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Am a big fan of director Nagesh Kukunoor’s work; Iqbal, 3 Deewarein & Rockford being my favourites. Am thus really looking forward to this movie. The biggest advantage this movie has is the massive name of Akshay Kumar associated with it. Hence the expectation’s are high from the movie.. NOT the music.. !!

Except for 1 song in Iqbal & 1 in Rockford, there is nothing extra-ordinary in the music of Nagesh’s films. From the trailers on the tele so far, the of music of this film seems no different.

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8×10 Tasveer is a psychological thriller under the Percept Pictures Company Banner & is produced by Shailendra Singh. Starring along with Akshay are Ayesha Takia, Sharmila Tagore, Girish Karnad, Javed Jaffrey and others.

Although Salim-Sulaiman are the main music directors for this OST, they have help from singers Neeraj Shridhar & Bohemia doing the music of their own tracks. Lyrics are by Irfan Siddique for the main tracks, while Sameer & Bohemia pen one each.

Love the cover with that look Akshay has.. sure does catch your attention. The package inside seems to be the common structure these days with 5 main song & 5 remixes. Lets find out if this OST has the zing..

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REVIEW

Track 1 - Nazaara Hai - We got the exclusive of this song a week before it’s release and thus have been listening to it since then. It’s managed to grow on me.. but just a lil bit. The deep electronic bass at the start caught my attention quite instantly but dint really enjoy the acoustic drums on this composition. The structure is quite standard rock with no innovation. Vishal Dadlani’s vocals are good but not the best. Suraj Jagan could have possibly done a better job. The lyrics are good & describe Akshay’s tale. The guitar solo’s in the 2nd half are great & make it better song. It’s one of the better rock songs with the recent trend of rock flavour in Bollywood music. 7/10 .

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Track 2 - Haafiz Khuda - Mohit Chauhan does what he does best again. But I guess I have reached a point when I want to hear a new style from him. His recitation style is soulful and heart warming but just like his other numbers; eg. Masakali. The compositional arrangement is simple acoustic instrumentation & sounds like a modern sufi number. Quite like the lyrics on this song with a strong Urdu poetry influence. Tulsi Kumar’s vocals are good too. 7/10 .

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Track 3 - Aaja Maahi - Neeraj Shridhar sings this song in his true Bombay Viking’s style with English lyrics at the start. Lyrics by Sameer are so simple and smooth that you can instantly fall in love with this song. Plus Neeraj ad’s his special touch to it not just vocally but also musically. His composition reminds you Chandani Raatein by Partners in Rhyme, except for the rock interludes. The lounge feel of this song makes it perfect for a romantic night with your partner. Quite like it but it sounds familiar to things you have heard in the past. Tulsi Kumar makes this song special. 7/10 .

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Track 4 - I Got The Picture - Be it getting RDB to the music scene in India from UK or Bohemia from USA.. Akshay always does it in style. This is the second time Bohemia comes together with Akshay after CC2C on Chandni Chowk To China. That track was average. This one is below average.. It fits the theme of the movie.. but does not fit Bollywood. Bollywood can only go till a certain distance.. Experiments in music genres beyond that don’t work. This one is like listening to Eminem - The Way I Am. 5/10 - only for trying something new.

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Track 5 - Kuchh Is Tarah - It is exactly the same as Haafiz Khuda but only with simpler & more romantic lyrics. I like this version more than Track 2. Salim-Sulaiman save on their composition work while Irfan does the main work of reviving the lyrics. Mohit & Tulsi give the exact same rendition to these alternate lyrics like Track 2. 7.5/10 .

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Track 6 - Haafiz Khuda (Remix) - Yet another wasted remix by DJ Amyth. This track so does not need a remix !! Also this remix does nothing much for the song commercially either. It’s light slow mix that can only be used in lounge mix warm up sets. 4.5/10 .

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Track 7 - Nazaara Hai (Remix) - Much better this time. Sounds like DJ Amyth put some thought in this remix atleast and has done a decently good job in converting this rock song to a Electro dance mix. I can see myself & many other DJ’s using this mix in their sets. Not a commercial hit though. 6.5/10.

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Track 8 - Aaja Maahi (Remix) - Don’t quite like this remix. It completely changes the feel of the original song with a very common beat pattern that you must heard on a few million dance tracks world over. Amyth tries to give it a trance feel but fails and manages to ruin the song all together. 4/10 .

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Track 9 - I Got The Picture (Remix) - Bohemia decides to remix his song himself without handing over any any rights to Amyth. I guess he heard his other remixes on this OST.. and thus.. a wise decision I say.. ! He literally cuts the song into half by bringing the 5 plus minutes original down to 2:46. I do like his work on this as he gives his dark rap a Bhangra touch with a funky break beat pattern. Works… 6/10 .

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Track 10 - Kuchh Is Tarah (Remix) - Cross Track 5 with Track 6 [5x6] .. What do you get..? Answer is not 30.. it’s Track 10. And the score stays the same.. 4.5/10 .

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FINAL WORD

Average - 6/10.

The actual score should have been 5/10 but I am being generous as I like Kuchh Is Tarah & Nazaara Hai a little more than the recent OST releases. T-Series the record label mess it up by adding below average remixes to an otherwise decent OST. 8×10 Tasveer is not for the masses nor for the classes. Kuchh Is Tarah & Aaja Maahi are probably the only 2 tracks that will get decent radio airplay in the romantic shows. The music composition, vocal performances & lyrics lack originality and the extra punch to make this album stand out.

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EK - The Power of One is supposedly going to be the next super action bonanza after Ghajini. Bobby Deol is set to bring to the screen what the men in his family are best known for - Action.. n lots of it.. !!

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Ek is a remake of Telugu movie - Athadu and is directed by Sangeeth Sivan who has previously done movies like Apna Sapna Money Money and Kyaa Kool Hai Hum. The man makes average movies so we don’t expect EK to be huge. But his movies always have decent music with a couple of songs that do well on the charts. Plus this is a K Sera Sera production and we have the man Pritam doing the music. The last decent piece of work from Pritam was Billu with a few tracks doing really well from the album. But Ek has been in production for a long long time. So am guessing the music of this must have been done by Pritam way before his recent projects.

He has Shabbir Ahmed doing the lyrics with him who has been quite busy recently with a number of Bollywood projects under his belt. He has been around for the last couple of years but he seems to be finally getting the big deals to work his pen on.

Lets find out what this 5 track album has to offer. I don’t have expectations for anything more than average here.

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REVIEW

Track 1 - Sambhale - “URL”.. funny name isn’t it.. lol.. That’s the man doing the rap on this track with Sukhwinder Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan leading the vocals. Sukhwinder’s vocals work the best for Bobby Deol so he must have been Pritam’s obvious choice and he does well too. Sunidhi sounds classy after a long run of flop songs in the recent time. The song has a wedding setup as seen in the promo’s and the composition does justice to that. It uses Dholak with a very simple 4×4 beat that you hear in most Mehndi songs as the primary instrument with Tumbi adding to the top end of the arrangement. The lyrics are simple with the Punjabi touch and are catchy. This song should work well in the UK with the wedding season coming up. It’s easy going but not the best wedding song you would have heard. 7/10 .

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Track 2 - Sona Lagda - This is mainly a Punjabi folk song with the original lyrics and composition. The music has been recreated and recorded by DJ Phukan and not Pritam. He does a decent job there keeping it simple and melodious. The best part of the song is the return of the lady missing from the vocal scene for a while now. She is the one who brought remix pop to India with tracks like Kanta Laga & Kaliyon Ka Chaman. Good to see she is still brilliant as ever. I like this track for it’s simplicity with which the romantic message is given out. Very Bollywood with the choruses as well. 7.5/10.

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Track 3 - Tum Sath Ho - Pritam got Abhijeet back in Billu with a second version of Khudaya Khair and now gives him a track of his own with Shreya Ghoshal.  I love his voice for it’s youthful flavour and Shreya compliments him very well too but with some unnecessary echo/reverb on her voice. Don’t really see why.. :/  The lyrics are good but not brilliant. They sound like you have heard them somewhere before. The music has drums as the main instrument with a prominent beat. It’s different than the usual romantic songs with a good blend of natural drums with flute. I find the end quite abrupt though. 6.5/10 .

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Track 4 - Bang Bang - Here comes a full fledged rock song with lyrics by Mayur Puri this time. This song is loud and sounds perfect to go with the action theme of the movie. I am quite impressed with the vocals of yet another Bengali dude Pritam sources from Kolkata. Rana Mazumder is the name of the man here whose voice perfectly blends with the instrumentation in this song. The dirty electric guitars on synthetic bass and power drums give this song a nice vibe to head-bang with. I think this is the best rock song I have heard come out of Bollywood in the recent times. 7.5/10.

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Track 5 - Sona Lagda (Kilogram Mix) - Remixes usually kill the vibe of such romantic songs. This mix is no different. I am not quite found of Kilogram’s mixes anyway from their recent spate of flop mixes. But for some reason Pritam likes them and keeps getting them on ! Not quite feeling this mix - 6/10 .

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FINAL WORD

Decent listen - 7/10 .

EK has no really big tracks and they have not filled up the album with a string of flop mixes and alternate versions like the current trend. Thus the average overall score comes out to be higher for this OST. You might not appreciate when you hear it the first time. But give it a couple of listens and you will land up saying “Not bad”. Of course it’s not the best work of Pritam… but it’s not bad either. As expected, it is an average OST with the true Bollywood sound.

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If you have seen the trailers.. you know the genre of this movie. A light romantic comedy for a perfect family fun drama. That is exactly what Aloo Chaat gives you… It doesn’t disappoint you on that and thoroughly entertains you keeping you smiling and laughing almost throughout. But it does disappoint you when it comes to movie making technique and originality. Once I have finished watching this movie, I can think of a few movie names that this movie is like.. At the top of my list is Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate.. If you have seen that movie and remember the simple story movie style revolving around a family obcessed with rules and a web of lies tailored by Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla to breed their love, then this is exactly what Aloo Chaat is about.

But does that matter when the movie makes you laugh and keeps you happy for good 2-3 hours ???

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PLOT

Aloo Chaat is directed by Robby Grewal and produced by Anuj Saxena, A. P. Parigi and Gary S. under the Maverick Productions, Mirchi Movies Ltd. and Red-Ice Productions banner.

Aftab (Nikhil) has just come back from USA to his family in Delhi [India]. He is from a typical Delhi Hindu family with the traditional mindset. They want to get him married but he loves a Muslim girl he met in USA but too scared to tell them.

His uncle gives him the idea to lie and say he loves a white girl and let Aamna come in to the family that way with the “gori”. She can then make the family fall in love with her through the wedding preparations like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. haha..

The rest of the drama follows as one lie leads to another and the situation becomes a spicy mixture like an “Aloo Chaat”.

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REVIEW

Well so you are saying that you have heard this story a number of times before.. That’s true.. But how is this different?? Well it’s the supporting cast of this movie and the delivery style of a director that makes a difference to this story. Robby keeps it simple and light hearted throughout with very short situational jokes. The humour is quirky and in the typical Delhi’et Punjabi style which adds the extra spice to this Aloo Chaat.

The flow of the movie is smooth and easy. The edit is good and to the point. Thinking about it.. I can barely think of any extra and out of place scenes in the movie. The music is average with a few good tracks and you can read the music review here. The background music and sound design are a little cheesy at times with the use of some terrible sound effects. The dialogues are good but the screenplay is very limited with not much scope for experimentation or better performances by the actors. And the dialogues and screenplay are both by directory Robby Grewal himself.

The performance’s are plain average by the 3 leading stars Aftab, Aamna & Linda. There is not much for them to do anyway. But Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Sanjay Mishra & Manoj Pahwa are simply brilliant and a total laugh riot. Dolly Ahluwalia & Meenakshi are alright.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- NO action.. NO emotional drama.. NO romantic dance around the trees.. Just pure family fun and laughs glore.

- Great job by the supporting cast of Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Sanjay Mishra & Manoj Pahwa.

- Simple story and to the point edit keeping the movie nice and tight.

- RDB doing the music as our UK connection to Bollywood.

- The art work is good in the casting at the start.

- Has a message at the end and thus a purpose.

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LOWLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- An old story with no creative input twist to it.

- Very limited screenplay and not much performance scope for the main leading cast.

- Below average performance by Aamna for her big screen debut.

- Aftab is expressionless throughout the movie.

- Some very cheesy jokes with scenes trying to force the comedy.

- Limited and restricted comedy style that might not work with all type of audiences.

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FINAL WORD

Good - 7/10 .

Although I have heard this story before and seen a number of films on this line but I give it a decent score because… frankly.. this movie managed to keep me smiling and laughing occasionally through the entire duration of the film !! That’s the entire purpose of the movie and it manages to do that.. poor performances by leading cast and poor screenplay come in secondary. So if you like light family comedies.. then this movie is for you. If you have lived in Delhi or at least been to old Delhi .. that would be an added bonus as you will get the jokes easily. Enjoy this flick and keep smiling.

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Straight is kind of a crossover movie mainly based & shot at Leicester Square in London. It’s the story of an introvert virgin restaunteur who gets wondering if he is gay. Vinay Pathak now needs to prove himself and his friends that he is straight and thus has a love interest.

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Dont expect the music of this movie to be another Dostana.. it’s a small budget IDream Production directed by Parvati Balagopalan.. not a Karan Johar film ! But it has some big names associated like Columbia Pictures & Sony BMG holding the main movie & music rights respectively. Plus it has ex Miss India Universe Gul Panag & a new kid on the block - Anuj Chaudhary.

The music team under my microscope here is of music director Sagar Desai and Lyricist Subrat Sinha. Never heard the names before..?? Well Sagar is the man who does music for offbeat movies like Mithya, Siddharth-The Prisoner, Mixed Doubles and Bheja Fry. No commercial fame for this man.. while Subrat is writing his first full OST. He has written a couple of songs here and there but this is his 1st full soundtrack.

All the 5 songs on this OST are sung by Suraj Jagan . Wondering who he is too..? If you like the rock flavor in Bollywood then you have definitely heard him before in songs like Dum Laga [Dil Dosti Etc.], Dekh Dekh [Hijack], Sooni Sooni [The Stoneman Murders], Johnny Gaddar title song etc. Or if you saw one of the biggest hits of 2008 namely Rock ON !! then you must have even seen him. He is the man who sings Zehreelay and acts as the competitor to Magic & then is also the head of MTV when they re-unite. He is the lead singer of one of the most well known Indian Rock band - ‘Dream Out Loud‘ and now sings a lot for Bollywood.

Lets check out this OST..

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REVIEW

Track 1 - Saanson Ka Rukna - The starting sounds inspired by Hot Chocolate - Sexy Thing. There is good use of filters while producing that sound. But a nice mix of soft rock in the chorus with sexy chillout in the para’s. The composition is very hummable and catchy. Bright instrumentals with tight performance. I don’t like the final mix as Suraj’s vocals drown in the music at times. The lyrics are fun & romantic with a few English lines. Good number to start with. 6/10 for having the inspired element.. rest is cool.

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Track 2 - Humse Jo Churaiye Humko Hee - This is a soft light composition with piano being the main instrument with acoustic drums. Suraj sounds like Mohit Chauhan at times but his vocals are very clean with good recitation. The lyrics are meaningful with the guitar parts standing out well. I prefer this track to Track 1 although it’s nothing brilliant and the mastering is harsh to the vocals again. 6.5/10.

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Track 3 - Kya Hua Hoo Hoo - This my favourite track on the CD with the complete acoustic feel to it. It’s like listening to a Shankar-Eshaan-Loy instrumental composition. It’s got that nice vibe you would like to hear on a candle light dinner. There are variety of instruments used which stands out from the rock feel of the album although it still has rock touches to the chorus. Suraj’s vocals are the main instrument & they are brilliant.. while the lyrics say the story of the character. 7/10.

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Track 4 - Love Love Love - This song gives the visual of a cheesy wedding song at the beach with the whole community singing & dancing around the couple. It’s a total fun song but way tooo cheesy for my liking. 5.5/10.

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Track 5 - Run Run Run - This is kind of a sarcastic song with a serious vibe to it. It doesn’t come out to be nor serious :/ So it’s a waste. The vocals are average & the lyrics are boring. It even features Louise & Gino Banks on this track. Except for the good lead guitar solo, rest of this 2 minutes plus song is below average. 4.5/10.

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FINAL WORD

Below Average - 4.5/10 .

Suraj seems to be an obvious choice & a rightful one for a soundtrack like this. He does justice to it as well. It’s good to hear him in a acoustic style relaxed mode… very different from his past hard rock work. Sagar Desai had the most crucial job but does not deliver the best of him. The composition styles are nearly the same & choice of instruments limited. Plus I dint like the mix or mastering on any of the tracks. Overall, Straight does not have much to offer. Nor musically.. nor lyrically.. A below average music package for a supposedly below average movie. Miss this OST. You wont even hear any of it on radio or TV.

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Our talented UK boys are back after Singh Is Kinng with a chatpata mixture of music styles on this soundtrack called Aloo Chaat. Yup.. it’s RDB back in business in the massive Bollywood industry with their mix of Bhangra, Hindustani & RnB music styles… but this time with No Akshay Kumar around !!

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Aloo Chaat is yet another Bollywood romantic comedy starring Aftab Shivdasani & the gorgeous Aamna Shariff. It is directed by Robby Grewal and Produced by Anuj Saxena. The trailers of the movie are hilarious and seems like a proper wedding drama family movie based in Delhi. It is set for release in the UK on 20th March 09. Although a small budget flick with no major names in the cast, it surely seems to have the fun element that a normal man craves after a long day at work.

The music is not completely the work of RDB trio but the title song is and thus so has RDB on the cover as the main producers. The other composers on the album are Xulfi, Vipin Mishra & Mehfuz Mahruf. Lets find out what’s the soundtrack like that is already up on all the charts.

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REVIEW

Track 1 - Aloo Chaat (Title Song) - RDB try to give Bollywood the British MC rap flavour in this song. Quite frankly I am not a big fan of such rap style RDB work. They are best when they stick to authentic Bhangra beats and desi mixes. This track is not bad work but I know it does not have a mass appeal in India. You will have the rickshaw drivers switching channels as soon as this song comes on radio. It’s for the cool college crowd as is very “street”. Hate the rap by Smooth but love the vocals of real life couple Manj & Nindy Kaur. They sound fresh and their self written lyrics are good too. Don’t see this song going a long way as it lacks the Bollywood touch.. but surely is something new for that market. 6/10.

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Track 2 - Dhadke Jiya - This song is all about Xulfi. He has written it.. composed and produced the music.. and sung it too. He does a better job as a singer and impresses with the lyrics. The music is average and is prominently acoustic guitar based. I like this song & think it is one of the better romantic songs this year. With the right promotion, this track is heading north on the charts for sure. For a full package man Xulfi & his soulful rendition - 7/10 .

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Track 3 - Aloo Chaat - I don’t get it why this track is not the title song!! It’s very Bollywood and super cool. Vipin Mishra does the music and lyrics while the tiny sufi superstar Kailash Kher blesses the song with his voice and unique style. Other than his amazing vocals, this track has a very easy going but funky beat structure & pleasing fun lyrics. The texture of the beats with the Punjabi shouts creates a great blend with the bass. The predominantely Punjabi lyrics are full of rhymes and funny at times. My favourite track on this OST - 8/10 .

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Track 4 - Boliyaan (Giddha) - Now that’s what I am talking about when I say “RDB are the best when they stick to Bhangra”. NO music director in Bollywood can deliver a track like this !! A proper Punjabi wedding Giddah song like none other. It’s got the traditional lyrics back with the amazing vocals of Nindy Kaur and Manj. Am only doubtful of how did they ever imagine Manj’s vocals to suit Aftaab :/   But what the heck.. it’s a great song & will be my fav for all weddings I DJ at for sometime. 7.5/10 .

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Track 5 - Life Is A Sizzling Aloo Chaat - Kunal Ganjawal sings to the beats of Mehfuz Mahruf and the lyrics of Syed Gulrez. All in all.. it’s a dud package. I think it’s the most boring & at points, annoying !! Skip it.. It lacks sensible lyrics, catchy music and dynamic vocals. 4.5/10 .

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Track 6 - Dhadke Jiya (Remix) - Nah.. nahhhh… DJ Moody & DJ Imti work hard to transform a good track into plain average. They just add a beat to the original song.. The worse is they add re-verb & flanging effects to the amazing vocals of Xulfi and ruin them. 4.5/10 .

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Track 7 - Boliyaan (Giddha) (2nd Version) - RDB doing a 2nd version of the original Boliyaan. This is a more appropriate version of Mehndi ceremonies. It starts slower and then picks up all the way to the top. This is also the version used in the movie. Nothing majorly different in this version except for the pace. 7/10 .

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Track 8 - Aloo Chaat (Remix) - DJ Moody & DJ Imti don’t do a bad job on this ‘already very cool’ track. It has a slight Electro pattern to it but does not truly classify as that. It’s an average regular mix style that you very commonly hear. Nothing original or different here. 6/10 .

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FINAL WORD

Average - 6.5/10 .

The biggest saving grace this OST has is that it does not have any totally rubbish track on it. It’s full of average & slightly above average tracks. This makes the OST buy-able as you wont be spending the money just for a couple of good tracks. Plus we have RDB on it which any day adds a lot of weight to the sale value in the UK market.

Boliyaan is the track that opens the door of Bollywood to folk Punjabi music… while Dhadke Jiya brings out the talented Xulfi in the limelight. Aloo Chaat is my favourite track & recommendation. This album is unique to the Bollywood music market & is recommended. Lets see what the movie is like now..

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Sikandar seems to be a very offbeat movie with an intense subject to potray. The film is based in the picturesque setup of Kashmir with the sensitive subject of influence of terrorism on school children. Sikandar is a thriller about a school kid who finds a gun lying on the road on way back home & how that changes his full life. This will surely be an intense film & stars Parzun Dastur [Tussi Na Jaao Sardar kid of KKHH.. ] along with Sanjay Suri and R Madhavan. Sikandar is written and directed by Piyush Jha and produced by Sudhir Mishra.

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For such offbeat, intense & small budget movies, the music is usually not much to look forward to. For a non-commercial movie the music will never be commercial !! Plus offbeat movies like this usually use music as a tool to add narrative to the script or use as a background score. Thus the expectations are not sky high. One only expects the music to be soothing, meaningful, have some kind of a narration & with good instrumentation reflecting the culture of the Kashmir valley.

The music of Sikandar has some big names associated with it including the likes of Prasoon Joshi and Shankar Ehsaan Loy. Lets find out what the album truly delivers…

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REVIEW

Track 1 - Dhoop Ke Sikke - It is said that superstar lyricist Prasoon Joshi saw this movie and was so inspired that he went home & wrote a lovely poem. Producer Sudhir Mishra loved it soo much that he decided to use it as a song in the movie. Shankar Ehsaan Loy worked on the music .. and the final outcome was this song in the voices of Shankar Mahadevan & Anusha Mani.

The song is true to the hype as the SEL boys always make magic when with Prasoon.. like they did when they made Maa for Taare Zameen Par. The lyrics are brilliant and the music has the soothe touch to a soft rock rhythm. The lyrics sum the scenic beauty of Kashmir with suttle references while it talks majorly about the innocence of a child and how the society influences their future. It sure is a good listen & I love the start with Anusha’s vocals. 8.5/10 .

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Track 2 - Gulon Mein (Serene  Version) - This kind of an OST would sound incomplete without the vocal touch of Mohit Chauhan [last heard on Masakali from Delhi-6] . The lyrics of Neelesh Misra are truly serene. They are deep, touching and thought provoking. The music by Justin-Uday is soft and easy to the ears. Its majorly acoustic with some great guitar work. A must listen track all in all as Mohit pulls the spot light off Shankar from track 1. 8.5/10 .

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Track 3 - Arzoo (Naat) - This is a traditional song sung in a purely religious style by a village boy named Mehrajuddin from Aru in Jummu & Kashmir. His style portrays raw talent and has the depth & recitation style of the mountain valleys. There is no music & his vocals carry the track thru for 2 minutes in style. 7/10 just for this tenagers voice.

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Track 4 - Allah Hoo - Justin-Uday are on a roll here and show their true talent after giving music for Hijack. Allah Hoo is a true Sufi ambient track. The music is simple & thus pure and soothing to the ear. I cannot imagine the music to be any better on this composition than it already is. They let the vocals by Yash Narvekar and Hrishikesh Kamerkar do all the talking and they do it in style. These 2 new singers are here to stay as no music instrument is better than the human voice. They both are gifted. Must mention lyricist Kumaar does an excellent job as well. Simple.. but Great listen !! - 7.5/10 .

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Track 5 - Gulon Mein (Upbeat Version) - The lyrics by Neelesh Misra have a different voice this time with KK giving it a rock touch that he brings with him to most of his tracks. The vocals are average though. Sandesh Shandilya [who's previous work includes movies like Chameli & K3G] does a decent job but nothing extra ordinary or worth noticing. Is he loosing his touch..? But thank God he has kept it simple and not made a remix out of it.. The upbeat version is not really upbeat except for the soft rock composition style. 6.5/10 .

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Track 6 - Manzaraat - Finally we get a Kashmiri song in theme with movie but the sound is totally different than the soft rock & sufi feel in the album so far. It sure adds variety to the OST but fails to impress as Shilpa Rao’s vocals, Justin-Uday’s music & Kumaar’s lyrics are all average. At times it sounds like Bhumro but doesn’t get close to the quality of that song. 6/10 .

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Track 7 - Chaal Apni - This is a romantic upbeat number with a Kashmiri compositional touch again to a modern digital beat. I would have called it to be average but the more I have heard it, the more I have started dis-liking it. I have come to a point where I can’t stand it. The music by Justin-Uday just doesn’t work and the singers Hamsika Iyer & Hrishikesh Kamerkar fail to impress here. Please end the album at track 6. 4.5/10 .

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FINAL WORD

Niche, Average - 6.5/10 .

As expected, it is not an OST for the masses but for the niche classes who enjoy sufi, lounge and soft rock. I would give it a higher rating & call it “Above Average” but the OST lacks any kind of commercial value and stays totally focused around the script of the movie. But the songs are good individually. The lyrics are deep and beautiful for the first few tracks. The singing renditions are brilliant by the maestros. Buy this album if you like to experiment with your music and like the calm of chillout music. If you are a commercial junkie.. then stay away from this soundtrack.. !!

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