By Joginder Tuteja, July 8, 2008 - 11:38 IST
Well, these are indeed exciting times for music coming out of Bollywood. Just recently we had Singh Is Kinng arriving with a bang and making a big impression. Now, within a few hours of its arrival on the stands, Bachna Ae Haseeno too has created a huge splash all over. The current year has seen music of number of films doing quite well. Race, Tashan, Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, Jodhaa Akbar and Jannat are just to name a few. Now add Vishal-Shekhar composed Bachna Ae Haseeno to the list. This one is a solid winner from the word go and would scale greater heights over the weeks to come.
Shilpa Rao gets a big break on her name with 'Khuda Jaane' where she pairs up with the man of all seasons, KK. Unlike Pritam who always ropes in KK for at least one song in each of his albums, Vishal-Shekhar have believed in using him sparsely and asking him to come behind the mike only in case of anything exceptional. Well, 'Khuda Jaane' is indeed an exceptional song and though it may seem quite good in the first couple of listening, it takes a brilliant turn once you have heard for a few more times.
A core Indian melody that has its beauty lying at the point where KK gets into a high pitch, 'Khuda Jaane' is a number that is an instant chartbuster material. Also notable is the way Shilpa compliments her co-singer with her unique voice that sets her apart from her contemporaries. A mesmerizing number that has a lot going for it in it's 'revisited remix version' by Abhijeet Nalani which takes the number from serene islands to a upmarket discotheque, 'Khuda Jaane' is a winner for the real and reel life couple of Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone on whom the song has been picturised. 'Lucky Boy' is a club/lounge track that is unique in the way Sunidhi Chauhan and Raja Hassan (of 'Maari Teetri - De Taali' fame) rendering their parts. While Raja provides a Punjabi folk feel to the number, 'Lucky Boy' inherently stays on to be a club track with Bipasha Basu exuding all the oomph. Hardkaur too makes an appearance in the middle of the number but if at all the song is remembered after it is through, it is due to Sunidhi's voice in 'Lucky Boy'. This is one track that has a distinct Vishal-Shekhar feel to it and if you have liked the kind of sound which was heard in 'Mind Blowing Maahiya', then you would lap up 'Lucky Boy' even more as it has a much more classy feel to it.
Yet another club number, though with an added zing and punch, comes in the form of 'Aahista Aahista'. From singers like Lucky Ali and Shreya Ghoshal, one expects a quiet melodious outing. Well, this one too has its own serene feel to it but it's the way the number has been orchestrated which makes all the difference. As Lucky Ali and Shreya seem to be oblivious about the kind of sound engulfing them through musical arrangements and just seem to be enjoying the melodic feel of 'Aashista Aahista', it is the contemporary attitude of Vishal-Shekhar which makes the song special. Notice the way the voices of the two singers overlap each other during the 'antara' portions!
After some romance, it's time to get on a foot tapping outing with 'Jogi Mahi' which is a quintessential Yash Chopra song that we have been enjoying for decades now. While Shekhar Ravjiani himself begins the track and dominates the proceedings for a large part of the song, the man-for-the-situation Sukhwinder Singh too makes his presence felt. A celebration number that has 'dholak' and the other necessary instruments for a setting like this coming together, 'Jogi Mahi' has lyricist Anvita spinning a story through her lyrics. Towards the end, Himani Kapoor (who has sung most with Himesh Reshammiya in films like Dil Diya Hai, Aap Ki Khatir, Good Boy Bad Boy and Fool N Final) also joins the show and does a good job.
In terms of style, one tends to remember 'Ticket To Bollywood' [Jhoom Barabar Jhoom] in the way 'Small Town Girl' has been composed. A Punjabi-rock track with Shankar Mahadevan as the man behind the mike, this one is essentially a fun song which isn't great musically but has a potential to do reasonably well if picturised well. A track about how even a 'small town girl' could go about making men dance to her tunes, the number seems to be paradoxical in nature as it features Bipasha Basu in a hot avtar!
Lastly comes the trump card of the album that has resulted in all the frenzy for Bachna Ae Haseeno so far. In one of the first of its kind attempts in a Bollywood song, an original number has been fused with the current sound as the voice from the past is retained and amalgamated with that of another singer. Years back 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' was a superb number that saw the coming together of RD Burman, Kishore Kumar and Majrooh Sultanpuri. Well, Vishal-Shekhar add much more than just a bit to one of the best rock songs from the yesteryears and rope in Kishore Kumar's son Sumit Kumar to get his own rendition going.
An amazing experience which has to be heard to be believed, 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' turns out to be the 'paisa-vasool' moment of the album as the fusion is truly flawless and makes one just put on the number in a repeat mode and forget about the rest. Vishal Dadlani writes and sings the rap that compliments that mood of the song and makes 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' a number which by itself would guarantee a great opening for the film when it arrives on 15th August!
Not just would this album turn out to be one of the biggest successes of the career of Vishal-Shekhar (and in the process even give Om Shanti Om a competition, if the film does well), it would also ensure that Yash Raj Films would finally have their music doing a lot of talking before the film's release. After the release of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, music of none of the YRF films has done any great business. Chak De India did well only after the film's release, music of Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Aaja Nachle didn't sell at all while by the time Vishal-Shekhar created soundtrack of Tashan which started making an impression, the film was declared a failure.
However, things would be indeed different in case of Bachna Ae Haseeno because even though the film is more than a month away from its release, the music has already started making a huge impression. One always wondered whether the frenzy would be restricted to the title song which is currently on air. Well, that's not the case to be as music of this Siddharth Anand directed film has enough ammunition to keep the flag high for the album that has lyrics by Anvita Dutt Guptan!
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