DJ Munks.com

Dhoondte Reh Jaoge has already released in India and is doing average business at the box office. It is a mindless comedy directed by Umesh Shukla and produced by Ronnie Screwvala under the UTV motion pictures banner. It stars a huge list of not-so-big stars including Sonu Sood, Zayed Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Paresh Rawal, Kunal Khemu, Deepal Shaw, Asrani, Razak Khan and Hrishitaa Bhatt.

The surprising part was that the music release for the movie happened only a week before the movie release. The current trend in the industry is that the music is released a atleast a month before to market the movie through it’s music. You listen to the music of Dhoondte Reh Jaoge and you understand why…

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Sajid Wajid have made hit music for years now.. Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya, Baaghi, Tere Naam, Hello and Parter are some of their biggies.. But then they have also made a bulk of flop soundtracks … or should we say plain average OST’s. Dhoondte Reh Jaoge would classify under the flop soundtracks unfortunately.. & that’s why I think the production house thought there is no point in trying to promote the movie using plain average music like this. Here is the synopsis ..

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REVIEW

Track 1 – Dhoondte Reh Jaoge – This title song is penned down by Jalees Sherwani and voiced by the one and only.. Sonu Nigam. Probably that’s the only thing that stands out in this song. But it’s not noticeable. What I mean is, that Sonu Nigam is the best part of the song .. but is still no where close to being the best. The lyrics have the comic feel and sums up a bit of what the movie theme is all about… but quite boring to be frank. The composition & conduction of the music is flat with no good parts to it. 5.5/10.

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Track 2 – Pal Yeh Aane Wala Pal – A cheeky comic romantic song.. It sounds like a song in the fake movie these guys are making in Dhoondte Reh Jaoge. It has a good start beat pattern and a catchy rhythm with a nice groove bass giving the composition it’s true flavour. It has been sung by Neeraj Shridhar and somehow, although it is a Sajid Wajid composition, it has a Bombay Vikings touch to it. Probably the caribbean type rap gives that flavour. This song can grow on radio airplay if promoted well & has a good video to it. 6.5/10 .

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Track 3 – Salma-O-Salma – A ‘take you to the streets of Mumbai’ song. Remember ‘Money Hai toh Honey Hai’ soundtrack?? Those are the lines this song goes down with a very interesting take.. & that interesting take is the singer.. Dr. Palash Sen ladies & gents.. If you know the premiere Indian rock back “Euphoria” & the super famous song Dhoom Phichak Dhoom then you sure know him. He is such an excellent singer and gives this song a classic touch on Shabbir Ahmed’s lyrics. It’s a perfect song for a Holi or Ganesh Chaturthi party. It’s wild… This song is not for everyone’s taste.. but people with Mumbai in their life in anyway will love it. I do.. 7/10 .

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Track 4 – I’am Falling In Love – This is a serious romantic song for the love birds with no comic theme of the movie evident in it. Sung by music director Wajid himself and has a nice acoustic ambient feel… something you would normally hear from Pakistani pop bands like Strings. Wajid even sounds like Faisal at times. It’s got good lyrics and is very Bollywood in the later half with violins. Sadly, the song doesn’t catch your attention or stay in your mind for long. It lacks the captivating power. Hence.. 6/10 .

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Track 5 – Nako-Re-Nako – Javed Ali from Guzarish fame joins Wajid on the mic for this part Marathi to-a-hip-hop-beat song. It’s an interesting combo of the Mumbai flavor with a hip-hop beat. But the lyrics & vocals fail completely on this song. Your immediate reaction on hearing this track might be “pressing the next button”. It is annoying in a way.. So .. Skip.. 4.5/10.

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Track 6 – Apne Ko Paisa Chahiye – If you liked the song Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi with the fusion of a lot of Bollywood movie names, then.. you will hate this song!!! It’s on the same lines but its so damn badly done.. I completely dislike the vocals of Wajid & Soumya Raoh & the arrangement is completely off. That also with a title line of Apne ko paisa chahiye… :/ Doesn’t work on the drag music. 5/10 .

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Track 7 – Instrumental – I quite like this music piece. An upbeat action suspense sequence type music. Most probably used as background score for the movie for the fast paced scenes. The best composition of all the 7 tracks. 7/10 .

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FINAL WORD

Below Average – 4.5/10 .

‘Dhoondte Reh Jaoge’ mein aap koi khas baat Dhoondte Reh Jaoge… All the songs are plain average or say below average. Some have a few positives.. but then the negatives dissolve the positives.. So all in all.. the movie might be funny but the soundtrack has no sense of humour to it.. !!

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We figured this out long time back when we saw the promos…

NO.. Jai Veeru has nothing to do with Sholay!! If it ever did.. you sure would agree it would be a disaster with actors like Fardeen Khan & Kunal Khemu playing the roles of Jai & Veeru.. It would be so damn funny… lol.

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So it’s confirmed Jai Veeru has got nothing to do with Sholay.. evidently we have no expectations from the movie or the music to be inspired by Sholay. But when I find out that the music is the debut work of the son of the pioneer of the 80′s disco sound of Bollywood – Mr. Bappi Lahiri, then I did build up some expectations. Yes, the music of Jai Veeru is by Bappa Lahiri who makes a debut as a solo composer with this OST. He is a young lad with a few good remixes under his belt like ‘Gori Hain Kaliyan Remix’.

Although no pressure, but I still expect this lad to come up with at least a tinge of originality to prove he is the son of the pioneer of tunes like Disco Dancer. Let’s find out what he has to offer and why did Director Puneet Sira decide to go with him for what could be his career making project.

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REVIEW

Track 1 – Sufi – Bappa has lyricist Sameer at hand with him for Jai Veeru. And this song is all about Sameer and his words. The song is about love obsession. Other person making an impression is singer Saim Bhat. Never heard of this guy before but I can assure he has a long way to go… especially in Mahest Bhatt type movies. This dude sure can sing and at times sounds like Atif Aslam but does it in his style. Daughter of Gulshan Kumar, Tulsi Kumar joins Saim but is not as noticeable as him.

On the music side, Bappa crosses this song between rock and sufi. It’s nothing new and sounds similar to a number of Pakistani rock bands. What I like is the instrumentation. The start of the album with some soothing flute is always a plus. Sitar, Tabla are other Indian instruments that blend with the electric guitars, drums and a good set of keyboards. The composition seems heard of thus lacks insight. Good song though – 7/10.

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Track 2 – Tennu Le – By far the best track on the CD. Once again, another star in the making shines right here. Omer Inayat is a Pakistani singer with one pop album under is belt and now makes a mark in Bollywood. The song is also written by him. He is brilliant !! Love the English lines in the song and the best part is that they don’t sound phony. The vocals are soulful to say the least. Bappa does a great job on the music front too. The tune is catchy and you just can’t stop singing the chorus once you start. This song is on high rotation on all radio stations world over and in the charts. Can’t get enough of it.. Love this song.. 8.5/10.

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Track 3 – Dhun Lagi – This song is a disappointment after Tennu Le. It sounds like a dance bar song from an underworld movie like Shootout at Lokhandwala or Company. Mika Singh and Raja Hassan’s vocals are usual and average. The lyrics are straight forward and the music composition lacks freshness. It has rock elements to it and I like the use of electric guitars in this song. That’s the only innovative part. The beat texture is so overused. Skip it.. 5/10.

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Track 4 – Aisa Lashkara – The full Lahiri family has musicians. Another Lahiri on this track. Bappa’s sister Rema Lahiri features on this song with Hard Kaur. The song is more about Hard Kaur though. Rema’s vocals are below average. The music is a single Latin pop loop that plays throughout the 3 mins of the song. No variation. Hard Kaur is wasted with boring lyrics and brother-sister collaboration is dull. Waste of 3 mins – 5/10.

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Track 5 – Agre Ka Ghagra – Try recreating Billo Rani from Goal & cross it with Mauja hi Mauja from Jab We Met what will you get..??  Yup, a copycat song that is no good. This song lacks the punch and the funk of an innovative beat. The vocals by Javed Ali, Mouli Dave and Raja Hassan are simply average. This song will not do well in the UK Asian market but will be a hit with the taxi and rickshaw drivers in India. 6/10 .

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Track 6 – Dhun Lagi (Progressive Dance Mix) – The mix is better than the original.. atleast for me on this occasion. I can see myself using this track in a Electro Bollywood mix set in the wee hours of morning but the original content still keeps this track from becoming a hit. Good job by DJ Akhil Talreja & DJ N.Y.K.. 6/10 .

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Track 7 – Sufi (Rock) – A simple lead guitar can completely change the perception of a song. The composition work by Bappa has been rejuvenated by the excellent work of his musicians who have done the brilliant guitars, drums, keyboards and bass in this rock version. Love the piano chorus in the second half. You will appreciate this version more than the original in due time. 8/10 .

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Track 8 – Dhun Lagi (Electro Mix) – DJ Akhil features NTeDIT on this mix. I don’t get the point of having so many mixes of the same song on the same album. The mix is a waste!! I can barely see this mix getting any airplay or club play anywhere in the world. Skip skip skip.. 4/10 .

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Track 9 – Sufi – Sufi done again .. with Siam & without Tulsi Kumar this time. It’s exactly the same song otherwise. Just as if when mixing the track 1 the engineer pressed mute on Tulsi’s vocal track.. :/  Silly to have it on the album when you already have 2 great versions. Pointless – 6/10.

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Track 10 – Tennu Le (Remix) – Good production of this remix but it is soooooo wrong.. !! The original is sooo damn good that this sounds difficult to fathom.. That also with a Spanish trumpet !! A big NO to this remix – 5/10.

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FINAL WORD

Average – 6/10 .

Decent effort by Bappa but he has a long way to go.. But we have a couple of new stars to watch out for.. Saim Bhat & Omer Inayat are the ones to watch out for. Tennu Le and Sufi are the big numbers on this album and highly recommended. Apart from these 2 the album is nothing special.

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Hey Bollywood romantics.. Hope you are well and basking in the glory of the accomplishments of the talented geniuses of our industry at the Bafta’s, Golden Globe & even the Academy Awards. As suggested by a few ignorant people in the industry, Slumdog Millionaire does not depict the ‘horrible’ and poor aspects of India.. What it truly presents is how we strive and work for excellence. It shows how we make fighters and stand strong to go the distance.. What it really shows is how talent like A.R. Rahman can get the world to stand up and applaud at out work.. And Rahman now gets every head in the world to turn to notice our music .. our heritage.. our Indian Film Industry and everything part and parcel of that…

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Jason Camilleri & Siriol of BBC Radio Wales along with their team run a special World music show called ‘Mixing It’. The show brings out the variety and musical talent hidden in different parts of the world and presents it in a 2 hour package every week to a broad minded listener craving for musical creativity.

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For means to this end, they have requested me to drop by and do a special one hour DJ set depicting commercial Indian film music and prove how varied and advanced musical skills are in India. They have invited me on the show for 2 weeks in a row. Check out my interview on ‘Mixing It’ featured on Saturday 28th Feb ’08 show. The interview is available on BBC Iplayer till Saturday 7th March’08. Here is the link for the Mixing It show:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/radiowales/sites/mixingit/

Click on “Listen Online to the latest programme” to hear the full show. My interview is at 29 mins into the show although there are shouts by Jason throughout..

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Listen to the 1 hour special Bollywood mix set on the Mixing It show on the 7th March ’08, 11 pm – 1 am on BBC Radio Wales. Make sure you clear your room for enough dancing space cause it will be an hour of dance beats straight from the Asian sub continent with me DJ Munks on the ‘Mixing IT’ takeover.. THIS IS GOING TO BE MASSIVE.. !!

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