (which means ’completely destroyed’) loops and fades away is brilliant! A great number for a discotheque, much superior to songs which tell you that it is the time to khisko.
Rating: 8/10.
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I understand from most reviews that the Tamil version of this album has been loved by one and all. What’s missing in the Hindi version is lyrical richness. I don’t know whether the lyrics are literal translations, but the lyrics of most of the songs are as bad as ’A B C D ...’ (from We Are Seven Seven - Hum Saath Saath Hain)
All in all, Yuva reminds me of the Indian cricket team - highly inconsistent. Strangely enough, Dhakka Laga reminds me of Shoaib Akhtar, all noise and no substance, while Ae Khuda Hafiz is like Sachin Tendulkar - the pinnacle of greatness.
Om Cricketayah Namah ...
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Shukriya Meherbaani ... now that I have already thanked you, how about commenting?