Song by Song: Sapnon se Bhare Naina (Luck By Chance)

Bagiya bagiya baalak bhaage
Titli phir bhi haath na laage
Iss pagle ko kaun bataye
Dhoond raha hai jo tu jag mein
Koi jo paaye to mann mein hi paaye...

With the very opening lines, Sapnon se Bhare Naina makes it clear that it's going to be a wonderful experience to listen to the song. Shankar Mahadevan sings this song beautifully, as he always does, but my Kudos to Javed Akhtar first for writing a song with great depths.

Sapnon se Bhare Naina starts slow but keeps on changing its pace to faster modes and overall, doesn't sound like a slow song at all. Shankar sings in slow voices, fast speeds, high pitches, alaaps, almost every way that could be accommodated well in the song and makes it very lively.

As far as lyrics are concerned, it's one of the best songs I've heard in past sometime. The song tells how one who is ambitious cannot become content. And though, it might sound a bit out of place in today's fast moving world, the song bears a lot of truth according to me. As mod to aaye, chhaanv na aaye shows the truth of many lives today. 

The lines I liked the best in the song are the ones where the song says that getting desired comforts and being content are two different things, though the difference is generally ignored. The lines go as follows.

Jaise ki din se rain alag hain
Sukh hain alag aur chain alag hain
Par jo ye dekhen wo nain alag hain
Chain to hai apna, sukh hain paraye..

In short, I loved the song. Just get it and try to appreciate the song. I guess you would love it too.

Musical notes: Luck By Chance

Farhan Akhtar surely has a huge fan following just after one movie. So was the case after his directorial debut, Dil Chahta hai, too. Good news for Farhan's fans was that his next movie Luck by Chace. Now, the bad one is that the guy doesn't get to sing a single song in the movie. :(

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are the experimenting guys again as they have always been. And though, the results of CC2C music are still awaited (not up to the S-E-L standards I guess), their next, Luck By Chance generates new hopes with the credits of singers itself.

There is Shankar Mahadevan singing a lot. Two songs, Sapnon se bhare naina, and O rahi re are sung by Shankar alone. And there is a lot more new. The album has 6 songs and a remix. Out of six, three songs bear Shankar's name. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy also give a chance to the Indian Idol runner-up Amit Paul who has sung a song Pyaar ki Daastan with Mahalaxmi Iyer.

And then, another surprise is that for the first time, two songs bear the name of Loy Mendonsa as he does a song 'Baawre' with Shankar and another, 'Yeh Zindagi Bhi' with Shekhar. Yes, Shekhar, who hardly ever gave more than background vocals until Bachna ae Haseeno, has been called up by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy to sing a song, taking the collaboration between the composer duo and trio (Vishal-Shekhar and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) a step further.

One song, Yeh aaj kya ho gaya is sung by Sunidhi Chauhan as a solo which is a small number of almost 3 and half minutes.

In short, Luck By Chance looks like a promising album, and I hope we'll find some long lasting songs by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Javed Akhtar.

Song by Song: Bandaa Re (Raaz - The Mystery Continues)

Will 'Raaz - The mystery continues', that is, Raaz 2 in short, be a hit as the original one or not is yet to be seen. But there is one important area where Raaz 2 scores almost as much as Raaz did. And that is it's music. Raaz 2 has total eight tracks with five original songs and three remixes. Maahi, Soniyo, Kaisa ye raaz hai and O jaana, which I've already reviewed, make a great album but now comes the song that makes it different from other albums, that is, the mystery/thriller element of the album, Bandaa re.

Original Raaz had a great soundtrack but the 'different' element, Yahan pe sab shanti shanti hai, wasn't something very good. Here, Bandaa re scores much above Shanti-Shanti and actually gives some feeling of a thriller.

Bandaa re is Gaurav Dasgupta's only composition for the movie and is sung by Krishna. The song is basically a typical horror/thriller background song, something like the saam-daam-dand-bhed of Sarkaar which runs in background when Abhishek takes his revenge, but this one has been made well enough to be listened in general too.

The song starts with the 'sambhavami yuge yuge' shloka from Mahabharata in some distant sounding voices, something that makes up a favorable ambience for the song. The lyrics of the song are quite good from the start itself. In the song, God is supposed to be talking to a devotee saying He stays with the devotee only and he need not search for Him anywhere outside himself. See the starting lines of the song.

Moko kahan dhoondhe re bande, main to tere pass mein,
Na teerath mein, na moorat mein, na ekaant nivaas mein,
Na mandir mein na masjid mein, na kaabe kailash mein,
Main to tere paas mein bande, main to tere paas mein..

Though the song is neither expected to be a hit, nor has some superb music, yet I quite liked the song just for the lyrics.

Song by Song: Chhayi Madhoshiyaan (Jumbo)

Ram Sampath is back. With animation flick Jumbo, he's again there and you realize it as soon as you listen to Chhayi Madhoshiyaan. Sung by Sonu Nigam and Ram's wife Sona, Chhayi Madhoshiyaan instantly reminds one of Waada Raha and Yoonhi hum tumse pyaar karte rahe, the two melodies from Khakee, from the very initial music.

Sonu Nigam is once again in his old soft romantic mood as he sings 'Chhayi Madhoshiyaan, dil dhadakne laga hai, pyaar ka silsila ye kahan le chala hai, lagti hai pyaari, kyon bekarari, jaanun na'. As far as Sona is concerned, soft romantic is not the best thing she does as her voice is more suited to ballads and high pitched songs, still she sounds fine and makes me wonder again why she doesn't sing more.

Ram Sampath has once again used flute to start the song. In fact the entire music of the song somewhat gives the feeling of Waada Raha but the song still sounds quite good and fresh. Lyrics of Israr Ansari are usual. In the end, composer has even tried a higher pitch for vocals and music.

Overall, the song is a good soft romantic number that one might like. No guarantee though.

Song by Song: O Jaana (Raaz - The mystery continues)

He sings. You see the song on TV. You think it's OK. You listen to it again. You find it good. You listen to it again. You love it. You listen to it, and keep on listening.

It's the same process that takes place with every song sung by KK, picturised on Emraan Hashmi, be it Gangster, Jannat, or the new Raaz.

O jaana is a song of the same category. You'll find it good when you listen to it for the first time. And as you listen to it again and again, you'll be liking the song more and more. O jaana, a composition of Raju Singh, belongs to the same genre as Mere Falak ka Tu Hi Sitara (Showbiz). The music is absolutely wonderful and KK is again in his typical style. The song is basically a love song but the music of the song dominates the lyrics.

There is also a remix of the song with some added vocals which don't add up much to the song. Probably because there is not much scope of additions to the original version. Just that the speed increases, but then, this version might be popular on dance floors.

In short, O jaana is a lovable, fast song which is almost all set to be a hit. Just grab it.

Song by Song: Chak Lein De (CC2C)

Kailash Kher is not a singer of just slow or Sufi songs. He can do much more when given a chance. In Chak Lein De, Kailash goes fast this time as he sings his own composition.

Chak Lein De is a typical 'Veer Ras' song that goes all the way saying 'hai nahi teer-talwaar, nahi goli, tu khud hai teri fauj tu hi toli', 'teri gurrahat singh ki dahar hai' and 'dikha jalwa' mode. The song has quite fast music right from the start and goes all the way through the song with the same speed, so being a bit monotonous too.

Towards the end of the song there are just the one line 'aaj phatte chak lein de' repeated again and again which makes quite sure that the song is going to be played in the background with some action scene or something like that. Though it was already quite clear with the lyrics of the song.

Overall, Chak lein de is a good song and most probably will be liked by people in short term though I doubt if it will work in the long term even with Kailash Kher. Hip hop lovers may like the song, but the real outcome will be seen once the video/movie is out.

Pop Up: Rain bhai Kaari (Humsafar)

KK proved himself with his debut album Pal. He has also been consistently getting good songs since then, and has a huge number of hits to his credit now. In such a scenario, the guy can surely do some experimenting with his private album. So he does it, and some results, though not popular, are very good.

Rain Bhai Kaari Kaari, Din Ujiyaara,
Naiyya to dekhe nadiya ki dhaara,
Haath tore maajhi, zindagi ki nayya...

These lines don't match very much, not at least with the hits of KK like Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai, tu hi meri shab hai, or Zara sa, but then, KK is well known for his versatality.

Rain Bhai Kaari Kaari starts with KK rendering the above lines slowly, without music, slowly catching speed in further lines. And then, chorus and more music follow as the song turns into something rock-ish, only to come back to slow-motion for two lines and go high again. This keeps on going, making a great song (at least I felt so) and proving yet another aspect of KK, as a music composer.

Towards the end, KK again finds himself ending in a rock-ish mode and then comes back to the first lines and the same slow mode.

Overall, the songs has a lot of fluctuations between super-slows and highs which was quite unique in itself. I have always liked the song and if you like experiments with music, I guess you may also like it.

Song by Song: Jalte Hain (Sorry Bhai!)

Onir's movies might find viewers or not. They may be loved by critics or disappoint them. But whatever the case, music is something which is consistently good in his movies. Sorry Bhai is no exception, even though it's once again by a new composer, Gaurav Dayal.

The song Jalte hain comes in two versions and a remix. The two non-remixed versions are sung by Abhishek Nailwal and KK and both are absolutely superb.

Jalte hain is a slow song with constant beats providing light music for the song. The first version, sung by Abhishek Nailwal completely focuses on his voice and the guy has sung it really well. The mood of the song is sad but not mournful.

The second version, sung by KK, of course sounds more familiar from the very start as KK comes behind the microphone. And though both versions are good in their own place, KK version scores higher in first look. Though, KK version having slightly more instruments, chorus and all can make you turn to simpler first version in the long run.

But above all, Jalte hain is a good composition with a soothing touch to its music. Whichever version you listen to, you will find that soothing touch present there. So, if you are in search of some slow, soft, soothing, there are good chances you like Jalte hain. Otherwise too, just try it. A good composition is always a treat.

Song by Song: Muskura (Dasvidaniyaan)

After staying distant from playback singing for quite sometime, Sonu Nigam is back. And with a bang. No, not a bang exactly, as he's not singing those bang-bang type of songs now. But it's much more substantial. Muskura, or Awara Raahi Gumshuda, of Dasvidaniyaan is one such song.

The song is a slow number with music of old times. And even instruments. And it's Sonu Nigam who can sing in any style, so with the background music of Raj Kapoor style, and even lyrics of that mood, the song is completely out of it's time. Which is the USP of the song.

Sonu Nigam is the second most important part of the song, after its style and music. He sings the song really wonderfully. Also, after a long time he seems to be in a 'mood'. Not that other songs he sang recently were bad or something, but this time Sonu has left his signature in the song while singing. Kailash Kher as a composer has probably given full liberty to Sonu and the result is, no doubt, great.

Last, but not the least at all, credit goes to the lyricist (who happens to be Kailash Kher again) for writing such beautiful, and more than that, true lines.

Aawara raahi gumshuda,
Ban ke kyun ghoome laapata,
muskura, mere dil,
Le zindagi ka mazaa..

Listen to this one if you don't hate old songs.

Song by song: kaisa ye raaz hai (raaz - the mystery continues)

KK is undoubtedly the king of soft rock today. And when it comes to emraan hashmi movies, it goes without saying that a KK song is made to be a hit. Now that the song is the title of raaz-the mystery continues, i only can tell u what type the song is. More than that is hardly required. And so, here is my little review of the song.

Well, kaisa ye raaz hai is a typical soft rock that is generally found in Emraan hashmi movies. The song has music composed by a newcomer pranay and the singing job is well done by KK. Kaisa ye raaz is a slow song and hence may take a few listenings before you get addicted to the song. But there is no doubt that today or after one month, you'll be loving this song and probably humming it somewhere. Though, one question which still remains is how KK and Emraan hashmi always give us such great songs.

Kaisa ye raaz hai..
Jo ki khulta nahi..

Song by Song: Soniyo (Raaz, the mystery continues)

Emraan Hashmi's movies are known for their great music; generally, typically, fast music for quite some time. But this time there are a few variations probably because we do not have Pritam composing, unlike previous movies.

Maahi, the super song of the movie is of course an instant hit and I don't think I need to write anything about that. The next is Soniyo, composed by Raju Singh and sung by Sonu Nigam with Shreya and Neeraj Shridhar in one version and sung by Krishna alone in the other version.

As far as music is concerned, there is not much new or experimental to the song which, in itself, is a new thing since everyone is trying something new. It's a simple song with most part sung by Sonu Nigam and a para sung by Shreya Ghoshal. The added English lyrics sung by Neeraj Shridhar are fine, though I don't think they add much to the song.

Sonu Nigam has sung the song quite beautifully, as usual. Shreya is good as always with her few lines. Overall, the lack of newness is not felt much and after listening to the song for a few times, probably on the TV, one is very likely to love the song.

The other version of the song, called 'from the heart', is sung by Krishna, the guy who has been known for singing Main Jahan Rahoon with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan along with many other songs. Krishna also gives a special touch to the song which is found in Rahat's songs. There are no English lyrics, and even no female voices, but you get to listen Aalaps in Krishna's own voice in the background in some places, making the song a good feeling, and a completely different one from the one sung by Sonu. In fact, I even feel that in the long run, Krishna version might surpass Sonu version on the grounds of the simplicity of the former.

In any case, Soniyo is a good, simple song which suits the high reputation of Emraan Hashmi, that is, in terms of his films' music. :)

Song by Song: Chandni Chowk to China (CC2C)

Somebody has rightly said, one should never judge a song by it's promo. Because there can be a Jhol inside that which you won't get in the song. Well, if you're not getting anything, don't get confused because it's almost the same when you listen to 'Chandni Chowk to China' title song for the first time.

The title song of CC2C, sung by Neeraj Shridhar, Shankar Mahadevan and Anushka Manchanda is, to say the least, an interesting song. The song has a some good music, some strange and beautiful voices, and some tongue-twisting lyrics, though not much like Chandu ke Chacha and all.

If you want to know what type the song is, we can say that it's somewhat like 'Ticket to Hollywood' in terms of music and ambiance. The song is not a typical Mukhda-Antara song and you may have a tough time finding where is Mukhda and where are the antaras.

Another interesting part of the song are the lyrics. I was back in school days when I found the subtle elements of poetry in the song. For example 'jaane kaun hoon samajh mein aai-na' and 'dekha kabhi hai tune aaina' have two different meanings of aai-na. Also, lines like 'Chhori ne jo chheda hai chhora' and 'jhol hai saara jhol hai ye pyaare' make overall lyrics interesting.

As far as singing is concerned, Shankar is an old gem and Neeraj too has always been good. Anushka has sung quite well.

Thus, the overall song has become worth listening. But the most interesting part of the song is probably its video which adds to the taste. In fact, it's a song which you'll most probably like only after seeing it.

Song by song: Tere naina (CC2C)

Shankar-ehsaan-loy. When they give music to jhoom barabar jhoom, u dance on their tunes, when it's rock on, u bang ur heads on their music, and now when it's Chandni chowk to China, the music is at least as chinese as noodles.

Though shankar himself doesn't sound anything like chinese or something, the part sung by shreya ghoshal gives an altogether new feeling that seems to be quite chinese. She's sung her lines in an amazing fast mode that gets all the chinese feeling. For which, both, composers and singers deserve appreciation.

Leaving aside the chinese feeling of the song too, tere naina is a really good song with some great music which is a mixture of slow and fast. In fact, it's quite an interesting song as it has slow and fast pace, indian as well as chinese flavor, and traditionalism along with newness. And though it's a bit difficult to predict, i feel that the song will turn a good one in the long run also.

For now, listen to it and enjoy the noodles.

Song by song: SIDHU (CC2C)

Kailash kher comes in a new flavor this time. You've heard him in a lot of sufi songs and a few love songs. But this time mr kher is singing a song that can be described almost as a comedy song.

The interesting thing is that Kailash sings the song with his usual style and his seriousness gives the song a completely different touch of comedy.

The song is a slightly kavvali style one, to be more precise something like billo rani. That is, in terms of the style of music. The song basically introduces akshay kumar, sidhu of chandni chowk, in a manner that u might find somewhat similar to Happy Singh of Singh is Kinng, though it's not all that way as sidhu also gets praise later in the song.

The music of the song, given most probably by kailash kher himself is great. Use of traditional Indian instruments like dholak, and once again, harmonium is wonderful.

Overall, the song is quite lovable and hopefully going to be a hit.

Pop-Up: Door Kahin (Nine)

Hi. This is my first Pop-Up. Here I'll try to tell you about pop songs which are generally lost in the crowd of big names, trying to get you the songs you might have missed. Just try them.

The song I'm going to talk about today is 'Door Kahin..' from Pankaj Awasthi's album 'Nine'. Pankaj Awasthi, though unknown to most, is a good singer and composer. Pankaj gave the music for the movie Anwar with Mithoon and is now composing for Tera Kya Hoga Johnny. He even sings for other composers sometimes.

The song 'Door kahin..' starts with some street sounds and from within the voices, Pankaj starts rendering slowly, 'Door kahin le chalo tum mujhko, nahin chahiye ye duniya, sath le chalo unko haan unko, wo jo samjhen dooriyaan haan dooriyaan', and while starting on a low note, he enters quite high pitch in the first few lines itself.

Though the music of the song is simple and without much humdrum, the singing has done it's work really well and you can feel the song deep inside. The song is a bit experimental, especially with a few lines changing their places in paragraphs, but I still suppose that most listeners of not-so-experimental music will also like it.

In short, if you crave for more music, it's a must try song and if you like this one, keep seeing this space.

Song by Song: Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gayi (Ghajini)

Of all the songs of Ghajini, Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gayi is the slowest. In fact for the first time when you listen to the song, even if you like it, the song may test your patience. But with the time, and with the video, the song does leave a solid impact on a listener.

Kaise mujhe tum mil gayi is sung by Benny Dayal, the guy who recently sang 'Tu hi tu meri dost hai', the most popular song of Yuvvraaj, along with Shreya Ghoshal. Benny once again comes up wonderfully and sings the song to perfection.

The song is a romantic number which is probably there after the death of Kalpana in the movie. The song reminds me of Tanhaai, especially after seeing Aamir in the mourning mode.

The song starting with low beats and oo.. oo... vocals of Benny Dayal goes pretty high on notes (something that will make it singers' favorite, a tough number). Especially in the lines, 'main to ye sochta tha ke aajkal ooparwale ko fursat nahi..', he goes really high in certain words and then comes back, giving the song a really different feel. Shreya has mostly sung in the slow, soft parts of the song and is good as ever.

Lyrics of the song are quite good, making everything about the song good. I hope that the song will take time to get its space, but will prove a great number in long run.

Song by Song: Aye Bachchu (Ghajini)

AR Rehman is not good just because he makes great music. He is great because he knows the who-why-how and everything of the music he makes. That's the reason you find so many new singers singing songs which feel like made for them. Aye Bachchu is one such song.

Aye Bachchu, a playful western style song that is picturised the only way it could be, as a solo dance (with background people dancing of course) is something you might love very soon. The song is quite fast paced and has numerous intruments backing the voice of Suzanne D'Mello, better known as Suzie Q.

The song's main feature is not just the music of Rehman but also the voice of Suzanne, who has sung the song really well as her voice modulates freely between the lower and higher notes of the song. Also, there are some variations added in the same lines when they come in the start and the end which add to variety in the song. Lines 'Mastiyon ki Kashti Kholo, Kinaron ko Bye Bye bolo, aao na hawaon sang dolo..' are well-written (courtesy Prasoon Joshi) and well-sung pieces which surely attract the listener's attention.

Rehman has tried to give a lot in the less than 4 minutes' song and I hope it will not only be liked by the people but also give a better identity to Suzanne D'Mello who has been mostly singing song with others yet.

Song by Song: music review, Behka (Ghajini)

If you think Udit Narayan is the best suited voice for Aamir Khan, think again. After listening to Behka of Ghajini. Karthik sounds almost Aamir Khan in the song and if you don't know who is the singer, you can for once think it's Aamir himself.

As far as type of the song is concerned, it's difficult to put the song in a category other than only-Rehman-can-do-it songs. Though the song reminds me of Rangeela, especially Yaaron sun lo zara, but still, it's exactly not a 'tapori' song but to some extent a love song, at least on the basis of lyrics.

Karthik does complete justice to Rehman's music and chorus adds a lot to the song. The song has its high notes and in the second half, Karthik does a mini-breathless too, but the song still seems to be going at a fixed speed as it remains at the same level most of the time.

In short, I feel the song is a bit experimental, a lot new, quite good and may even be a hit. Try to get 'Behka'. Hope you like it too.

Song by Song: music review, Lattu (Ghajini)

May be Aamir Khan's greatness is proved once again by his Ghajini, but AR Rehman's greatness is already proven again. After Jodhaa Akbar, Jaane tu ya jaane na, Ada and Yuvvraaj, he is out there once again with Ghajini. While, in the meantime he created music for SlumDog Millionaire too, a movie mentioned in two articles of 23rd November's ToI edit page. And still, quantity hasn't affected quality of Rehman's music.

I have already written about Guzarish from Ghajini and now it's Lattu that is on a roll. With Lattu, Shreya Ghoshal seems to excel in a completely different area of music than she is a master of. Truly speaking, I didn't think it could be Shreya and kept wondering who-is-the-singer until I came to know who it was.

Lattu is a dance number, almost yet another Pappu, even though it's completely a new song. The song starts with some strange voices and then Shreya gets into a fast tune almost with the first note. The song has typical background sounds and vocals as Rehman puts in every dance number. Just like dirigidi-dada da-da-daa of Pappu, some 'maza hi maza re maza hi maza re simba ve' is the Rehman's signature here.

Prasoon Joshi has tried to make the normal lyrics interesting with his PJ's (PJ = Prasoon Joshi). Remember Zinda-bad-Zinda-good in Be-a-Rebel? It's almost the same feeling when one listens to 'masti mein bee - wo hai, Jeene mein Jee/G - wo hai, Seene mein See/C - wo hai, dhak dhak dhak dhak har dhadkan mein wo'. Though it doesn't add much to the song, it generates interest in the lyrics as the listener tries to understand the unusual lyrics.

Whatever, one thing that is sure is that the song is really 'catchy' and is going to rule music charts very soon, especially the FM listeners will feel the presence of the song very soon. Get ready to go lattu.

Song by Song: music review, Guzarish (Ghajini)

Last two months of this year are certainly going to be interesting. Salman Khan's Yuvvraaj, Shahrukh Khan's Rab ne Bana di Jodi, and now Aamir Khan's Ghajini. It's just absolutely wonderful. Especially in terms of music.

It rarely happens with AR Rehman that two movies with his music are being promoted at the same time. This time it's not just happening, but it's happening on big scale. Songs from Salman Khan's Yuvvraaj have not even passed their peak and you can listen to Ghajini.

Well, here I'm going to give you a review of the only song I have got from Ghajini. The song is called 'Guzarish' and is sung by no-Sonu-Nigam and Sonu Nigam. I mean, it's Javed Ali and Sonu Nigam together. The problem with Javed Ali is that you think it's Sonu Nigam and then you think it's not. It's the most effective way to identify him. But confusion comes in when Sonu Nigam is also there as he was in Nagada (Jab We Met).

Anyways, the song has some wonderfully simple and simply wonderful music by Rehman and I very much hope you'll be humming the track after listening to it once or twice itself. The song is the sweet romantic type quite like O ri Chhori of Lagaan, though the lyrics are not that good as of the latter. Actually the lyrics aren't bad but the name of Prasoon Joshi gives your expectations quite a rise which isn't completely matched with this song.

At the same time, one quality of the lyrics is their simplicity. 'Tu Meri adhuri pyaas pyaas, tu aa gayi man ko raas raas, ab to tu aaja paas paas' are really simple and you can remember the song even when yo listen to it for the first time. In short, the song is quite addictive as Rehman grips us all once again.

Hope we see more magic from Rehman and Prasoon in further songs of the movie.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi Music Review

Finally, the wait is over. Aditya Chopra's next movie is all set for a release and the music is out there. Though the small number of songs, a total six, that is, with an instrumental and a slow version included, might be a bit disappointing, I hope you wouldn't be disappointed when you listen to the songs.

It might be a bit surprising for some people that the music for the film is not composed by the top three composer/duo/trio of India. (namely AR Rehman, Vishal-Shekhar / Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for me) But if you see the track record of Yashraj's past few movies, you will find that Chopras have been trusting Salim-Suleman for some of their largest projects.

And once again they prove they deserve it.

Well, the album has four songs with no remixes, a relief I guess, a small slow version (remember Chalte-chalte of Mohabbatein?), and a medley. Out of the four songs, two are typical Aditya Chopra songs, meant to be hit and preserved in your collections, one is a not-that-long-lasting hip-hop and one is too good that you will surely enjoy, a lot if you're well familiar with old Hindi songs.

Starting with the songs individually, the first song Tujh mein rab dikhta hai is a wonderful song sung by Roop Kumar Rathod that anybody will like while listening for the first time itself.

One interesting thing i found with the song that when the song starts it reminds me of Veer Zaara, with the very first note played, and then it takes a turn to a complete new song. Roop's voice also generates a sense of Veer-Zaara as you see him singing for SRK yet again.

The second song, Haule Haule is already a hit I guess. The song comes with the power of Sukhwinder Singh and is a bit faster than the first one. The song has a bit of hip-hop flavor attached to it but all of that is prepared in typical Indian instruments. This song goes high in some places and Sukhwinder Singh sounds absolutely fantastic in those places.

Also, the lyrics of the song are quite lovable and you might like some lines a lot.

Third song Dance pe Chance maar le is a Sunidhi Chauhan song which is a complete hip-hop, a typical Sunidhi number. The song doesn't sound very good in the first listening, but history proves that Sunidhi's songs rarely fail. I guess this one is not going to be an exception and somehow, people will love this one too. Also, the voice of Labh Janjua is used for the song which might help in making the song more popular.

The fourth and last original song of the movie is Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte. (I don't know why I wrote Original) This song is some wonder by Salim Suleman and in fact Sonu Nigam as well. The song goes something like this, it opens with the background music of Awara Hoon, and mentions almost all Raj Kapoor hits in one para. Then we have Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar, jiya o jiya kuch bol do, pal bhar ke liye koi humein pyar kar le in second para, Yahoo and others of Shammi in next, then Rajesh Khanna, Dard-e-dil and some more for Rishi Kapoor. The mukhda of the song goes as 'Hum Hain Raahi Pyaar ke, Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte', which if you see a bit closely, are movies of Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, and Shah Rukh Khan respectively.

But I guess that is not all about the song. You need to listen to it yourself to enjoy the magic of the composers and Sonu. Special credit to Jaideep Sahni for the wonder-wonder lyrics.

The fifth song, a female version of Tujh mein rab dikhta hai is sung by Shreya Ghoshal and she has finely rendered the few lines given to her even though there is not much in store for her here.

The album ends with a medley which is not very good and feels like an extra addition. Or maybe it's here just as per the tradition. Whatever the reason be, overall Rab ne Bana di Jodi is a good album. So better buy it and put to your collection.

Haule Haule, Rab ne Bana di Jodi

Aditya Chopra’s next movie Rab ne Bana di Jodi is all set for a huge release on 12th December and the music has already hit various FM channels. Well, it’s not all the music but just one song that is playing right now. But that gives some idea of the movie’s music, in fact about the movie too.

The one song that is on air, ‘Haule Haule’ is a beautiful track sung by Sukhwinder Singh that brings out the best of Salim-Sulaiman once again. Salim-Sulaiman have already given some wonderful music for Yashraj productions’ movies, Chak De India and Aaja Nachle. And this first song from Rab ne Bana di Jodi has the soul of O re Piya and power of Chak De, latter probably because of Sukhwinder’s voice.

Whatever the reason be, when you listen to Haule Haule being rendered by Sukhwinder, (Yes! Rendered, Sukhwinder has sung this song quite haule-haule) you just love it. When I listened to the song for the first time, I knew it was going to be a hit. I hope you love it too.

So find the song somewhere as soon as possible. And if you have already heard it somwhere, maybe these lines help you hum the song again.

Haule Haule se hawa lagti hai,
Haule Haule se dawa lagti hai,
Haule Haule se dua lagti hai,
haan..

Haule Haule chanda badhta hai,
Haule Haule ghoonghat uthta hai,
Haule Haule se nasha chadhta hai,
haan..

Tu sabr to kar mere yaar,
Zara saans to le dildaar,
Chal fikr nu goli maar yaar hain din zindagi de chaar,
Haule Haule ho jayega pyaar chaliye haule haule ho jayega pyaar...
Haule Haule ho jayega pyaar chaliye haule haule ho jayega pyaar...

Rehman Again: Yuvvraaj, music review

Composing music is surely not an easy task. But when it comes to AR Rehman's music, even reviewing becomes difficult. After the amount of effort put in by Rehman, even a listener has to put in some effort and time to get the real taste of music. And now that I feel I have got some idea of Yuvvraaj's music, here is my review.


The album starts with 'Tu meri dost hai'. Yet another song on friendship of a guy and a girl, surely reminds one of Kabhi Kabhi Aditi of Jaane tu ya jaane na. But the song is quite different and goes higher in notes and deeper in meaning as the words come from Gulzar's pen.

The song has voices of Benny Dayal and Shreya Ghoshal, while Rehman also comes in between for a few lines sung very smoothly with Shreya.

The second song, Shano Shano can again remind you of Pappu can't dance for a few seconds in the start, but the two songs don't have much in common except that both are foot tapping dance numbers by Rehman. An interesting thing is that even after being a dance number, Shano Shano is a slow song as far as pace is concerned, but one is sure to enjoy it after a little time.

I guess the music of Shano Shano is going to be liked people a lot in sometime as I myself didn't like for the first time but it's something that gets into one's mind slowly. The music of the song is experimental as usual. Especially the music of lines 'Ud ke to dekho, oonchi udari, mit jayegi hasraten saari saari saari' brings in some wonderful heights in notes. Check it out when you listen to the song.

The third song 'Muskura Muskura' by Alka is a not-so-Rehman-specific song but may remind one of Tu bin bataye of Rang de Basanti. Still, the song is more like a normal love song of Jatin-Lalit and Nadeem-Shravan genre. The music of the song is fine and music of tu meri dost hai playing in the background gives added effects. A negative point of the song is 'mooskura' of Alka which becomes very clear as she speaks 'mooskura' once and 'muskura' the other time in adjacent lines. Benny's high pitched entries in between are additives for the song. Overall, a not-so-special song which should just work fine.

Now get ready for a Rehman treat, presented by Sonu Nigam and more. My advice, do not try to get into the meaning of the song for the first time, just enjoy the voices, the sounds, the music. This song comes straight out of Rehman's song factory where he makes things nobody else makes. I don't know what you might think of while listening to this song, but whatever you think of, it's a song which can be felt. Sonu Nigam also deserves credit for giving his wonderful voice in his old uninhibited style.

The next song is going to remind you of Hariharan. 'Zindagi Zindagi' is a typical slow song that just goes with Subhash Ghai's movies, and reminds one of Yaadein and Taal. Actually the song is sung by Srinivas, a person with the same voice as Hariharan. (remember the kaisi hai ye rut song from Dil Chahta Hai? It's the same guy)

The next song, a seven and half minute long Dil ka Rishta, is hardly a song. At least don't expect some song that you can be singing after listening twice. To be true, it's more of pure music, probably running in the background in the movie. But it's again something that can be felt. At the same time, if you go deep into the song and listen to the lyrics, the song has got some wonderful lines from Sampoorna Singh Gulzar.

AR Rehman surely is a person who keeps on doing different things. Manmohani morey is yet another example. Vijay Prakash this absolutely wonderful thing that runs only for 3 minutes and 12 seconds. (WHY?) To me, it seems to be a classical song put on a fast track or with added music in the background. But whatever it is, the song is a feast in itself even though it has few lines and a small running length.

The album ends with a remix of Shano Shano. It's a small remix that is just two and half minutes long. Actually I couldn't find many changes in the remix version of the song and it ended before I could find something substantial.

And then, the first song starts again. :)

Well, jokes apart, Yuvvraaj is an album where we can find the old Rehman in a number of songs. Talking numerically, at least three songs are going to be wonderful, namely Tu meri dost hai, Manmohani, and Zindagi Zindagi. But I guess most of the songs have good potential in them and I feel ALL the songs of the movie are going to be hit in their own time. From me, it's a must buy album as in long term its surely not going to disappoint you.

Dostana (music review)

There are a few things I am feeling since I got the music of Dostana in my hand.

1. Vishal Shekhar rock. If they have someone ahead of them, it's only Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
2. Association of good people always brings great result. Be it Vishal Dadlani singing for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy or Shankar singing for Vishal-Shekhar.

In short, Dostana is a quite good album. Almost all the songs of the movie are at least so good that you can find yourself humming them in a week or two. Though, a few aren't going to take that long.

The first song Jaane Kyun, which has nothing to do with the 'Jaane Kyun' of Dil Chahta Hai or even its type, the soft romantic, is just a fine song with okay lyrics and good music. Though I feel the song should have been named as 'I'll be all right'.

The next song 'My desi girl' starts with a bang, and is also a surprise as the voice that we listen is unmistakably that of Shankar Mahadevan. It seems like Shankar returns a favor after Jhoom Barabar Jhoom where he got a song sung by Vishal. The song, as it's clear by the very first lines, is going to be a hit. The song is almost the same type as 'pretty woman'. In the mid of song, Sunidhi also joins the song, and gives a fine rendition to her lines maintaining the pace.

The next song is a complete shock-and-awe for the first time as we listen to our own, Indian crazy frog singing 'Munda saada Doli Chadh Gaya Band Baj Gaya'. The song is a punjabi song with a lot of masti attached to it. The first line 'Maa da Laadla Bigad Gaya' itself explains the mood of the song. The crazy frog keeps on coming in for his lines at times, adding more to the song. Yet another hit, not so much for Saleem's voice, but for the frog's.

The third song, Shut up and bounce is a song that will take some time to get to your tounge, but is sure to reach there in some time. There are very less chances you'll like it in the first time, but Karan Johar will make you listen. And probably in months, if not weeks, you can find yourself dance to the song in some party. That's from my experience with 'It's the time to disco' and after listening to Dostana for three-four days.

Now some serious business. Amanat Ali is finally here. Actually I once took a wild guess and thought it could be him. Because this wonderful voice was sure to reach bollywood. It belongs there. Fifth track 'Khabar Nahi' is absolutely wonderful. You may like it in first listening or love it after some listenings, but the song is sure to touch you. Vishal's rendering of 'Mere Maula Maula' in the song is wonderful too.

The last song is 'Kuch Kam' sung by Shaan. A soft romantic love song with touching lyrics and slow music. In short a typical Shaan song. :)

The lyrics of song are quite good and lovers of slow-soft touchy-feely songs will love the song instantly. Though the lyrics are a bit on the sad side, it's not very clear until you listen to it carefully.

In short, Dostana is quite good an album and if you are out of Rock On!! and want something different now, just go for it. Look for Desi Girl, Maa da Laadla, Khabar Nahi and Kuch Kam. With four good songs in the album, I hope you won't be at least disappointed.

Hari Puttar: Home Alone?

If you thought Hari Puttar is the desi version of Harry Potter, you are wrong. But there is something that is right, Hari Puttar seems to be INSPIRED by Home Alone series. The movie seems to be quite inspired from the source, be it the story or the scenes, as I could find scenes from Home Alone in the promos itself.


The movie has been set in a desi environment and subsequent changes are there but the level at which copying is done, I have doubts whether the director will be able to make the movie worth watching for Hindi-only viewers, leave alone those who watch English movies. Though I must admit Zain Khan is looking good in the movie, I don't think he looks much like a ten-year old as claimed by the movie.

In fact, after seeing the promo, I am once again thinking if we really lack subjects for children's movies, because except occasional good ones from a few people like Vishal Bhardwaj (Makdi, Blue Umbrella) or Sangeeth Sivan (Halo), we don't have much to give to our children, and when something comes, it turns out to be 'Inspired' from a Hollywood movie.

Anyways, I hope the movie makes a good watch for Children at least.

Well Done, Farhaan!

I am a regular Orkuttee. 12 days ago I started a poll on Farhan's Orkut community asking which role Farhan Akhtar was better at: Was he a better actor, or was he a better singer, or was he equally good at both, or should he have just stayed a director as he was good at neither.



The poll was answered by 161 people out of which 101 said Farhan Akhtar was equally good as a singer and an actor.

47 people said he was better as a singer.

12 people thought Farhan was a better actor than a singer.

And one guy said he should have stayed a director only.

Well done Farhan! I guess you couldn't have wanted more. Keep rocking. Indian youth is loving you.

Welcome Mr Moitra

Welcome to Sajjanpur. I had no idea this movie could have songs that would make me dance instantly or songs featuring distinct artists like Mohit Chauhan and Madhushree. In short, the music of Welcome to Sajjanpur has quite unexpected things attached to it. Now we shall see how GOOD it is.


The keyword to the music of Welcome to Sajjanpur is 'Sitaram'. I guess you can buy the CD to keep on listening to this one song. A fast track semi-bhajan, something like Hare Krishna Hare Ram of Bhool Bhulaiya, which has the potential of making people dance. The song is there in two versions, normal and remix, and both the versions are too good to miss.

Now let's talk about the rest of Album. Rest of Welcome to Sajjanpur is nothing as good as the first song, but not bad either.

I guess time for duets is over now. The second track, Ek meetha dard De ke would have been better without a female voice. Maybe this is so because of 'different' male voices today, like that of Mohit Chauhan and Atif. Mohit has always been better singing alone. Still, the song is fine and may be liked by those loving soft romantic tones.

Number three, Bheeni Bheeni Mehki Hawayen, is again a soft romantic song, but this one leaves no impact on the first few listens at least. Though a few notes are good, and may be liked after sometime, the song has a few flaws like mismatching lyrics, with words from a village dialects and at the same time Urdu ones too.

Fourth song 'Dildara' is Sunidhi in her typical mood. With the lyrics of the song, one can guess it to be an attempt at making another Beedi, but a little difference. And the difference remains, though the song is worth listening. A fine song in Sonu and Sunidhi's voice.

I guess that's all about songs in Sajjanpur. The next one, Aadmi Aazad hai is something like Salaam Kijiye of Aandhi. It's a satirical song on the condition of Indian democracy, probably pictured on Yashpal Sharma in the movie. Good lyrics that one might like in the movie, but won't help the album otherwise.

And then comes Munni ki Baari, another song which is somehow similar. I think u can guess all about the song as it's all sung in a Eunuch's voice.

And, the end comes in as the remix version of Sitaram Sitaram. For this one, Shantanu Moitra deserves an applause as the remix is not one of those lost-in-the-remixes'-crowd. It's worth listening to.

Fonal verdict is that Welcome to Sajjanpur is an album which has got a few very good songs, or at least song, and overall the effect is not bad. In case you don't mind buying album for one good song, you can bet on this one. The keyword is 'Sitaram'.

Teri Bandagi (Drona)

Abhishek Bachchan's Drona might not be much loved by music critics, but there are some notes worth a note too. Here I talk about one, Teri Bandagi, that is almost a signature of Roop Kumar Rathod along and quite unusual for Sunidhi Chauhan.

Teri Bandagi is a beautiful, slow song sung by Roop Kumar, Sunidhi, and supported by Dhruv, the composer for the movie. The song starts with Sunidhi singing in a mood that is mostly given to mostly Shreya or others, with Roop Kumar Rathod coming in and bringing a touch of Maula Mere Maula and Teri Justajoo.

The lyrics of the song are good too. You can have a look at the starting lines.

Pal Chhin Pal Chhin Uljhi Uljhi ik raina
Dhadkan Dhadkan bikhre bikhre se chaina
Meelon chale hai gusum ye khamoshi
Kitna bhi samjhao man ye maane na
Teri bandagi..
Jeene jeene na, jeene na teri bandagi..

So, if you like slow songs, I guess you can go listen to Teri Bandagi and decide for yourself. Hope you will like it.

Arjun Rampal: Second and Loved

Arjun Rampal could never find a place in Bollywood, even after having a few good movies to his credit, like Gaurang Doshi's Aankhen. But now, Arjun is having a second lead in most of his movies, and is being loved more than he was as a solo hero.

The best example of this case was Rock On!!, where Arjun was loved by one and all. Even though Farhan Akhtar was the lead of the band and the movie too, Arjun Rampal got his presence felt throughout. In fact, people said it was his best ever performance.

Rock On!! was hardly out of people's minds when Last Lear hit the theaters. And today, every critic is busy praising Big B and Arjun for their performances in the movie. Yet again, this is not a solo lead performance by the model-turned-actor, but Arjun is getting more and more praise.

Last year also Arjun had been good in Om Shanti Om where he played the so-called villain of the movie. It seems it was OSO where Arjun got a kick start. Well, whatever it is that kicked start him, we just wish he goes better every time.

Good Luck Joe! Keep Rocking.

Chandni Chowk to China Postponed

Kal Ho na Ho director Nikhil Advani's next movie, Chandni Chowk to China, starring Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone has been postponed to January 16th, 2009 from the previous release date of Diwali. The movie, shot mostly in China, is Warner Brothers' first Indian movie.


The movie, CC2C, (the name given by its website) has many interesting aspects related to it. The movie is supposed to be aprtly based on Akshay Kumar's life. Nikhil Advani has also said that Deepika will be having a double role in the movie.

On the music front, things are interesting too. While the composers are Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Kailash Kher also has done some music composing for the movie. Kailash had previously given music for Pranali, a story on Devdasis and of course composes music for his own album's tracks.

Madhur Bhandarkar: In no mood to stop

Fashion is all set for a children's day special release on 14th November. But Madhur, with everything set, seems in no mood to stop, or even take a break. While we still have two months to go for the release of Fashion, the first look of Madhur's next movie is out. They call it 'Jail'.

Jail, which has Neil Nitin Mukesh in lead, is expected to release on May 1st, '09, as per the producers, which include Percept picture company along with Bhandarkar Entertainment. Here is the first poster of the movie which shows Neil behind the bars.


Jail is a hard-hitting story of an ordinary man Parag Dixit who finds himself inside the four walls of a prison due to a series of unfortunate events around him. The film is from his point of view and tells the stories of several other inmates, as it happens in almost all Madhur Bhandarkar movies.

Vinay Pathak: Time starts now!

Vinay Pathak's time has finally come. After playing side roles in various films and getting noticed in every one, Vinay has made a place for himself in the film industry, and now he is getting more from it.

This October can be a wonderful experience for the actor because as per current news, two movies of Vinay are slated for a release on 10th October, both of them having him in the lead!!


Interesting, isn't it? A person who was seen only in comic roles until a few months back, is now going to have two movies of 'his' released on the same day.

The two movies of Vinay are Dasvidaniya and SRK.

Dasvidaniya is a situational comedy in which the hero, that is Vinay, knows that he will die in three months and hence prepares a list of ten things he would like to do before dying. I guess Dasvidaniya might make a wonderful movie.

The second one, SRK, if as interesting as its name, can work wonders too. In the movie, Vinay plays the title role of SRK, that is, Shivaji Ramchandra Khote. In SRK, Vinay has Rituparna Sengupta working with him, who was in Main, Meri Patni aur Woh also, along with Manoj Joshi and Dilip Prabhavalkar, who had played Gandhi in Lage Raho Munnabhai.

Talisman: Big B's New Look

Talisman is the new movie of Amitabh Bachchan that is to come quite late in time. The movie is a Vidhu Vinod Chopra production and will be directed by Ram Madhvani. Ram is the person who had specially directed one song, 'Bheja Kum' in Aamir Khan's Taare Zammen Par. (the one in which all letter-insects are running towards Ishan Awasthi)

The movie seems to be quite inspired by Chandrakanta, Neerja Guleri's hit serial on Doordarshan which was subsequently based on Devki Nandan Khatri's play of the same name.

Here is a promo of the movie.

Horn OK Please: Trailor

First song of Nana Patekar, Rimi Sen and Muzammil Ibrahim starrer Horn OK Please/Pleassss is out. The music for the movie is given by Lalit Pandit of Jatin-Lalit duo. The movie is slated for an October 10th release.

Soniye Je Tere.. (Karzzz)

In the series of Himesh Reshammiya's Karzzz, here comes song number 4 -- Soniye Je tere. The video is just fine and so is audio. Check it out.

Rock On: Movie review

Well, I may be biased to some extent as I was seeing the movie with my friends, before my convocation day. But there is no doubt Rock On is a good movie. And most probably more than that.

Three things that come out of Rock On!!

1. Abhishek Kapoor is a director now. He deserves to be counted.
2. Arjun Rampal is an actor now. Superb acting by him.
3. Farhaan akhtar is a singer now. I do not know the sur n taal but he rocked. Especially in Tum ho to, where his voice counts a lot more than in other songs.

Another thing that can be said about the actors' performances is that Koel Puri is more than a show girl this time and Prachi Desai is okay too. Purab Kohli can act, to some extent.

But the top credit goes somewhere else. Hats off to Shanakr Mahadevan - Ehsaan Noorani - Loy Medossa. The Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

They rock it man. They are the three, No, the one, who rocked it all the way.

Rock on is a story of friends, partners, basically a rock band who want to do it. But then they lose and then there is life. And then, through a series of incidences, the past comes in front of them.

Now, will they be able to make it?

The answer, of course, is a yes. But the way movie talks about relationships, friendships, and problems of life against one's own wishes, is what is worth seeing.

And then, the music makes is worth listening all the time. In fact, even crying out loud those songs in the crowd of a hall full of students, the way it turned out for me.

Technically speaking, the movie is quite sound. The way director unfolds the story of past is good too. Farhaan Akhtar is the film's hero and does a fine job, though there is scope for doing much, much, much better. ;)

Actors have mostly given good performances. Luke Kenny is quite good too. Cinematography is wonderful in some places, though director has mostly tried to go simple. The family tensions in Farhan's home have a bit too much of dialog that could be done better with more silence. But even with them, the movie doesn't go heavy.

The final note: If you are young, Watch it. You should like it. And if you are not young, watch it if you want to be young again.

PS: The most unique feature of the movie according to me was the one line appeal at the end. Do not download music. Buy a CD.

Well done guys. Keep rocking on!!

Heroes Trailer

Cast: Salman Khan, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Mithun Chakraborty, Preity Zinta, Sohail Khan, Vatsal Sheth, Dino Morea, Amrita Arora, Riya Sen.

Music Director: Monty Sharma, Sajid-Wajid.

Cinematography: Binod Pradhan, Gopal Shah.

All a movie can need after this much is a good director. Hope Sameer Karnik does that this time.

Watch out for the Heroes this diwali.

Hari Puttar Arrives

Watch the trailer of Hari Puttar: Comedy of terrors.

First Trailer: Fashion

The stage is all set for Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion. Watch the first trailer of the big flick.
Fashion stars Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Mugdha Godse, Arbaaz Khan, Harsh Chhaya, Madhur Bhandarkar, Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra, and Neil Nitin Mukesh.

Shail Hada: There again

He came in rocking with Saanwariya. He got no acclaim. No awards. And almost no nominations. But he is here. Again.

Shail Hada had a bang with one song, the title number of Saanwariya. But I could never understand why, why didn't he even get a nomination in most of the award functions. Monty Sharma had given him the best and Shail had performed.

But then, there was no name of Shail on the charts where Monty received his due credit almost everywhere.

Now that Monty is back with Chamku, there is a new voice for Bobby Deol that I find different. You guessed it right. It's Shail Hada again. Once again, Monty has shown his belief in the singer and the result is there.

I hope Shail will be having more films in the future. After all, if Ranbeer can get the credit for copying Raj Kapoor, why can't Shail get the same for copying Kishore?

Tahaan

Tahaan. A movie by Santosh Sivan. Arrives this September.


I think after seeing the past works of Santosh Sivan and the promos and stills of the movie, I can advertise this movie. Santosh has made some wonderful movies, my favorite Halo being one of them. I remember seeing and loving Halo when I was a child myself, and then, reading praise for Halo as a technically sound movie.

And now there is Tahaan, a movie based in Kashmir. A story of a nine year boy Tahaan and his donkey Birbal.

The movie stars Purav Bhandare (kid), Anupam Kher, Sarika, Rahul Bose, Rahul Khanna and Victor Bannerjee and is scheduled to release in September.

Watch the promo of Tahaan.

Dostana Teaser

Karan Johar's new flick Dostana. Starring Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra. The teaser is out.

Cine Blogs

Our cinema is speaking. In a different language now. In a language that is more clear, guileless, and simple. Yes. It's blogging. Blogging is something that has been taken well by the Indian Cinema. Cinestars are jumping into the blogosphere one after the other.

So here we have them, the actor-bloggers.

Amitabh Bachchan at http://blogs.bigadda.com/ab/

Here we start. And so does the film industry. Amitabh Bachchan, the Shehenshah of Bollywood, is one of the most popular bloggers in India, may be the world. In fact, when we talk in terms of PageRank given by Google, Amitabh's is the only blog that scales 5/10, highest among Indian film stars.

The secret of Amitabh's success, his dedication, can be seen on his blog too, as it is updated almost every single day.


Aamir Khan at http://www.aamirkhan.com

The second in the list is Aamir Khan. Aamir too is quite regular and writes on various topics, that include his life, his films, and more.


Shekhar Kapur at http://www.shekharkapur.com

Film maker Shekhar Kapur is one of the most serious cine bloggers of India. Shekhar also writes on various topics (literally) and blogs quite regularly. Recommended entry. Especially if you want to know how intelligent filmmakers can be.


Salman Khan at http://duskadum.blogspot.com

A normal blog. On a normal platform. That's the reason Salman Khan is known as masses' hero. Nothing much to see though, except the humility that comes in with a blogspot platform.


Karan Johar at http://www.mynameiskaran.com

Oh yes! Our very own Karan Johar has also started blogging. And by now, he has written on quite a number of topics, most of them related to movie, mostly his movies. But a good blog still.


Other Bloggers in the industry are Gul Panag and Pooja Bedi, who are not that regular. We hope they write on too. And also that there are more bloggers in the industry. Waiting for those from SRK and RGV.

Karzzz

If you are a Himesh Reshammiya fan, it's good news. The music of Karzzz is all set for a grand release on 25th August, almost 2 months prior to the release of the movie which is scheduled for a October 17th release, thus ensuring you listen to Himesh bhai for at least two months on music channels.

The soundtrack of Karzzz consists of 9 songs and 10 remixes, hence 19 tracks in all. You must have heard the pieces of Lut Jaun, Tandoori Nights and Hari Om by now. (In case you haven't, check out the videos at the end of article)

Karzzz also has two versions of the super popular Ek Haseena Thi (Oops! It was Urmila) in Himesh's voice of course. It'll be worth seeing what Himesh makes of the masterpiece sung by Kishore Kumar.

Among other songs, 'Lut Jaaun' sounds good and 'Hari Om' will find a place in not very long time. 'Tandoori Nights' is not looking as good but remixes of the song should do better.

Rest will be known only when movie releases. Though one thing sure is that even though the music is good, Karz of Laxmikant-Pyarelal is not going to be repeated.

Here are the released videos from the movie.

Lut Jaun



Hari Om


Tandoori Nights

A Wednesday

The second half of 2008 is seeing a lot of 'different' movies coming up. Be it Mumbai Meri Jaan, The Last Lear, Tahaan, or even Chamku. The new name in the list is A Wednesday, the directorial debut of Neeraj Pandey with a rock solid cast of Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher and Jimmy Shergill.

The story revolves around a Mumbai Police Commissioner who gets a call demanding four militants' release in exchange for information on bombs set in the city. And then, events follow, on a wednesday.

I hope the movie is worth a watch. Check the trailor here.

Ru Ba Ru

Randeep Hooda is back. The tough guy in D is back with his new movie ru ba ru that is going to be a romantic flick. The movie is directed by debutant Arjun Bali who has previously made a lot of ads and short films. In the movie, Randeep is opposite another debutant Shahana Goswami.

Here is the first song from the movie which I quite liked. Hope you like it too.



Randeep is also coming in Ketan Mehta movie Rang Rasiya or Colors of Passion which is based on the life of famous Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma. In Rang Rasiya, it's Nandana Sen opposite Randeep.

Mit Jaaye.. Kidnap

"Hell is right here Raina!"

The last sentence of the Kidnap promo, and the not-gonna-fight guy of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na suddenly starts looking like can-do-anything hero of Bollywood movies. And next, there is a song. Yet another from Pritam, who has been with Sanjay Gadhvi in Dhoom and Dhoom 2 also, but has given a bit different music this time as far as this new song from Imran Khan's new flick Kidnap suggests.

Check out for yourself. Here we go.

Listen to Drona

The first sound bites of Drona are here. Abhishek Bachchan's long awaited movie Drona is going to release on October 2nd and you must have seen the First promo of the movie, that reminds me of Alchemist, to be true. But now, here is some music from Drona, the first song to be launched, the title song of Drona.

Music of Drona was supposed to be given by Ashu-Dhruv, the talented duo that gave Mera Pehla Pehla Pyar (MP3) music. But the credits in first song show only Dhruv Ghanekar, reminding me of Jeet-Pritam, which later turned into Pritam alone.

Well, more shall be seen later, but for now, check out the video of the first song from Goldie Behl's 'Drona'.

The Big Friday

22nd August was surely a big friday, as there were six movies lined up for a release, though some of have been rescheduled to coming week or other. What 22nd August did not see was Chamku and C Kkompany, but what it saw is no less. It was Maan Gaye Mughall e Azam, an already praised Mumbai Meri Jaan, and a hyped Phoonk.

The results have been quite okay too. While MGMA turns out to be a not-too-bad comedy, Mumbai Meri Jaan is a decent movie for those who like serious cinema. But most important of all, this Friday brings Phoonk, the black magic story, which seems to be the end of the black magic working on Ram Gopal Varma.


Phoonk has been praised by most of the critics and moviegoers are once again finding it possible to go for a RGV movie, which had in itself become a scary thing for past some time.

On the Other hand, there is Mumbai Meri Jaan, a movie that brings in five different stories which center the serial bomb blasts that took place in Mumbai local trains on July 11th 2006. Mumbai Meri Jaan is a fine work on a sensitive subject by Marathi movie director Nishikant Kamat who won Swarovski Trophy in 2006 for his film Dombivli Fast.

Chamku: Will Bobby shine?

The music is superb, at least those two songs lines of which every channel surfer has learnt by heart now are really wonderful. The promos, at large, are good and indicate the movie might be good too. Most positive point, the movie doesn't seem to be one of Bobby Deol.

Yes, Chamku is no Apne or Jhoom Barabar Jhoom if promos are to be believed. The only doubts are whether the movie will be technically as sound as it seems in the first look? And still bigger question, will it bring about the much needed change for Bobby Deol as an actor?


Though I feel, after seeing the bits of his next movie 'Ek-the power of one' with Sangeeth Sivan, that Bobby will be again Bobby after this movie, I hope there might be some change in his image and serious movie makers might like to take him for 'different' roles. (though I feel Sangeeth Sivan is a good film maker, Ek didn't impress me)

As far as the movie is concerned, I have much hopes from the movie not only because the promos are good but also because of it's director Kabeer Kaushik. Kabeer has to his credit 'Seher' which was an absolutely wonderful movie, while the actors were Arshad Warsi and Mahima Chaudhri, not to forget Pankaj Kapoor.

More will be clear on 29th August now as the release of Chamku has been rescheduled from 22nd August, of course because of 6 movies clashing together. I hope Chamku shines well.

Himesh Reshammiya is back with Karzzz

I don't care whether Aapka Suroor was a hit or a flop, I don't care whether people liked it or not, I don't even care whether people think I can act or not, I will do what I feel like.

That seems to be the attitude of Himesh Reshammiya when you see the first promo of Karzzz. And what's the second thing? The music, the song you listen to. It really feels good to listen to 'lut jaaun lut jaaun lut jaaun, main lut jaun, uss karz mein'. Either it's different, it's better. Or it's just that we are listening to Himesh Reshammiya in a new album after a long time. Whatever the reason be, Karzzz will be something to watch out for when it's music releases on 25th August.

For now, try to make up with the video that shows Himesh with Urmila and a new actress.

Jaago: Small Movies by Big Directors

A few months back I saw a short film called Positive, made by Farhan Akhtar, starring Boman Irani and Shabana Aazmi. I loved the film. Later I found there was another movie called Blood Brothers, that was around the same topic, AIDS. And today I found a blog entry on PFC that reviews both these movies along with two more. Here it is:

Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, for one of their project on helping humanity, have united with 4 directors Mira Nair, Farhan Akhtar, Santosh Sivan and Vishal Bharadwaj to co-produce 4 short films on issues regarding AIDS education and awareness. These short films are taking the AIDS awareness on more personal level with some beautiful and some incredible journeys involving blood relations, lovers and strangers with urges either sexual or just plain human.

1. Migration (2007).
Directed by: Mira Nair.
Written by: Zoya Akhtar.
Starring: Shiney Ahuja, Sameera Reddy, Irfan Khan and Raima Sen.
URL: MIGRATION

Migration is a set of parallel stories between a husband and his lover, husband?s wife, a mason worker his wife and infants. This short is very well directed, right from the drought death visuals to marine drive tides. The cinematography is eye catching. Thanks to Shiney Ahuja?s speaking eyes and Irfan Khan?s emotions for his lover, one way maybe. The core message of the story is delivered by sex education street actor Vijay Raaz with Beedi song in the background. Its the unconventional migration that is thought and written by Zoya Akhtar gives a different but convincing journey. It was exciting to see marathi stage and screen actress Sulabha Deshpande as Sameera?s mother-in-law, little has she changed from Choukat Raja?s (1991) mother.

2. Positive (2007).
Directed by: Farhan Akhtar.
Written by: Rajesh Devraj.
Starring: Boman Irani, Shabana Azmi and Arjun Mathur.
URL: POSITIVE

Positive is the story of AIDS awareness for a family as one of the members becomes HIV positive. The effects of it in a broad picture and a very tiny extremely personal point of view is very well written by Rajesh Devraj, whose future writings are Farhan Akhtar starrer Fakir of Venice and Shashanka Ghosh project Quick Gun Murugun. Boman Irani is fantastic with his lowering speaking abilities and at the same time with the desires of a young photographer to capture something. But it needed Farhan Akhtar?s trick to bring out the moment absolutely necessary for this story. The moment when Arjun?s character is positioning the rose in the window. This is perhaps the same transformation moment that occured in Dil Chahta Hai (2001) when Akash (Aamir Khan) calls up Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) only to realise subconsciously he dialed Sid?s (Akshaye Khanna) number. Incredible. Shabana Azmi is short but plays the character who has already past previously mentioned transformation.

3. Prarambha (2007).
Directed by: Santosh Sivan.
Starring: Prabhu Deva and Skandhas.
URL: PRARAMBHA

A truck driver (Prabhu Deva) finds an unknown boy Kittu (Skandhas) hiding in the back of his truck. Truck driver finds it unsolvable to get rid of an unknown boy riding with him. Kittu hands him a letter written by his mother with an address. Truck driver agrees to take him there. But then out of humanity he finds himself on a quest to make the people around Kittu realise what he feels for kittu. This movie is a cry out towards those strangers who might have some humanity left in them. Prabhu Deva does a great job. His apological and optimistic smiles are the driving force for the audience and kittu as well. Skandhas as Kittu is nothing short of a applauding performance. He represents the understanding son, rejected school friend and a happy boy. Though there aren?t many opportunities for Mr Sivan to use his lens he still captures the moments that do not need words.

4. Blood Brothers (2007).
Directed by: Vishal Bharadwaj.
Story idea by: Matthew Robbins and Ajit Ahuja.
Starring: Siddharth, Pavan Malhotra and Ayesha Takia.
URL: Blood Brothers

This story brings in the most courageous factor in the AIDS awareness. The point of view of the main victim, the one with the disease. This is the best short among the four. An ordinary man hears his doctor say that he is HIV positive. Devastated by the news he gives up on his life to find something that out smarts him. This is an absolutely astonishing story. This movie proves the fact that you do not need 1000 cuts in a 5 min movie to make it interesting. Though non-linearity exists in the narration it never seems a cliche by the creation of scars on Siddharth?s faces. This short challenges the viewer by putting in the shoes of the protagonist and ask them what if? Kudos to Mr Bharadwaj. This one is a must see.

Overall rating: 8/10.

Original text here. You can also search for these movies on Youtube yourself. They are there too.

Chandni Chowk to China

If you missed Olympic and wonder how Chinese look, or if you feel bored seeing promos of Singh is Kinng all the time, or if you want to see more stunts coming from Akshay Kumar than he's performing in Khatron ke Khiladi, Chandni Chowk to China may be a good option for you.

Here is the first look of Chandni Chowk to China which is expected to release this Diwali, on 24th October.

Hello

It was literary. But now it's about movies. The second bestseller from Chetan Bhagat, 'One Night @ The Call Center' is going to hit big screens as 'Hello'. Salman plays Chetan in the movie and Katrina is in a special appearnce too.

Here is the much awaited first promo of the movie.



The movie, directed by Atul Agnihotri, is expected to release on September 19.

Can God survive past Ranbir?

August has been interesting in the movie circle and is expected to be interesting in the coming weeks too. With Singh is Kinng getting the it-had-to-be-like this huge response and Bachna ae Hasino and Rumy Jaffrey's God Tussi Great Ho slated for the next week, the battle seems far from ended.

Ugly and Pagli which came on 1st of August survived well and is expected to work with multiplex audience whereas Singh is Kinng is guaranteed to work well in public theatres, especially small towns and all.

Bachna ae Hasino which is set to see an August 15th release is expected to fare well too. And seeing these two, God Tussi Great Ho may find the going a bit difficult.

The interesting thing is that coming next week, things may get more confusing if movies release as per the dates available now. In present scenario, there are 6 movies that are to release on August 22nd: Tusshar's C Kkomapany, Bobby-Priyanka's Chamku, Rahul Bose-Mallika starrer Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam, Mumbai Meri Jaan, My friend Ganesha 2, and finally, Ram Gopal Varma's Phoonk.

Of these, Chamku, Mumbai Meri Jaan, and to some extent Phoonk look strong, though none of them seems to be a mass movie. My Friend Ganesha may find it difficult to reach their audiences. C Kkompany holds nothing special and should survive somehow for a few weeks. It will be worth seeing also if Rahul Bose works with Mallika as good as did Ranvir Shorey.

End of August brings Hijack which is not looking as strong on promos as it was going on talks, and Rock on!! that may well find it's new base among younger audiences.

Basically, after Singh is Kinng, there is not much that can be said about movies in August, but one thing that is sure is that we can find some good material with Chamku and Mumbai Meri Jaan out there. I wish Chamku is not another movie wasted by Bobby Deol as he's looking promising after a long time. Mumbai Meri Jaan is good on cast too, and the previews have been encouraging.

Mumbai Meri Jaan

It was a movie I had loved the promo of. Recently I found a review by Anurag Kashyap on in.com which is here.

Possibly India?s ?Crash?.. or i don?t know how else to describe it..Saw the rough cut , on Nishikant?s avid.. he wanted to bounce it off me and i was cleanbowled.. again the familiar feeling went through me.. why did i not think of it and why did i not make it..

The film begins in a police station with cops discussing sunil more(the marine drive rape case), one(Vijay maurya) of who is going on a holiday and the other(Paresh Rawal) counting his last few days in the service..then it introduces us to the computer salesman(kaykay) with his unemployed friends in a irani cafe talking about cricket and you also see that he has a phobia of muslims or probably distrust and hatred, then you see the bicycle coffeeseller (Irrfan) who is fond of perfumes and then the film introduces us to the bite hungry TV journo(soha ali khan) and her boyfriend who disapproves of her job and how they are indifferent to the the subjects of their story and she defends it (before she herself becomes a story) and finally we see the US phobic executive(madhavan) who prefers to commute to his work by local train and not invest in a car.. and then Nishikant tells us the day and date of all these random observations into the life of people..

It?s the 9th of july 2006.. the numerous blasts in the train and what it brought out in people.. some of them victims.. their fear and paranoia.. Kaykay is sure that the suspicious muslim guy who hangs out at the irani cafe is one of the perpetrators of the tragedy and his subsequent rage and loss of innocence.. Madhavan?s mortal fear of trains.. his unaware pregnant wife of the tragedy that almost missed him.. Irrfan wanting to avenge his humiliation in front of his family by the floor incharge of the perfume section by figuring out a dangerous game that he can play with the paranoid distrusting police and administration.. the wisdom of the retiring cop always in confrontation with the idealistic cop who had to cancel his holiday.. and the tv journo who has now become the story.. anger,humility, fear and fearlessness, paranoia, self realizations, hate and self loathing, all surface over the facade of the perfect lie of a life we dream of in a metropolis..

It tells us of a beautiful time and the way city was before the national security became the ultimate excuse for invasion of privacy and privacy became such an aspiring word..Outstanding performances by a stellar cast and the best ever of their lives by Paresh rawal and Soha Ali Khan.. an incredible and courageous followup to DOMBIVALI FAST by NISHIKANT KAMAT..

The kind of a film that we all need to go see it in theatres and take our friends along with us, this film needs our effort for the sake of the kind of cinema we talk animatedly about. Spread the good word.

Find the original review here.

Exclusive: Ishmeet in Pics

Here are a few pics taken from Ishmeet's Album.

The voice of India

Ishmeet with his favorite Daler Mehndi

With Diya Mirza

With Hard Kaur

Singing with Kavita Krishnamurti

In a jolly mood, singing Mauja hi Mauja with Shahid


Ishmeet with Malaika Arora

With Lata ji, the godess, in Ishmeet's words