DJ Munks.com

One of Bollywood’s most expensive movies made to date.. that is “VICTORY“.. What a waste of money..!! I knew this movie would be a nothing special.. what I did not know is it is going to be below average. That’s exactly what this Herman Baweja & Amrita Rao starer is…

So if you are wondering how come such an average movie is that expensive in the making… then the answer is that it was shot mostly in Australia and India and then it has appearances by some of the biggest names in Cricket making guest appearances throughout the movie. Plus since the movie is about Cricket, it is shot in some of the biggest stadium’s in India to full crowds. Obviously they did not pack stadiums out for the shooting but they certainly came close and pump in a lot of money to give it a real feel.

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PLOT

Cricket is not just the national sport of India but a part of everyday life for most Indians. As the movie says, “It’s not a craze.. It’s not an obsession.. It’s a way of life!” and that is entirely true. The song “We love Kirket” from the movie aptly describes the importance of Cricket in our lives and is a great song too. The movie starts with this song and goes flashback – straight to the pitch where our star Vijay [Harman] is whacking every ball out of the stadium at his local ground. His proud coach & father [Anupam Kher] are celebrating every shot and hoping that after 7 years of failure he finally gets selected for the Ranji trophy matches. He doesn’t make it again due to politics and is heartbroken. His family pushes him to keep going and send him for a practice match in Jaipur for the Indian team hoping he can impress the coach there. He does go and impresses and is selected and taken into the Indian team. He leads the team to a few brilliant wins and suddenly is the top name in the game.

He signs a deal with manager Gulshan Grover for millions of advert deals which gets him off the game and more to chasing money. He has now lost focus and respect for his father and friends. He is injured with a back problem but hides it from his coach and continues playing in the team and making no contributions on the field. He has become a dull player which starts frustrating him and he decides to reveal the truth. His manager threatened by this and the losses declares him to be a traitor and that he hid all this for money. He is now being hated and booed all over. His father is hit by a stroke in shock and left paralysed.

He is now sorry for his doings and decides to make things right. Gets himself operated and returns to his form and back to the team after a 6 month ban. His coach hates him and doesn’t let him play but they now need him for the final where it all comes down to his performance. He plays exceptionally well but then is hurt and needs to be taken to the hospital. He refuses to go and comes back to the ground to deliver his team from a sure loss. He is the respected hero again and his father forgives him too.

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REVIEW

If you are expecting something extraordinary in this sport movie like Chak De India or Iqbal then forget it… Age old story format that raises the lead character to the high peak and then makes mistakes to disappoint everyone. Realises & comes back with a bang to set things right. When will our directors and producers start thinking out of the box?

The movie runs in a fast forward format. You start relishing a scene and it has already jumped to the next part. The edit and screenplay are absolutely rot. You would expect the thrills that come in any game.. but in this movie the thrills are not gripping that come in the last sequence. You don’t feel the tension.. that is all because of poor Direction.. and because they show something outrageous like the hero comes and makes runs at an average of 25/over when he is hurt !!!!

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- Catch appearances by Kamran Akmal, Mohinder Amarnath, Allan Border, Stuart Clark, Martin Crowe, Dilhara Fernando, Brad Hogg, Sanath Jayasuriya, Simon Jones, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Brett Lee, Shoaib Malik, Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ashish Nehra, Yusuf Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Kumar Sangakkara, Ishant Sharma, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Harbhajan Singh, Maninder Singh, RP Singh, Michael Slater, Graeme Smith, Pat Symcox, Sohail Tanvir, Chaminda Vaas, Waqar Younis and many more..

- Mazaa aa gaya song is well shot. All credit to Ganesh Acharaya for fab choreography.

- Harman is much better than in Love Story 2050. Still not good enough though.

- You get to see the life of a sportsman and his family. The struggles and hardships that go along with dreams and desire to achieve.

- The cricket parts are very realistically shot keeping in mind actual scenario’s and obviously with actual players.

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LOWLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- Thank God the cricketers dint have to act much. Even a few scenes by Harbhajan & Nehra make it clear they cannot act to save their life.

- No chemistry between Harman and Amrita. Barely any romantic scenes either.

- Dialogues are absolutely dull and boring.

- Direction, edit and screenplay are average. The movie is not griping. You don’t feel the pain or the excitement of the characters. You cant relate to his mind set. All this because it seems as if the director shot it in a long detailed flow but then had to chop it off in the edit to keep it within 3 hours.

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FINAL WORD

Below Average – 4/10 .

Victory is unique for the concept and effort of getting so many Cricketers feature in a Bollywood movie. This truly shows how global the Bollywood industry has become and the money involved. But hey .. this movie also shows that coming up with something original on the story front is still very difficult for Bollywood. They also need to realise that just showing great locations, great stars and touching the sensitive area’s of life like Cricket will not give them a hit. So please grow up and give us something sensible !!

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The first insight I got about the music of Delhi-6 was in an interview with lyricist Prasoon Joshi when talking to him about the music of Ghajini. I had asked him what the chemistry is like between him and Mr. Rahman. All he said was, “We are working together on the music of a movie called Delhi-6. Listen to that and you will know”. I think for any music lover that one line wraps up anticipation and expectations !!

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Last time the team of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Prasoon Joshi and A. R. Rahman got together one of India’s most acclaimed and highest grossing movie was made with the name Rang De Basanti (RDB). The music of that movie made an equal impact and touched/inspired millions.

Blessed are these three and Thank you to them for creating Delhi-6 for I have not heard anything like this in an era. Just when you feel Prasoon cant get better with the pen (after Maa & Guzarish) and Rahman has delivered his best ( with Ghajini, Jaane Tu.. ya Jaane Na, Slumdog Millionaire ) , Mr. Mehra steps in and inspires a creative epic in the form of Delhi-6.

The music touches different aspects of Delhi and its life in romance, faith, beauty, fun and classical tradition. Bollywood has a growing obsession with Delhi and especially Chandni Chowk area of old Delhi ( Oye lucky.. lucky oye, Chandni Chowk to China ). For those who dont know, the “6” in the title refers to the pincode of the Chandni Chowk area in Delhi and so the music revolves around the lifestyle of that area.

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REVIEW

Everyone in India knows about the musical brilliance of A R Rahman. People in UK know about that too through his musicals like Lord of the Rings and Bombay Dreams. Now.. the whole world knows about his capabilities with his current rise to fame as being the first Indian to win the Golden Globe for the soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire. Rahman proves with Delhi-6 that he can outdo his own self !!

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Track 1 – Masakali – Truly innovative, harmonic and melodious in all possible ways. Usually songs that come at the start of the year fade out of our memory by the year end when you get to judge the best songs of the year. I am very sure Masakali will not just remain fresh in our minds but will also win that best song title !! The lyrics are truly fun and the work of a genius. You would expect such lyrics from the old guru’s like Javed Akhtar or Gulzar. But young Prasoon Joshi proves that linguistic and poetic abilities have not faded in our generation.

Cant praise Mohit Chauhan’s vocals enough. He makes this song what it is !! Deep and soulful. Rahman does his magic with a superb Bass guitar work with Harmonica, Bongo’s, Ghattam, Accordion and an amazing classical style violin orchestra. The music creates an atmo-fun-sphere around you in which you can visualise the carefree attitude of the characters. You wont find anything missing or expect anything more out of this song – 10/10 .

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Track 2 – Arziyan – I am a big fan of Javed Ali’s singing abilities ( Jashn-e-Bahara, Guzarish, Ek Din teri rahon mein, Nagaada nagaada ). He prove’s it yet again why. This time he has Kailash Kher for company. Rahman goes back on the lines of his typical Islamic Sufi religious songs like Khawaja Mere Khawaja & Piya Haji Ali. This time only better. This 9 minute long song is serene and pious. It will make you believe in the power of simple music and gratitude to God and you won’t come to know where 9 minutes have passed. Tabla, harmonium, and bass are the simple ingredients that make this a perfect combination with Prasoon’s amazing lyrics. Truely soul touching 8.5/10 .

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Track 3 – Dilli-6 – Remember ‘Khalbali Hai Khalbali’ in RDB ? This title track takes you right there. The song is very cool & groovy. A variety of singers including Blaaze, Benny & Tanvi add the extra zing factor to the track. It also has French vocals provided by Viviane and Claire. I don’t remember when was the last time a Bollywood music director decided to add a French touch to they soundtrack. There are certain things only Rahman can do !! Lyrics are plain and ordinary. This song is for it’s youthful cool quotient and not it’s deep lyrical factor. 7.5/10 .

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Track 4 – Rehna Tu – A Rahman OST is never complete without a song in his own voice. Especially if it is a romantic one… This composition could have been used by any International band and delivered a worldwide hit with it. The song is truly Global and unique. It even breaks into an Arabic style chorus in between and Karnatic towards the end. It has Rahman written all over it.. It’s all him.. !!

If you can manage to get your attention off Rahman’s sublime and suttle vocals then listen to the lyrics. I think they are better than those of Guzarish. One can play this song and make anyone fall in love with them.. Romantic at it best – 9/10 .

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Track 5 – Hey Kaala Bandar – I dont get this track and don’t know why it’s there on the OST… Perhaps the only disappointing track on this CD   Lyrics are crooked with crap English rap. Music is stylish but not enough. Plus it has inspired parts from Yuvraaj’s ‘Dil Ka Rishta’ song. Vocals by Karthik, Naresh, Srinivas and Bony are good but don’t stand out. We need to wait and watch how this song is placed in the movie. Might make more sense then.. For now lets ignore it. 5/10 .

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Track 6 – Dil Gira Dafatan – Rahman is known to introduce new singers all the time. But this time he plays a gamble with singer Ash King. He gives him brilliant romantic lyrics but barely any music.. relying all the way on his vocal delivery. Does it work?? It sure does.. It’s Rahman & Prasoon backing Ash after all. His voice has a deep classical and vintage Bollywood texture that I simply love. At the start, the ‘Dil Mera’ chanting itself makes a lasting impression and sets the tone for the rest of the song.

Lyrics are as good as Track 4 Rehna Tu. The orchestration, altough minimal, is the best I have heard in a long time. The violin’s & spanish guitar just take you away on a journey. The composition is simply brilliant. Put this song on repeat – 9/10 .

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Track 7 – Genda Phool – This short track has some of the best classical female voices of the present time. Rekha Bharadwaj, Sujata Majumdar, Shrradha Pandit and V.N Mahathi contribute to this shocking song. Why shocking?? The song opens to Rekha’s folk rustic vocals and then just out of nowhere a brilliant funky beat kicks in leaving you stunned !!! Is there any style or musical trick Rahman can’t execute ?? This time Rajat Dholakia adds to the composition making it a ‘out of the box’ track. Perfect for wedding Mehndi functions. I can’t get enough of this 8.5/10 .

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Track 8 – Bhor Bhaye – A pure classical track has not been heard in any Bollywood OST for years now. Rahman brings the magic back in it’s purest form. I am trained in classical music and I assure you the Thumri Gujri Todi is not easy to deliver.. and nor is what Rahman has managed to deliver here with a perfect transition and mix of the original recording by Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and the new breath-taking rendition by Shreya Ghoshal. Kudos to her for making this sound effortless and truly Hindustani classical.

Prasoon Joshi shocks us here with his talent and knowledge of Indian music and poetry. He has written additional lyrics to a decades old classical piece maintaining it’s true flavour. Love the Tabla and Harmonium on this track. I can’t imagine the time Rahman and his team must have spent on cleaning up the original recording for today’s clear digital release. The mix sounds perfect !! This track should be used as a case study in Sound Engineering courses… A masterpiece – 9.5/10 .

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Track 9 – Aarti (Tumre Bhavan Mein) – Sitar, timbals and voice. This combination has been the highlight of religious classical music in India for centuries. Rahman brings back his ‘O Palanhare’ formula from ‘Lagaan’ only this time to traditional lyrics and composition. Rekha Bharadwaj, Sujata Majumdar, Shrradha Pandit & Kishori Ashok Gowariker render this Hindu Aarti in its purest form. You can’t help but feel overwhelmed in these 3 minutes. 8.5/10 .

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Track 10 – Noor – Amitabh Bachchan features to wrap up this album with a monologue poem. It does not have to be music all the time. Some times words say it all. This 50 second piece talks about Love for that one special person who you see everywhere and in everything. 8/10 .

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FINAL WORD

Brilliant – 9/10 .

I recommend tracks 1, 2, 3… Damn.. chuck it.. I RECOMMEND THE FULL ALBUM.. !! Please go buy it.. It’s worth every penny. True to all expectations and a must have in every music lovers collection. The album is a genius musically, lyrically, vocally and even as far as the engineering goes. Big up Rahman, Prasoon Joshi and Omprakash Mehra for brining it all together !!!

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UK PREMIERE ON THRUSDAY 29th JAN ’09. WORLDWIDE MOVIE RELEASE ON FRIDAY 30th JAN ’09.

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I saw the trailer of Luck By Chance at the Ghajini Premiere in London and I instantly built up really high hopes from this movie. The colourful clips, the texture of the shots, the cast, the music.. it all seemed so well put-together in that one minute trailer… And guess what.. LBC does not let you down !!

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The members of the Akhtar family are known for their talent and effortless brilliance in the Indian film industry. Zoya Akhtar joins the family trade in style !! She has the eye for attention to detail, the sanity for a good story, the elegance for a good script and the touch to sparkle every shot. At the same time she has the class that  every Akhtar has including Shabana Azmi.

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PLOT

This Bollywood movie is about “Bollywood“. Its different from the others made in this genre in story style where it gives you an insight into every character and their little life story.

The movie is mainly about 2 aspiring actors played by Konkana Sen and Farhan Akhtar who want to get somewhere in this hugely notorious industry. Farhan Akhtar falls in love with Konkana during his struggling days. He gets lucky and then plays a little crooked to get the lead role in a movie being produced by a huge Producer [Rishi Kapoor] & his wife [Juhi Chawla] launching his brother as a Director [Sanjay Kapoor] with a new female lead [Isha Shervani] who is the daughter of a famous old Bollywood queen [Dimple Kapadia] which happens when the Superstar [Hritik Roshan] drops out of the movie to do another Karan Johar film.

His life and personal commitments change to favor his career. He leaves Konkana & his friends behind in a circle of lies till reality hits him and he decides to come back to the people who loved him when he was nothing.. only to find they have moved on and left him alone to his stardom.

Let me clarify.. the story is NOT about Farhan Akhtar.. It’s about Konkana Sen.. Surprised..?? Its true.. I hate ruining stories so I will leave the details for you to discover when you watch this movie..

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REVIEW

LBC is a very light, fun, colourful, charming, artistic and aspiring movie with great music. Nothing too brilliant about the story if you notice… It has traces of many movies made to the tune of the Bollywood industry and aspirations + hardships of aspiring actors who will to succeed at any cost in this big intoxicating industry. But what is brilliant about LBC is how simple & light this movie is !! It has no action, few intense emotional scenes and full of light humour making it a great family movie. It shows the different aspects of movies and different characters associated with the industry. It brings out the stereotypes with simple character driven jokes about them that will keep you giggling throughout the movie. The full cast of the movie does a commendable job as fas as projecting their character is concerned but none of them out-stand and share the limelight from the other great actors in the movie. Everyone is equally good.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- Special guest appearances by the best in the industry. The movie starts with Aamir Khan !! Other names include Sharukh Khan, Kareen Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Ranbir Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna, Vivek Oberoi, Manish Malhotra.. did I miss anyone..??

- Farhan Akhtar & Konkana get along brilliantly as the leads with style and quality acting.

- Rishi Kapoor & Juhi Chawla are hilarious. So is Sanjay Kapoor.

- Dimple Kapadia is intense, strong and charming even now..

- Isha Sharvani is cute and fits the bill well. Hritik is sublime and still very noticeable in his short role.

- The art work and cinematography are colourful and very pleasing.

- Music is the best with Shankar-Eshaan-Loy doing their magic. Even the background score & Sound design are great.

- Zoya has done a great job for her directorial debut and sure can write a good story. Farhan can write some mean dialogues too.

- The twist at the end in the story is totally unexpected and well thought. Also, no character or element of the movie feels out of place. Every thing in the movie fits well with each other like a complete jigsaw.

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LOW-LIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- Some scenes of the movie seem a little stretched. You do notice 2 hours 40 minutes passing by.

- It is a slow movie, no doubt, and thus will let your attention go off the screen every now and then.

- A few strong emotions and challenging scenes could have made this movie more appealing.

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FINAL WORD

Very Good – 7.5/10 .

Its the second big release of 2009 after a disastrous Chandni Chowk to China and it is a HIT for sure. How big a hit is what we have to wait and watch. Must Watch..

Keep it for a relaxed evening after a quite dinner for light-feel-good entertainment. It doesn’t promise laugh riots but sure will make you giggle and smile every few minutes.. Kudos to the cast and crew.. !! It’s not Luck .. just plain Talent !

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Aamir started it .. Sharukh follows… Remakes of South Indian films is becoming a trend. It was Ghajini first and now we have Billu Barber which is a remake of a Malyalam movie.. only this time we have the big name of Priyadarshan associated with it along with Sharukh Khan’s production house Red Chillies Entertainment. So when it comes to Sharukh’s name being associated with a project especially under his own banner than we know it has to be a commercial bonanza. The album is thus no surprise…

The man of comedies from South Priyadarshan is another commercial and masses man. Thus the obvious choice is to bring Pritam on board. He delivered some of the biggest hits of 2008 with movies like Singh Is Kinng, Kismat Konnection, Race, Jannat and many more. Forget the fact that most of his music is inspired or copied. The bottom line is he deliveres music that is loved by the masses and thus super-hit in all aspects. Hence a wise choice to have him on board in a movie that is packed with item numbers with the hot dusky beauties of Bollywood shaking it up with the King Khan himself.

But the question is… Does Pritam deliver yet again.. ?? Lets hit Play and find out…

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REVIEW

Track 1 – Marjaani – Pritam tries to re-invent an already used formula of Mauja hi Mauja in this song. Exactly same beat pattern and style with Punjabi vocals. It starts with an Arabic feel to it with prominent use of Udu. Very clean vocals by Sunidhi and Sukhwinder Singh. Lyrics do make sense.. it’s Gulzar after all. It has a prominent bass line that keeps up with the beat and thus a great club number. Very Bollywoodishly shot with Kareena and Sharukh and thus a sure shot hit for all parties. As a DJ I am already blasting this track all over UK. but cant compare it to Mauja can we ? It’s fair to give it a 7/10 .

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Track 2 – Love Mera Hit Hit – Neeraj Shridhar and Pritam are a great team. But what on earth is this song all about!!! Pritam just got a little tooo carried away and lost it..  Senseless lyrics, basic beat pattern, reverb’ed vocals, repetitive… but very catchy and good use of flute in it. I like the rap parts. What a relief to know it’s not Gulzar Saab’s lyrics. I would have been dead of shock.

This is one of those songs that if you listen twice, it will stick in your head and you will keep humming the punch line. Then you will abruptly stop and hate yourself for getting hooked on such a stupid number. It’s dumb, but somehow works in a senseless way. Another club hit with an electro bass. [ Hate it when I have to admit something good in a senseless thing :@ ] . 4.5/10 .

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Track 3 – You Get Me Rockin & Reeling – Now we are talking. Neeraj finally gets to do what he is best at. A light romantic number with all the elements to become a big hit eventually once they start promoting it after they are done with Marjani and Hit Hit. This song deserves all the raves for its western with Indian blend. The English parts are refreshing but sound familiar. Pritam finally proves a point on Track 3. A must listen. 8/10 .

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Track 4 – Ae Aa O – This sounds like a song written by Neeraj in his college days for his Bombay Vikings launch but failed to ever make it anywhere with it. Great vocals by K.K as always but the song doesn’t work. It’s neither catchy, nor great lyrically and hangs half way between rock and cool pop. The dirty guitar and KK are probably the only good things in this song. Just another college anthem.. but not cool enough. 6/10 .

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Track 5 – Jaoon Kahan – Sayeed Quadri pens this beautiful sad song and Raahat Fateh Ali Khan comes yet again to Pritam’s rescue. The song is very situational and relatable to the story of a poor barber faced with hardships and dis-ownment of his family and friends. Sad songs are an integral part of most Sharukh movies. This one not one of the best but I like it. 8/10 for the lyrics, vocals and to Pritam for trying something different for a change .

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Track 6 – Billoo Bhayankar – Gulzar comes back with this fun packed song which is my favourite on this album. Very authentic, traditional, rural and true to the flavor of the character played by Irrfan. It suits the movie title and I can imagine it in the climax and at all happy times in the movie. Kudos to Gulzar and the singers Ajay Jhingaran, Kalpana & Raghuveer who clearly outshine all the other regular pro singers on this album !! It reminds you of ‘Khaike Pan Banaras Wala’ from Don.. only peppier and more fun.. Pritam now has new found respect by me for his work on this track. 9.5/10 .

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Track 7 – Khudaya Khair – This is just the desi version of You Get Me Rockin & Reeling. Evidently more Bollywood with the same chorus like. The orchestration is good but nothing new or different. Pritam hasn’t done much here plus the vocals by Soham are ordinary. So much so they dissolve Gulzar’s lyrics. Listen to track 3 rather than this. 6/10 .

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Track 8 – You Get Me Rockin & Reeling (Video Edit) – It’s the same as Track 3. Things they would do to fill up an album and make the soundtrack look bulky. Dominic does the female vocals on this and they are good no doubt. But ignore this track. 6/10 for doing anything different except a female singer.

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Track 9 – Love Mera Hit Hit (House Mix) – DJ Amyth tries to rescue a messed up track with his House beats. He does rave it up no doubt.. but his best bet would have been to remove the vocals and keep the music for a simple House track. 5/10 .

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Track 10 – Marjaani (Kilogram’s Balkan Mix) – I usually like Kilogram’s mixes but not this one. Too much experimentation !! A Bollywood song with Punjabi lyrics to a house beat with a very prominent Arabic feel and a Spanish chorus bridge. Doesn’t work.. It’s Overdone !! Original is much better. 4/10 .

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Track 11 – Khudaya Khair (Reprise) – It’s a pleasure to hear Abhijeet’s voice after a long long time. His voice was used for Sharukh for such a long time but then he went low with so many new singers on the block. He comes back in a more acoustic version of Track 7 and does it so much better. The singing senior proves a point to the freshers. 8/10 .

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Track 12 – You Get Me Rockin & Reeling (Remix) - Oh come on !!! What would it take for Pritam to leave a good track along. DJ Suketu always does a good job & you don’t doubt his talent in this mix.. but why this track..?? The remix does no good to an already great number. 5/10 .

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Track 13 – Ae Aa O (Remix) – I never like DJ Nikhil Chinnappa & DJ Nawed’s remixes. This mix is no different. Plain useless. Waste of 5 mins of listening time. Mr. Nikhil please stick to being a VJ. 4/10 .

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Track 14 – Marjaani (Electro House) – DJ Sunil and Spinz do a much better job than Kilogram. Electro is the most popular dance genre in India at the moment and I can already see this mix being spun on a repeat. It’s a slow soft electro mix with a clean electro bassline and good playing around with the vocals. The Dj’s are not trying hard to impress and thus is pretty good. I recommend this mix. 7/10 .

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Track 15 – Love Mera Hit Hit (Remix) – Although it has Delhi boy NYK & DJ Chetas on it.. I still don’t want to listen to it. Just had enough of this rubbish track. Whatever they try with it.. It’s not going to work. Bass gives u a headache on this track. Not mixed well either. 3/10 .

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FINAL WORD

Overall Average – 6.5/10 .

1, 3, 5, 6, 11 and 14 are my recommended tracks. Rest are as easy as hitting the skip button on the remote. Well Pritam does answer my initial question. He surely has still got it.. but it is wearing out !! He has become inconsistent and is going all over the place in some songs but then comes back in a few. Probably, that could also be because of the Sharukh & Priyadarshan influence. You decide..

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Producer Sandiip Kapur & Director Anand Kumar’s forthcoming comedy movie JUGAAD stars Hrishita Bhatt along with Manoj Bajpai. This very small budget flick promises all emotions with a comedy twist. Hence the music should be a good package with lot of variety. The hugely talented guitar player and pop star Sachin Gupta comes in after giving the music of Dil Kabaddi and shares music direction credits with the soulful singer Krishna on this movie OST. Lets get playing and what’s in store in this 8 track album.

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REVIEW

Track 1 – Tu Hai Rab Mera – This song is all about Krishna the singer and music director. Very good start to the album. Soulful, deep, pure, harmonic and truly melodic to some lovely Punjabi lyrics by Rohit Sharma. A good ambient lounge track and the lyrics are very touching. I would definitely play it at my next wedding DJ booking as a background track for when the bride & groom take their vow’s. 8/10 for this one easy.

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Track 2 – Kise Awaaz Doon – Flute, acoustic Guitar and Sitar come in very beautifully in this composition. Adeel sings this song well but not very well. I can think of better singers for this song. Nonetheless, this song works for a good listen with lyrics by Mohd. Nasir. 7/10 .

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Track 3 – Tension Lene Ka Nahin – Neeraj Shridhar sings this title song which is simple and nothing out of ordinary. The punch line is definite to become a hit with the masses but rest of it plain average. 5/10 .

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Track 4 – Tabahi Tabahi -Mika & Richa Sharma try to create a club number with a stylish bass line but come out with a basic cheap track. Standard vocals with basic lyrics. Not good enough. 4.5/10 .

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Track 5 – Mushkil Halato Se Darna Kaisa – Krishna is back with more music and vocals but this time to the lyrics of Saahiel. Motivational track with a difference and good use of instruments to create a simple but effective harmony. Krishna is dynamic in this track rather than chillout. Fun track with a lyrical message. 7/10 .

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Track 6 – Kise Awaaz Doon (Remix) -This remix by DJ Sumit is just average and can be skipped. Even Adeel’s voice cannot save it and you will hate it after listening to the original. 3/10 .

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Track 7 – Jai Sai Ram – Santoor, Flute, Manjira and Tabla form the main components of this Bhajan. Religious songs in a OST have not been seen for long. ‘Halla Bol’ was the last to have a Shabad Burbani. This Sai Bhajan has been beautifully put together by Krishna with his charming vocals. Sure would make the God’s happy & so should make you too. Love the Santoor solo in the middle. 8/10 .

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Track 8 – Tension Lene Ka Nahin (Rock Mix) - Forget the original.. In the Rock On era, this rock mix packs a punch!! Sachin Gupta’s band NI9NE performs this song with a twist. A much better version of Track 3 and sure makes the title catchier. This song is sure to be a hit with most Indian rock bands for a live performance. 7/10 .

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FINAL WORD

Fair – 6.5/10 .

Tracks 1, 7 and 8 make this album. It sure has variety and the effort is good for new composers Sachin Gupta and Krishna. Both make a mark but I prefer Krishna’s work and would rather recommend this album to chill-out lovers.

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So lets make this straight & simple…

From the trailers we know that CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA aka CC2C is to be another slapstick senseless comedy from an actor I admire – Akshay Kumar. He is no doubt a very good actor and an overall entertainer. Recently he has taken up to (for God knows reason) making mindless movies that work mainly because of his charm and stardom along with some amazing marketing. So another senseless movie is no surprise and expected the moment you walk inside that movie hall. But what you don’t expect is that the movie is not just plain dumb but is not even funny !!!

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The London premiere on 12th Jan ’09 had all the perfect ingredients for a great evening. Red Carpet.. the biggies of the British Asian industry.. Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone themselves.. International star Gordon Liu… Director Nikhil Advani .. and even the SUPERSTAR dropped by to give his blessings to the movie launch.. Mr. Amitabh Bachhan was present !!

They took pictures, signed autographs and mixed around with the media in the most humble way. Then they took to the mic and Akshay proved he truly is a superstar and very funny guy too. The man clearly puts that CC2C is a “senseless movie” and one needs to “switch off their brain” to see this. Check out this video to see what he said…

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But then came the spoiler to a great evening !!  The movie started…

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PLOT

No particular story.. or not something you haven’t seen before. A small-time chef from Chandni Chowk wants to become rich and trying to do anything possible to get there. At the same time in China a local don is torturing the poor villagers. They land up in Delhi looking for a reincarnation of a mythical savior and assume our dear Sidhu to be the one. They take him to China and he falls for a model Deepika on the way. The Chinese crime lord is obviously not happy about someone come in to kill him. Deepika’s twin long lost sister works for the crime lord. Look alike confusion… Crime lord exposes dear Sidhu to be just a ‘nobody’ & kills his mentor Mithun Chakravarthy.

Sidhu swears to take revenge. Comes across Gordon Liu who used to be a cop and is the father of twin Deepika sisters. He trains Sidhu with Kung Fu and finally Sidhu uses his vegetable cutting skills to kill the nasty Crime lord to save the poor.. :-/

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REVIEW

Can’t do much with a predictable old forged story like that. The movie opens with Mithun kicking Akshay on his hind side every few minutes and he keeps flying in the air like a NASA launch vessel. Throughout the movie our dear Sidhu is carrying around and talking to a “potato”. And finally in the climax.. how does he defeat the inevitable crime lord ??  He fights him as if he is cutting vegetables with a Kung Fu combo and assuming our dear villain is a walking potato !!!!

Deepika’s second name in the movie is ‘Meow Meow’ and Ranvir Shorey’s name is Chopstick !!

Need I say more…..???

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

Well you would by now imagine there are none.. But there are a few. First of all, of the 3 hours of movie there are about 3-5 funny scenes !! That’s the only 5 times there was some noise in the movie hall. Silent otherwise.

Secondly, Deepika’s action scenes are pretty good. Some of Akshay’s too. The fight direction of the movie overall is impressive as per Indian standards and average as per Chinese movie standards.

Thirdly, locations are very well shot with lot of scenes on the Great Wall of China.

And lastly, I like the song SIDHU and the sound design of the movie is pretty good.

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LOW-LIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

Where do I start..

- Useless story. Dump antics. Cheesy not-funny dialogues.

- Worst role of Deepika you will ever see ( that also double).

- Akshay is upto usual overacting and looks very silly.

- The screenplay and edit is absolutely rubbish.

- Barely any Chinese influence in the music.

- Excessive use of Mandarin.. ( Chinese influence in the movie so that would be a good realistic thing wouldn’t it ?? But where did the realism go in the story..?? Where did it go when they jump of a building top and use an umbrella as a parachute..?? )

- Can’t believe Nikhil Advani directed this movie after making movies like ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ & ‘Salaam-E-Ishq’. What was he thinking?

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FINAL WORD

How about I be a little generous and give it 3/10.. That’s still pretty good for this movie!

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The movie sure is senseless but that is not the problem. It has been made in a shabby mindless way.. That is the problem !!

Akshay please give us something worth our money. Just because you take the camera around China and you are in it along with the gorgeous Deepika doesn’t make the movie worth it. It could have been a photo slideshow. You are a brilliant actor so please do roles that show your talent not your stupid antics.

That’s for Nikhil as well. Just because Sippy called you doesn’t mean you start a project with almost no script and story!!

Deepika.. You look great.. Please get back to modelling or get selective with your roles. You sure can be better than lot of fish out there.

NO wonder we are in recession.. They are wasting money on making movies like this. Please donate your ticket money and spend 3 hours with your loved ones rather than encourage Akshay to keep making numb movies like Singh is Kinng and CC2C…

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