READY- Salman’s Back- Music Review and Trailers

So Salman is back with Ready. Starring Asin, Paresh Rawal and directed by Aneez Bazme ,this is a remake of a South movie name by same name. Supposedly the movie is romantic comedy. Music is by Pritam and being a Salman movie after Dabangg the movie and music both have its own expectations.  Lets see if it lives up to the expectations musically at least. 

Dhinka Chika is tipped to be the next Munni Badnaam. Sung by Mika Singh and Amrita Kak this song is full Tapori style song. Copied from already a hit Telegu song Ringa Ringa - the original by Devi Sri Prasad this song is well done in the Bollywood version too. Surely will make you get up and move. Next one is Meri ada bhi giving a Punjabi flavor to the Album. Sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Tulsi Kumar (WHY ON EARTH HER) the song starts with the popular ‘mera laung gwacha‘ lines. A Dance track wiht lots of Dhols but I feel something is a misfit in the song. Either its Rahat Saab or Tulsi  Kumar or something.

Another track that lifts the mood of the album is - Character Dheela - a song which is already making noises all around. A typical Salman song and surely suits him too. With Lyrics penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya ans dung by Neeraj Shridhar and Amrita Kak, this one is a sure winner out of Pritam’s hat. A cracking, peppy song full of masti. If its a Pritam’s album then iot will have a romantic song in it. So here it is- Humko Pyaar Hua by KK and Tulsi Kumar. english Lyrics in the beinging of the song putts me off though, and the song sounds like previous Pritam’s song. Didn’t find anything new. Can be heard just once that also coz of KK. 

Overall the Album has 4 songs out of which 3 are foot tapping catchy numbers. Out of which I feel 2 will be chart busters. Pritam delivers in parts here. I don’t need to say Salman fans will anyways love it. Lets wait and see now how the film fares.

Rating 2.5 out of 5

Here is the Trailer of the movie and the popular Character Dheela Song for your eyes only -

7 Khoon Maaf- Dark, Melodious and How…

Vishal gave us Lagnda Tyagi (Saif Ali Khan), Vishal gave us Bittu (Shahid Kapoor) and now he gives us the Daarlingggg Suzanna (Priyanka Chopra).

You can hate this movie but definitely you can’t ignore this one. If somebody says he or she hasn’t liked 7 khoon maaf then I don’t think any khoon should be maaf there. Vishal Bharadwaj has made a dark thriller with 7 khoon maaf and gave Priyanka Chopra once in a lifetime role. Borrowed from Ruskin Bond’s “Susanna’s Seven Husband”, VB delivers a wicked experience. Movie is brave and different. Though I expected a bit more from him but still whatever was there was good.

7 khoon maaf is a story of a woman who is in a quest for love. In that quest she ends up walking the aisle several times, but ends up killing them. The movie is serious, dark and stirring. Though the story like is predictable (which can be a reason a lot of people didn’t like it) but the screenplay and the performances from the actors will keep you engaged. Starting from the cruel Major Rodriques (played by unconvincing Neil Nitin Mukesh), junkie rock star (John Abraham), maniac Wasiullah (Irrfan Khan), impressive Russian  agent Vronsky (Aleksandr Dyachenko),  lusty police officer Keemat (Anu Kapoor) and bankrupt  (Naseeruddin Shah) all deliever some good performance and end up dying under mysterious circumstances.Not to forget Vivaan Shah having a crush on much older Priyanka Chopra and the cameo by Konkana Sen Sharma. Every character brings something to the movie.

Agreeably 7 khoon maaf is not everyones cup of tea. VB brings the Indian heroine out of the shadows and gives his tribute to the woman power. Priyanka in a lifetime role shows the various shades of darkness with her characterization, her role of ‘goosebump’-giving sinister murderess. The shots where she is ringing the bell in a church at night, or laughing like mad shows the shades of darkness in the movie. Her errant, eccentric behavior is brilliant (never thought that I will be saying this). We see Shashi Malviya (Gunga), Harish Khanna (Ghalib) and singer Usha Uthup (Maggie Aunty) as Priyank’s partners in crime. Suzanna will make you sympathize with her at some time, and some time empathize. The director shows her torment journey from a young lady to an old bitch with a style. Yes I feel there is something lacking here and there but still the movie will haunt if it wants.

Neil Nitin Mukesh didn’t impress me much with his character. Expected a lot more from him. John Abraham is brilliant with his role as the drugged rockstar (looked to be inspired from the looks of Axel Rose from Gun’s & Roses). Irrfan Khan delivers a brilliant performance as the maniac husband who beats up the wife to show his superiority. Veteran’s Anu Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah perform as good as usual. Aleksandr Dyachenko as the Russian agent surprises with his performance and his Hindi. the friend next to me was just drooling over him. Vivaan Shah in his debut movie is convincing and so is Usha Uthup.

Music wise too VB doesn’t disappoint us. The team of Gulzaar And Vishal just kills it every time they team up. Daaaaarling is a hit as we all know. Crooned by Usha Uthup and Rekha Bharadwaj the song will make you sit up and take notice.Though said to be inspired from Russian Military song ,both singers compliment each other brilliantly. Lyrics says- “mehfil me sansani hone do” and it did. Another winner is Tere Liye sung by Suresh Wadekar is just simple melodious . The song has romance in every bit of it. Lyrics by Gulzaar saab again are simply out of this world. Then there is “Bekaraan“. VB shows whatever he does, he does it superbly. “ek zara dekhiye to, aapke paon taley kuchh to atka hai kahin,”- what brilliance here. “O’Mama” is a surprise rock number again written by Gulazaar and sung by guess who. Yeah it’s KK.It’s always a treat to hear him. Here I should say both Gulzaar saab and KK rocked. A sudden switch in the genre with loads of energy and some evilness. Overall music compliments to the movie in a very good way. VB uses singers like KK, Suresh Wadekar and even Master Salim to keep the songs playing up to our ears.

Vishal Bharadwaj wins as a director, as a singer. The movie has a good screenplay, good cionematorgraphy and typical Vb like shaky cameras at places. I feel somewhere editing is inconsistent and story telling could have been much tighter. But still the darkness prevails. Don’t know why but this movie reminded me a lot of Anurag Kashyap’s Paanch. I agree there is no comparison but the darkness in these movies are just underlying fact about the beauty of this kind of cinema.

As I repeat 7 Khoon Maaf won’t be liked by everyone. But I wonder if people can make Tees Maar Khan and Housefull like movies then I believe movie making needs to be changed. Cinema needs to come of age and movies like this pave the way for it. Be it a hit or a flop, this movie is win in my opinion. Might not be the best VB movie but definitely not the worse. Priyanka delivers a superb role to keep the Daaarrrlingg murdering the role. Overall a dark, dingy and unconventional watch.

Rating- 4 out of 5

Patiala House – Music Review & Trailer

Akshay Kumar has another release. Uff how much of AK can we take because I am fed up of him. Anyways Patiala House is his first release of 2011. This Nikhil Advani directed movie has Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s music with lyrics by Anvita Dutta.  After listening at once to the album there is nothing different to the music but yes its definitely entertaining. The album has 12 songs including remixes and all has the SEL touch in it.

The album opens with ‘Laung da lashkara’ sung by Hard Kaur, Mahalaxmi Iyer and pop singer Jassi if you remember him. He comes back to playback singing after sometime now. Its good to hear him again. The song is catchy with some rap in it and heavy Punjabi touch and feel to it. The song has a remixed version too done by Harry Anand and is passable.

The best song of the album comes with Shafqat Amanat Ali crooning “Kya Main Jagoon”. A brilliantly sung song with equally good lyrics. For me the music takes a backseat here and one can just sway to the brilliant vocals by Shafqat.  The best song of the album and the most melodious composition. There is an unplugged and a remix versions of the song too. Both are equally good.

Next track is “Rola pe gaya” sung by Master Saleem, Hard Kaur, Mahalaxmi, Earl and Shankar. Despite having singers like that justice has not been done with the song and it fails to make a mark . The song starts well but then doesn’t keep up to what it promises. The remix is equally disappointing as well. Next track is ‘Aadat hai voh’, sung by Vishal Dadlani filled with good guitar strumming and equally good lyrics the song is somewhat better.

“Baby when you talk to me” looks like an ode to the pop culture. Quite a youthful song sung by Alyssa Mendonsa and Suraj Jagan, this one is a foot tapping number with both English and Hindi lyrics and is an OK number. The remix of the same is fine. Track ‘Tumba Tumba’ by Hans Raj Hans is a qawali track. A soulful number looks like more of a situational song. The last song on the album is ‘Aval Allah’crooned by Richa Sharma. The track has good Sufi touch in it and is a good track.

Overall as I said, there is nothing different in the album but surely some of the songs are entertaining.  The movie trailer doesn’t excites me at all and as the rumors suggest its a cricket version of John Abraham’s DAN DANA DAN GOAL movie. Hope Patiala House is not as bad as that was.

Ratings- 2.5 out of 5

Here is the trailer of the movie-

Guzaarish – Music Review

So now Sanjay Leela Bhansali becomes a Music Director.  Choosing something like ”Guzaarish” as his debut album would have been a risky job for SLB, but I feel he has done a good job with the music which captures the mood and feel of the film. The Album boasts of 10 original tracks and thankfully no remixes. Lyricists of album are A.M. Turaz and Vibhu Puri.

The Title track sung by KK and Shail Hada is a good soft sad romantic number. Both being very strong vocalists, this is a good ballad. Reminds me of Saawariya a bit, but now comparisons will be everywhere. Next is “Sau gram zindagi”. I don’t know who and why they came up with this name but its interesting. With Kunal Ganjawala behind the mike, some unusual lyrics, this opens up slowly and sticks to the same pace. With the poetic feel to the song and its unconventional lyrics it could have been a melodious composition if English lyrics used here and there. I feel they kill the melody of the song.

Then comes my personal favourite – “Tera Zikr hai” by Shail Hada and Rakesh Pandit another slow number on the lines of  Sau gram zindagi , but I find this one better than that. The song will grow over you slowly. After this one comes a surprise in “Saiba”. Sung by Vibhavari Joshi, Francois Castellin and Shail Hada this one is the different track in the film. This song has a very western touch to it which makes it more appealing and interesting. Next is “Jaane kiska khwab”  by KK ‘s impressive voice.  A situational song where I feel vocals have been given more importance than the instruments. That’s why the lyrics of the song as quite strong. Minimal orchestration here makes the song more soulful.

After all slow tracks, another change comes in the form of ‘Udi’. Sung by Sunidhi Chauhan & Shail Hada, this song is full of  latin beats and will surely be popular. Next is a solo “Keh Na Saku” by Shail Hada. Another slow romantic number like other songs in the album. “Chand ki Katori” is a good pick in the album. Sung by Harshdeep Kaur’s, the vocal is the highlight of this song. After this KK sings  ’Daayein Baayein’ which can be passed easily. Not good but its not bad too.Last song on the list is  ”Dhundhli dhundhli” by Shankar Mahadevan. The song is about evening and begins with the birds chirping. At times Mahadevan takes the song to some high pitch which makes it better.

Overall, I feel Guzaarish is a typical Sanjay Leela Bhansali type of music. A lot of situational songs, more heavy on vocals to suit the mood and tempo of the movie. Some tracks are unique, some I feel are over the top and some hummable.

Rating- 3.5 out of 5

Peepli Live- Its Different (Music Review)

Peepli Live Music Review- It's Different

It’s the promo of the movie which prompted me to review the music because I found something interesting in it. Seeing the promos the music and songs looks like taken from the deep roots of India’s villages and Indian classical music. The song which comes in the promo where Raghveer Yadav sings it over a harmonium was another reason of trying to hear more of this album. Plus produced by Amir Khan himself is another reason to see what this perfectionist is has stored for us. So here it is, the music of Peepli Live. The album boasts of six tracks composed by Nageen Tanvir, Indian Ocean and Ram Sampat. The complete album is full of unique, interesting pieces of music which definitely moves the story along with them.
The album starts off with “Des Mera” by the legendary Indian Ocean. As the band is known for their earthly music, here also they come up with a regional beauty. The track is upbeat and has the typical Indian Ocean rustic though lively feel to it. After researching a bit I came to know that this song has been taken from the band’s ‘Jhini’ album that was released in 2003 but this one is tweaked according to the movie’s requirement. A track worth listening to whether you are an Indian Ocean fan or not.

“Des Mera” has another Jazz version which a few western beats to it. I don’t know what was the need for this. This is the only track in the whole album which didn’t impress me much.

Next is “Mehngai dayain” , the song which comes in the trailer. Sung by Raghuveer Yadav , this song reminds me of theone they use to sing in ram-leela’s in the villages. With the rustic yet good voice of Raghuveer Yadav with the harmonium and dholak in the background, this song tells what the whole movie is about- the satire. Like the movie, this song is a satire on the rising prices in the country etc. The folk touch to this song makes the mood. There is another remix version to this but I don’t think its much worth talking or writing about.

Next in the queue is dark number “Zindagi Se Darte ho”. Now this one has the rock feeling to it with the voices of Indian Ocean and a more different music to it. As my friend called it, a rock opera, this one is different and the best in the album. Based on the poem by Noon Meem Rashed, this one is just brilliant. Reminds me of the vintage Indian Ocean of Black Friday. This song is the highlight of the album and not to be missed for sure.

Last one in the album is “Chola Maati Ke Ram”- A deep and soulful song by Nageen Tanvir. A deep regional song with equally good lyrics gives this one additional point. Inspired from music from either M.P or Chattisgarh I am not sure which one, but is very good. The song has a complete different feel to it which you don’t see that often these days. Another winner in the album.

Overall, the whole album is experimental and a winner. Looks like the songs are handpicked from various sources and then delivered brilliantly. You don’t hear these kinds of songs everyday. So I will suggest that you buy or download (which most of you will do) this album. This is worth keeping, something different for your soul. This album will take you back to those rustic settings, those rustic music that you will also sing along.

Rating- 4.5 out of 5