Music Review

LOVE AAJ KAL VS KAMINEY

LOVE AAJ KAL

Dir: Imtiaz Ali

Music: Pritam

Lyrics: Irshad Kamil

As some wise ass said, Pritam's albums should come with a statutory warning:

Could be of Korean origins, check before you applaud.

Well wit aside, this is a pretty good album.

1. Twist: 4 stars

Take the evergreen 'snake-music' (yes, yes the same tana nana one that makes all Bollywood snakes (and Sridevi) begin dancing) and put in into a disco and you have this crazy but infectious song, sung with the right amount of pep by Neeraj Shridhar (from Bombay Vikings). It is bhangra mixed with classic bollywood and topped with rap.

How can you go wrong with that? This will probably be in discos in India for the next 1 year.

2. Ye Dooriyan: 2 stars
A bittersweet song by Mohit Chauhan but definitely not his best. Not bad but entirely forgettable.

3. Chor Bazari: 4 stars
This one is already tearing up the charts and why not. Chor Bazari conjures up images of stolen love and market fairs and the promos (currently on air) make it look even better.

4. Main Kya Hun:1 star.
KK (by the way what is his name anyway) tries his best but this is another forgettable song. Maybe how its picturized will help.

5. Aahun Aahun: 5 stars
Aahun is a typical Punjabi word which probably means nothing but just expresses something. This song practically explodes with the trademark Punjabi joie de vivre. Begins slow and then by the time you’ve come to the Aahun Aahun refrain there is nothing you can do to stop tapping your feet. And frankly, can you say Aahun Aahun about 10 times and not smile? That word is practically fun inducing. Its an insane song but freakishly catchy.

6. Aaj Din Chadheya: 4 ½ stars
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is the perfect choice for the next one, a beautiful guitar-driven song of ‘loue’ and all its emotions. The lyrics however are a tad too cheesy.
"Sada Rahe Sultanat Teri”.....

Sultanat??? During Aaj Kal ?? Huh??

TOTAL : 6 songs 20 ½ stars (Average 3.4)

KAMINEY

Dir: Vishal Bhardwaj

Music: Vishal Bhardwaj

Lyrics: Gulzar

For any lover of good cinema (good, not big budgeted) a Vishal Bhardwaj film is always something to look forward to. Maqbool, Omkara, The Blue Umbrella… the list is endless. The best part is that he scores his own music and to top it all, the lyrics are by his mentor Gulzar. I should say Academy Award Winner Gulzar.

1. Dhan Te Nan (as in the Pink Panther theme) : 5 stars
This insanely catchy tune is like dynamite. It starts off with the guitar tune and then it goes on to become an original bollywood masterpiece. Sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Vishal Dadlani (of music duo Vishal-Shekhar) this is pure magic. Hear it once and you will be humming Dhan Te Nan every where you go. And what lyrics! It goes from the very ‘now’ to ‘sublime’. Cities floating under your feet….Life as a one way street...... khabrey and kabrey (news and graves) ahh only Gulzar can do that.

Koi chaal aisi chalo yaar ab ke samundar bhi pul par challey,

Phir tu challey usspe, yaa main chaloon, shehar ho apne pairon talley.

Kayi khabrey hain,

Kayi kabrey hain,

Jo bhi soye hai kabron mein unko jagaanaa nahin!

and

Aaja ki One Way Hai

Yeh Zindagi ki Gali

Ek hi Chance hai
Aage Hawa hi Hawa hai

Agar saans hai to

Yeh Romance hai

2. Pehli Baar Mohabbat: 5 stars.
Mohit Chauhan (who’s fast becoming the go-to-guy for ballads) sings this ballad which has very strong rock overtones to it. And Gulzar makes even the everyday sound romantic. Listen to Mohit sing about lovers sitting under a peepal tree eating berries already made ‘jhootha’ by squirrels. Isn’t Love in the simple things?

“Tanhai ne fursat di hai…” he sings, “pehli baar mohabbat ki hai”

Magic!

3. Raat Ke Dhai Baje: 3 stars
This is actually a continuation of Pehli Baar but made more folksy and with a lot more singers. Maybe it’ll work in the movie.

4. Fatak: 3 stars
When was the last time you heard a song with a whip-lash in it? This song also speaks about AIDS but thankfully does so without preaching.

5. Kaminey: 5 stars
And this brings us to the best of the lot. Kaminey.
Vishal sings this himself and trust Gulzar to come with poetry, even when given words like Kaminey.

Surprisingly this is not a fast song as the word would imply. Instead its languid and unhurried and beautifully so.

Kabhi zindagi se maangaa

Pinjare mein chaand laa do

Kabhi laalten de ke

Kaha aasmaan pe taango

Meri aarzoo kameenee

Mere khwaab bhi kaminey

Ek dil se dosti thi

Yeh hazoor bhi kaminey

TOTAL : 5 songs 21 stars (Average 4.2)

So which one should you BUY?

Who are we kidding, you kaminey's will probably download the songs so what the hell, download both....

Its worth it.

Happy Listening

Luv

Vish