You may be/ You're the one (Aladin: Vishal-Shekhar)

First words: Listen to it. Now we can start. A song that is probably the best song by Vishal-Shekhar, equivalent to Tu Ashiqui hai according to me, with Khuda Jaane somewhere close. But doubtlessly, Vishal and Shekhar bring to you one of their best songs ever, in their own voices. Yes, this is the first song Vishal and Shekhar have sung together with nobody else there. While the entire song is beautiful, the second part of the song is sung with absolute finesse and the way they pair up the voices towards the end is just wonderful. Here are the lyrics of the song, with some repetitions removed.

Lyrics:

You are the one you are the one
baby you are the one
you are the one you are the one
baby you are the one
You may be, just a little bit deewani
Thodi thodi si crazy
But baby you are the one
Tum Jaisi, hai na koi yun deewani
Thodi thodi si crazy
But baby you are the one
Ab aur kisse na chahta hoon aur kisse na chahunga
Tu jo taare maang le to woh bhi tod laaunga
Kehke to dekho na karta rahunga main pyaar

You may be just a little bit deewani
Thodi thodi si crazy
But baby you are the one

Haule haule hamse ye hawayein jaane kya keh rahi hai
Kehte kehte phir zara laja ke dekho chup reh rahi hai
Baat hai to wohi Dil mein thehre kahin
Sapno ko mere hain bas ik tera intzaar

You may be, just a little bit deewani
Thodi thodi si crazy
But baby you are the one

you are the one you are the one
baby you are the one
you are the one you are the one
baby you are the one

Khuley khuley teri aankhon mein hai mere armaan saare
Khile khile aise hai ke pheeke pheeke hain sab nazare
Hai naya ye jahaan ke hua la yahaan
Itna kabhi bhi kisi ko kisi se hai pyaar
You may be, just a little just a little bit deewani..
Thodi thodi si crazy Tuhi to meri baby

you are the one you are the one

Ab aur kisse na chahta hoon aur kisse na chahunga
Tu jo taare mang le to woh bhi tod laaunga
Kehke to dekhona karta rahunga main pyaar
Tum jaisi tum jaisi hai na koi yun deewani
Thodi thodi si crazy
But baby you are the one

you are the one you are the one
baby you are the one
you are the one you are the one
baby you are the one....

Music Review: Aladin (Vishal-Shekhar)

A R Rahman looks out of form and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are lost somewhere. Amit Trivedi is giving music for a song or two right now and Mithoon is out of scene. Himesh is not composing for movies that don't take him as hero and even Pritam is composing lesser nowadays, that is, not counting the likes of All The Best. So who is there to rely upon? Salim-Sulaiman.. and maybe Vishal-Shekhar.

Oh yes, the 'we-don't-want-to-give-just-hits' duo is there with Aladin. And look what they have brought. No, it's not another Mohit Chauhan song. They still don't need an Atif Aslam or a Neeraj Shridhar. Not even a Sonu and KK this time. They were asked to compose for a children's flick, and they have done EXACTLY that.

Aladin is an album that contains some freshness, and people like Amitabh Bachchan, Sudesh Bhosle, and Shankar Mahadevan behind the microphones. And when they had to come up with a love song, Vishal and Shekhar took the task in their hand and together they sang the song I've listened to at least 30 times in past 24 hours.

Genie Rap/Make a Wish: Amitabh Bachchan is certainly one person who moves with time. The album opens with a song that is sung by Amitabh Bachchan and Anushka Manchanda. Now that's a combination. Well, After rapping up with Abhishek for Bluffmaster, Vishal-Shekhar rap it up with the Big B and the result is certainly good. Catch it on TV if you haven't yet.

Tak Dhina Dhin: The song takes me right back to the days of Kishore Kumar when he used to sing happier-than-thou songs for Amitabh. The song is certainly a good one for a children's movie and must be liked in the movie. Shankar Mahadevan gets full marks for his singing while Shaan is OK.

O re Sawariya: If you thought there could not be a 'Rang Barse bheege chunarwali' again, you were right. But Vishal-Shekhar do their best to prove you wrong. Sudesh Bhosle, the voice of Amitabh in many songs joins Big B himself for the song and almost take you to that age. O re sawariya is a track full of Masti that you would like probably in the first listening. Check it out.

You may be: OK. First words: Listen to it. Now we can start. A friend on Twitter said it was the best song ever by Vishal-Shekhar. My say was that the song was equivalent to Tu Ashiqui hai and Khuda Jaane was also somewhere close. But doubtlessly, Vishal and Shekhar bring to you one of their best songs ever, in their own voices. Yes, this is the first song Vishal and Shekhar have sung together with nobody else there. While the entire song is beautiful, the second part of the song is sung with absolute finesse. My last words here about the song again are, 'Go, listen to it.'

Bachke O Bachke: A bit repetitive, but likeable. Another song that is something like Tak Dhina Dhin, or a mark below that. Should go well with the movie. But one thing is sure, Vishal-Shekhar are making better songs for Shankar Mahadevan than Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy right now.

Giri giri: One song that is below the mark. The song is sung by Sanjay Dutt and is not very good. In fact on audio alone, the song is barely passable. I hope the song has some interesting sequence attached to it so that it is worth watching in the movie.

The album has two remixes, the genie rap and O re Sawariya. Both the remixes are OK. In fact the original Genie Rap is quite like some remix of an old song and remixed, it doesn't sound much new. O re sawariya, though, had scope for remix which is used fine.

Overall, Aladin is an album that targets its audience, something that is not much seen nowadays. The thing becomes even more difficult when the target audience of the movie happen to be children. And Vishal-Shekhar have performed their task quite efficiently. Other than that, there is one song, you may be, that is better than any song released in the past some time. So I would rate the album as a good. A 4 on 5. Especially for being good where it needed to be.

My picks: You May Be, Genie Rap, Tak Dhina Dhin.

Ten reasons NOT to watch What's Your Rashee (IF u need)

1. Do not watch the movie if u listen to ur elders. All critics said NO.
2. Don't watch it if u r a true Gandhian and do not want to see bad, hear bad and speak bad too. Once u watch the movie, all three are bound to happen. U'll see and hear bad, and ultimately speak bad about the movie.
3. Because your family needs that money more than Gowariker. He has earned a lot from his good ones.
4. Because your friends always want a treat. At least wasting money on treat will make u good for sometime.
5. Do NOT watch the movie if you're a Hritik fan and cannot see anybody copying him badly.
6. Because it's the Docomo age. Every second is worth something. 3 hrs and 17 minutes certainly are.
7. If you are a die hard Ashutosh Gowariker fan. And want to stay that way.
8. Because there is still hope. Hope that Wake Up Sid, coming next week, will be better than this. Amen.
9. Because we do not want Ashutosh to think that he again made a blockbuster and fight everyone. Every ticket contributes towards making a film blockbuster.
10. So that you remain sane and healthy, and your family happy.

I hope this post doesn't reach Ashutosh Gowariker. Don't want the big man's fury.

Ten reasons to watch What's Your Rashee

If you are thinking of watching the big movie, (ya it's big. three hours and 17 minutes, with 13 songs in there) and are still not able to find your reasons, try finding some here.

1. Watch it if you do not remember what the twelve Rashees are. This will be easier than reading Linda Goodman.
2. Watch it if you want to see 12 completely different hair styles on the same girl and save money from 11 other movies.
3. Watch it if you were planning to do a research on Gujjus of Mumbai.
4. Watch it if you still think Ashutosh Gowariker cannot make a bad movie and all critics are idiots. U must be punished then.
5. Watch it to sleep without pills. Right before the movie starts is the best time. Anytime, though, is good enough.
5. Watch it if your girlfriend is bugging you for a movie. You can have some time out of theatres after this.
6. Watch it for the 12 times Priyanka comes on screen to show the name of the next zodiac.
7. Watch it if you're a Hritik fan so bad that you can watch even his duplicate playing the hero.
8. Watch it for "Hamari koi Shakha nahi hai."
9. Watch it if you're still thinking of watching the movie.
10. Watch it because... if... for... Can't get more. Exhausted.

The Failed Challenge: What's Your Rashee

Ashutosh Gowariker has been a man of challenges. The big guy who made a movie on Cricket in India and still made it work has been on a mission challenge ever since his first biggie Lagaan as a director. And Challenge after challenge he even proved himself. But finally, finally, here comes something that fails. At least fails to reach the standards Ashutosh Gowariker has set for himself.

His first movie as a director, Lagaan was a hit. A huge one. Which was a big deal considering movies on Cricket hardly work, be it a recent Hadippa, Stumped, Victory or Hat Trick. But since Aamir Khan's presence didn't let Ashutosh take all the credit and Aamir got more that equitable share.

Then Ashutosh went for another challenge, that of making with both Shahrukh Khan and a good story, something that rarely happens and probably has been done by only Shimit Amin better than Gowariker, with Chak De India.

Winner of the challenge, Ashutosh put himself to an even bigger challenge. Of making a period film. If I had doubted the success of Swades, I was sure of Jodhaa Akbar's flop fate. But Ashutosh proved me wrong when he dragged Indians into cinema halls for a three-hour-plus movie on Akbar and Jodha Bai.

And then, he announced a comedy.

The guy who could not bear with Sajid Khan on an award show stage, had decided to make a comedy. The guy who was so serious with his movies that he could not keep himself shut and blurted out how some other actress could win an award against his movie's actress, was going to make a comedy. I had to declare another flop, irrespective of the number of challenges Ashutosh had won for himself. And he did it. He finally lost a challenge. Even from the most optimistic angle, What's your raashee is not a movie that matches the standard of Ashutosh's last three movies.

Although, in parts I like the movie and Priyanka Chopra has been simply fabulous in many roles, say most roles, there is not much in the movie other than that. Harman Baweja could have lived a much better life had he entered the film industry 7-8 years before he did. I see Hritik Roshan in almost every action of Harman. Just like Sehwag.

Also, Darshan Zariwala is great. Anjan Srivastava doesn't get much to do in the movie, and Gujju acts of the movie are well-performed. Music is mostly okay to good and goes divine in Bikhri-Bikhri si zulfein hain kyun. Well done Sohail Sen for that.

Now, we hope that the big guy with an academy nomination learns something from this experience too and gets us something new and good again. So What's Your Next Challenge, Mr Gowariker?

Some More Female Voices, Please!

It's a male dominated world. And since the film Industry is a part of this very world, the industry is, fortunately or unfortunately, male dominated too. And recently, I have noticed a newly developing aspect of the fact. We have less and less female singers behind the microphones now.

Did you notice neither Tum Mile nor London Dreams has a single female singer in their credits. The concern goes worse when one says both the movies are musicals, Tum Mile, with Pritam trying to give his best compositions/collections, and London Dreams, based on singers' lives itself. Still, there is not a single song in either of the movies where you get to hear a female voice.

While in Indian film industry the fairer sex rarely gets a fair share in anything, getting no share at all in a field like singing is new and strange. Previously we have seen many examples of movies with female voices appearing in just one or two songs. Also, there have been movies based on certain subjects where we have less songs or songs based on certain characters, be it Dosti of Laxmikant Pyarelal, or Taare Zameen Par.

Going by music composers, A R Rahman, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal-Shekhar, Salim-Sulaiman and Pritam can be considered as major music composers. While A R Rahman quite regularly gives some songs to Madhushree for a long time now, Shreya Ghoshal is a main league singer who has found place in Rahman's choices.

Vishal and Shekhar also seem to have a few songs for Sunidhi Chauhan and Shreya Ghoshal in their albums. In fact they have admitted that at times, they compose certain songs with these singers in mind. Salim Sulaiman don't use the voices of Sunidhi and Shreya regularly but they seem to experiment with newer or lesser known voices like Shruti Pathak, Neha Bhasin and Hema Sardesai.

Pritam is generally found using a voice or two for his dance numbers while he relies more on band singers like Neeraj Shridhar, Mohit Chauhan and even Atif if available. Last time when he tried to put all these singers in duets, in Kismat Konnection, the results were not very good and probably that's the reason he is coming up with less and less female voices, finally to give an all-male Tum Mile.

As far as Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are concerned, they tend to take lesser known or no female voices for their albums. While their London Dreams has no female voices, Wake Up Sid's only song with a female voice is the one composed by Amit Trivedi. Their Heyy Babyy had just one song sung by Shreya and Taare Zameen Par had no female singers except in backgrounds.

So, what is the reason we have lesser and lesser female singers now? Are various reality shows any measure? Because almost all of them seem to have a male winner except a few Saurabhis and Sanchitas. well, I do not think that it's men who sing all the good songs. And variety is something we will anyways, always need. I hope we not only have more singers like Mohit Chauhan and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan but also like Sunidhi, Shilpa, Anushka and Sona. Are the composers (all males) listening?

Jashn hai Jeet ka (London Dreams: Abhijeet Ghoshal)

Jashn hai jeet ka is a song I've fallen in love with. First thing, I love the lyrics of the song. It reminds me of Shakespearean classics, especially Julius Caesar as the singer claims himself to be the King of the world saying aasma mera ab aasma mera. He even says that he doesn't believe his old friends (Et tu, brute) while he renders majhi pe mujhko nahi ab thoda sa bhi aitbaar, and celebrates his victory like anything. Also, the song has some fierce music and Abhijeet Ghoshal has sung the song in its spirit. Here are the lyrics penned by Prasoon Joshi.

Lyrics:

Sun le khuda gaur se zara
aasma mera ab aasma mera

(neend tod ke khwaab ud gaye
aasma mera ab aasma mera
badal bheench ke honth tar kiya
aasma mera ab aasma mera
main to akele chal diya haathon mein le ke patwar
majhi pe mujhko nahi, ab thoda sa bhi aitbaar
jashn hai jeet ka jeet ka jeet ka
jashn hai jeet ka jeet ka jeet ka)-2

chhale kai talwon mein chubhe kahin bhale kai
jalti hui kahin thi zameen
taale kai dard ya ki sambhale kai
hauslon mein rahi thi kami
hum abhi ad gaye
aandhiyon se lad gaye
maine dhakel ke unhe chheen ke le li roshni
mere hisse ke ve savere, mere hisse ki zindagi
jashn hai jeet ka jeet ka jeet ka
jashn hai jeet ka jeet ka jeet ka..