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The much anticipated big release of Summer 2009 is here….

Kambakkht Ishq comes up true to expectations.

I expected Kambakkht Ishq to be better than Chandni Chowk To China… IT ISSSS.. !!!

I expected to be sleazy, dumb & crap… IT ISSSS !!!

If CC2C was super bad.. This is BAD…. n that’s a relief !!

Yup, I wasn’t expecting a great deal out of Kambakkht Ishq. The trailers looked stupid with the typical Akshay Kumar sleezy humour & extravagant senseless sets increasing the movie spend around a dumb script. Also, since it is a Sajid Nadiadwala movie you can expect it to be that weird style of comedy that you have seen in movies likes Judwaa, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi & Heyy Baby.

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The only thing I was looking forward to in this film was to see if Kareena Kapoor has got any weight-age to her performance as she has been almost missing in action after Jab We Met & has only done a few rubbish films like Golmaal Returns & Roadside Romeo. Plus, I wanted to see how have they managed to fit Hollywood stars like Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards & Brandon Routh into a Bollywood script.

Another thing to figure out is if Director Sabbir Khan has any talent whatsoever in handling a big budget project like Kambakkht Ishq in his debut directorial venture.. Lets watch & find out..

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PLOT

Akshay Kumar is Viraj Shergill & the best Stuntman in Hollywood who does stunts for the likes of Brandon & Stallone. He is a total playboy who hates the concept of marriage. Kareena is Bebo/Simrita Rai who is an aspiring surgeon & also a supermodel when it comes to generating money to pay for medical school. She hates the concept of men all together since she has seen a lot of bad happen to the women in her family. Their paths are crossed when Akshay’s brother Aftab decides to marry Kareena’s best friend Amrita Arora. There is abuse, hatred, name calling, fighting, etc. all the time between them on every occasion they come across each other & that’s nearly all of the first half. In their ego trip fights they ruin Aftab & Amrita’s wedding too.

Akshay gets injured in a shoot & is taken to Kareena’s hospital for her first operation. She accidently leaves her watch inside his abdomen which keeps ringing a ‘Om Mangalam’ alarm every hour. She realises this later & now has to do everything possible to get pally with him & get him back to her operation theatre and remove the watch before he finds out and sue’s her career to an end. Over the meetings Akshay now is falling for her while she is just playing a game. She manages to operate & get her watch back but shue’s Akshay away. He is heart broken & now about to marry Denise Richards [for God's sakeee...!!! ] It’s now left to Kareena to see his soft humane side & fall in love with him & stop them before they tie the knot.

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REVIEW

The plot does sound funny when you read about it with the continuous fighting between two people who hate marriage & the whole idea of leaving the watch in his stomach. But believe me.. it’s not funny when you see it..!! Except for a few Akshay scenes I couldn’t even force myself to laugh at the rest. The worst part is you can see director Sabbir Khan is trying really hard to make you laugh in every scene but fails drastically.. His direction is not too bad but this man has also written the story & screenplay…  & that’s where he has ruined the movie !! The script is a disaster to say the least for a story that could have been really funny.

The amount of money spent on this movie is ridiculous & seems like a total waste. Totally set in LA with some parts in Italy. The cinematography & locations are all good but that’s it seems they worked on. The script & performances were neglected. They have managed to fit the Hollywood stars well in the few scenes they have but all other performances are average including Akshay & Kareena. Thankfully Akshay is not overacting as was seen in CC2C & is funny in some scene. His action stunts are good & so are his dances in the songs. Kareena has acted like she did in KKKG with the good looking snob character. Her acting is plain average & it’s thus hard to believe she even did a movie like Jab We Met. She is looking super fit, glamorous & hot no doubt. That’s probably the only thing worth going for the guys.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- Slumdog Millionaire was Hollywood goes Bollywood. Kambakkht Ishq is Bollywood goes Hollywood.

- Some major Hollywood stars appearing in this Bollywood flick.. although briefly.

- Great locations. Good sets. Good cinematography.

- Very good costumes, glamorous look to Akshay & Kareena giving a global fashion outlook to Bollywood in a new style.

- Kareena & Akshay looking very fit, stylish & good together.

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LOWLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- Absolutely stupid story.. what makes it worse it rubbish execution of it.

- Barely funny & thus should not qualify as a romantic comedy.

- Script & screenplay are bad with too many loose ends & unwanted.

- Actors like Javed Jaffery, Kiron Kher & Boman Irani are totally wasted on comeo’s. Javed & Boman don’t even have any connection to the main story.

- There is too much show of skin all through. They have forgotten tradition, culture & ethnicity.

- There is name calling, abuse, etc. desperately put in to instigate humour. How low & desperate can they get !!

- Exorbidant sets & expensive locations used to cover a poor dumb script.

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FINAL WORD

Below Average - 4.5/10.

This movie will only make you laugh if you go to see it in a theatre to a full hall with loads of friends. And if you do enjoy it then, then thank the company & not the movie makers. Else the only other reason to watch it is to see Hollywood, LA, Italy and a super sexy Kareena Kapoor who is barely wearing anything. The women can go for Akshay if they like.

The UK audience will not like this movie.. cause we watch Bollywood films so that they take us closer to our homeland & culture. Kambakkht Ishq has forgotten it’s a Bollywood movie.. if we do want to see skin show, sexy dresses & Hollywood stunts we can might as well watch Hollywood movies. This flick crosses boundaries of decency at certain levels. But hey.. they are using all this to cover up a crap script they wrote.. That’s only fair on their part to do. I call this another failed Akshay movie this year & a disappointment from Kareena.Save your £7 for a better day in this recession.

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Adi Chopra is back with a bang with New York after the super hit Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi last year. He is not only producing but has also written the story of New York. This time he puts his faith in director Kabir Khan’s work who’s last movie was an average - Kabul Express.

Yash Raj Films has a reputation to maintain… & doing that is not easy in the hugely diverse Bollywood industry. When the first few details of New York came out we thought it will be a fun.. college buddies type romantic movie based in New York. Perfectly sane to expect that as romance is the natural preferred flavour of Yash Raj Films.. and the fun element is the immediate guess with a cast of John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh & Irrfan Khan. Then the posters, trailers & interviews came out highlighting the missing twin towers that got us wondering if it is an action movie about 9/11.

And now.. finally after 2 months of Bollywood strike the movie comes out with a totally different angle ready to surprise us all.. It’s not about 9/11 per say.. it’s not a fun romantic movie.. Its a serious drama about the after effects of 9/11 and their influence on 3 young Muslim life’s.

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PLOT

NEW YORK opens with Neil Nitin Mukesh [Omar] being detained by the FBI for moving guns & bombs in a cab owned by his company. He has no idea what is going on as he is totally innocent & is being framed by the FBI officer Irrfan Khan [Roshan] who wants him to go undercover & get back close with his old time college buddy John Abraham [Samir] who is a terror suspect. Omar cant believe this & the movie hits flashback to his college days when he had come from India & met his classmates Samir & Maya [Katrina Kaif]. They were really good friends & it all lead to a love triangle.

This is where you would think this is a romantic movie.. but.. eh ah.. Nope.. it is not. Omar just walks away from Samir & Maya on 9/11 while they get married. 7 years later he is now back in their life as an undercover FBI agent to prove that he & his friend Samir are both totally innocent. He must now stay with them in their house and discover the truth about what happened to Samir post 9/11 that led him down the wrong way. He must gain Samir & FBI’s trust & fight time before it is too late to stop Samir from doing another 9/11 level disaster.

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REVIEW

Sounds interesting doesn’t it..?? Well it is..

It is not too creative but is realistic. New York doesn’t highlight the fun element of the city that it is most commonly know for.. but the misery’s of the selected few who were tortured post 9/11 on grounds of their name, colour & race. Its the story of 3 young Muslim students caught in the after effects of 9/11 with the US governments desperation to show that they are doing something to stop such a thing from happening again in the future. It also shows the good aspects of Muslim immigrants like Irrfan Khan who want to make a change & stop all Muslims being categorised as terrorists. Neil helps him in this endeavour to prove a point that it is wrong to judge or categorise people of specific communities based on their race. What makes people go the wrong way are their circumstances & the decisions they make.. not their religion.

The movie has a good message no doubt.. but the best part is that it comes from a very young cast who deliver the message very well with some very mature performances. The script is absolutely focused & to the point with no twists & turns & beating around the bush in typical Bollywood style.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- Very good performances by John, Neil, Katrina & Irrfan. I finally have some respect of John & Katrina as actors!

- Good tight script with a straight forward story line & no confusions or use of unnecessary casts to fill up scenes.

- Has a good message to the story where there is no villain. The enemy is time & circumstances.

- Direction is accurate where Kabir Khan looks in full control to get what he wants from the script & his actors.

- Although based in New York the film is not flashy at all and must have been shot with a very small budget.

- The characters are well defined in the story & the focus on each character is perfect in proportions.

- Thus Aditya Chopra does a fab job with story writing & production. Hats off to him & Sandeep Srivastava for the screenplay.

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LOWLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- For a powerful subject & script like this, the dialogues are absolutely boring & non-dynamic.

- The songs are a total waste on the OST. Hai Junoon is the only decent song.

- Background score & sound design of the movie are purely average.

- Cinematography & locations are purely average for a shoot based in New York. It could have might as well be shot in a designed studio set.

- Few downsides in the story ending that I don’t agree with & consider them to be hurried script decisions. For example.. I don’t see why a  wife who knows her husband is involved in terrorist work will not try to talk him out of it for their child’s sake. Also, I don’t see why a devoted family man will make a wrong decision to end it all for his family.

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FINAL WORD

Very Good - 7.5/10.

Except the above few technical sides of film making, New York is handsome movie package. UK audiences should be able to relate to this story in many ways because it is very similar to things that happened here post the London tube bombings. The movie is realistic and brings out the human side of a deep agenda of harmless innocents being dragged into criminal investigations because of the wrong doings of certain inhuman people in the community. It does not show the law & order agencies to be at fault for creating terrorists out of innocent people.. but how wrong individual decisions of people exploited by the system leads to revengeful acts.

New York is a good watch. It is modern mature cinema for the thinking audience & thus a must watch for all generations.

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Oooohhh.. This seems like an exciting project. Not just because Deepika Padukone is looking hot & Saif+Deepika are looking great together.. but because Imtiaz Ali is back after the smash hit Jab We Met. He made a superstar actor out of Kareena in that movie.. & now it seems she has recommended her boyfriend to the director man. I don’t really see the problem with that cause Saif can be brilliant if the role fits his profile (as demonstrated in Omkara & KHNK).

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Saif Ali Khan has gone a step ahead this time though & is not just acting but also producing Love Aaj Kal with Dinesh Vijan. He is also picked up the trick from Akshay & dressed Singh in this movie.

The trailers look fun & the star chemistry is looking good with a good light story line typical to an Imtiaz Ali movie.

Another factor prominent in an Imtiaz Ali movie is good music. Jab We Met’s music was ground breaking with songs like “Mauja Hi Mauja”, “Yeh Ishq Hai”, “Nagada Nagada” & the romantic “Tum Se Hi”. The man behind all of that is back on Love Aaj Kal. Pritam is the most sought Music Director in the industry & is back to prove why he is the man most in demand when it comes to making hits.. This time he is back with Irshad Kamil who he worked together with on the songs of Jab We Met & Aa Dekhen Zara.

NO doubt they all make a great team together.. but lets find out if their magic works yet again with the OST of Love Aaj Kal for the UK audience.

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REVIEW

Track 1 - Twist - This is a big one.. !!!!! A hit & a dance floor blazer in Neeraj Sridhar’s super style. It’s a cross of Nagin meets Panjabi MC with the Snake Charmer theme. The vibe of the song sounds similar to “Ab Toh Forever” from Tara Rum Pum but it is still a genuine hit. The lyrics are rubbish but the fun factor is so prominent that you wouldn’t pay attention to that and just do the “Twist”. This is for the clubs.. for weddings.. for birthday parties.. & for every damn party. Its now at the top of my DJ set list of must play songs.It is not as good as Mauja.. but Pritam sure is back to put this composition up there in that category.

We have a winner at the start of the album ladies & gentleman :)  Hit Hit Hit - 7.5/10.

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Track 2 - Chor Bazaari - This song is a care free.. give a damn to the world type of song. The musical texture is great with a smile beat pattern, trumpets, Spanish acoustic guitar & a touch of the village sound. The arrangement is superb with the drops & come backs with versatile use of instruments. To top all instruments are Neeraj Sridhar & Sunidhi Chauhan’s voices. They sound great together & you can feel confidence oozing out of Irshad Kamil as he beautifully plays around with words to give some good lyrics. I like this song as it has a soft feel with still a dancy grove to it. 7.5/10.

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Track 3 - Aahun Aahun - This is my favourite song in the album so far !! A different side of Pritam’s work that I have never heard before. He demonstrates talent competing outright with AR Rehman on this one. The vague guitar at the start leads into 70’s disco effects with Master Salim’s phenomenal Punjabi lyrics. If you have not heard of him before then look for a song called “Teri Sajni” and you will find out how talented this man is. The beat when it comes in shocked me like the beat in “Genda Phool” did. The fusion of Neeraj & Salim’s voice is genius along with great looping & vocal scatting effects. This is so 21st century with roots set in traditional Indian music. I love the lyrics too with a good mix of English, Punjabi & Hindi. Aahun Aahun is totally catchy & genius. Production at it’s best.. 9.5/10.

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Track 4 - Dooriyan - Pritam tries to create another “Tum Se Hi” style slow romantic number with Mohit Chauhan but does not do too well. This song does not have the simplicity of Tum Se Hi in lyrics & composition although it has great deep meaning lyrics. The music & arrangement are average with a good flute solo in the middle. Mohit’s vocals are great as usual but not the best. This song might work for some for not for the masses. 7/10.

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Track 5 - Ajj Din Chadheya - I somehow knew there will be a song like this in the album. Typical Pritam.. & thus he brings in Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. An almost acoustic romantic song for the background. Very basic instrumentation but very neat & calm.. Love the acoustic guitar work!! Good lyrics about a man talking to God about what he wants for his love & how badly he wants her. The combination of powerful lyrics with soft music & vocals is striking. Great job. 8/10.

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Track 6 - Thoda Thoda Pyar - Am hearing a good typical Mehndi night Ladies Sangeet type of a song after a long time. This one is different too with a good mix of Dholak, Tumbi & Dhol to typical Punjabi shouts from a good all female chorus. Sunidhi then takes the lead to give a true Bollywood song.. something like you would have last heard in the 90’s. No comparison to Pritam’s Punjabi song production skills as he is the best at that.. but what is worth noting is Irshad’s lyrics who creates a great Punjabi intro rhyme and main lyrics that fit the composition really well. A must play at all weddings in UK. A definite hit with the desi ladies. 7.5/10.

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Track 7 - Main Kya Hoon - This is probably the only song I don’t like on this OST. Doesn’t quite fit the bill. It sure add’s variety but does not seem to gel with the variety above. It’s got this trippy trance synth to a slower beat. It is something you would hear in a remix but definitely not in an original. The lyrics & KK’s performance are average too. Hate the vocal effects Pritam has used on KK’s voice. Skip this one please. 5/10.

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Track 8 - Twist (Remix) - DJ Sanj from US is back with Pritam after doing a dudd job in Aa Dekhen Zara. But this time he does a good job. I love this mix. This is the one that I have already started playing at my parties & it works beautifully with the crowd. People love it.. I love it… This is good with a double beat grove & female rap but still sticking with the Nagin style. Neeraj’s vocals sound much better here. 7.5/10.

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Track 9 - Chor Bazaari (Remix) - DJ Sanj goes the Reggae beat side for this remix. Although it sounds fair & doesn’t sound too bad.. but I din’t quite enjoy this one much. I could do without it to be frank. 6/10.

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Track 10 - Aahun Aahun (Remix) - Reggae done.. it’s Bhangra time.. !! :-D  I loved the original and now this remix thrills me too. Instead of taking Pritam’s innovative music, Sanj takes his innovative composition & Salim + Neeraj’s great vocals and blends them to a Dhol beat with Punjabi shouts. This now sounds like a normal song & not an innovative experiment. You can imagine this to be original & the other to be a remix. Both are great though. 8.5/10.

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FINAL WORD

Really Good - 7.5/10.

Bollywood has been waiting for a biggie this year. This is it.. !!

Love Aaj Kal is commercial Bollywood at it’s best this year. It has the big dancefloor number called “Twist”, the romantics “Dooriyaan” & “Ajj Din Chadheya” and the fun song “Chor Bazaari” & “Aahun Aahun”. A overall complete package of good commercial Bollywood music that the masses will like all over the world.

Pritam uses all his favourite singers like Neeraj, Rahat Fateh Ali, Sunidhi & Mohit Chauhan.. & they do not disappoint him. Pritam is back in form with some fantastic work in “Twist” & “Aahun Aahun”. These songs are already getting lot of hype and air play on Radio & TV. With the movie release (July end) & some good filming by Imtiaz for these songs.. they have the potential of being the biggest hits of the year !! Twist is going to be a rage..!

A must buy CD as it is total value for money and pure funnnn for the UK audiences !!

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Last movie that Sohail Khan produced was Partner –> super hit music !!

Last movie Puneet Sira directed was Jai Veeru –> Few hit songs !!

Last movie music director Dabboo Malik [Anu Malik's brother] worked on was Kisse Pyaar Karoon & Team-The Force –> All super flops !!

Why did Dabboo Malik step into the hit combination of Sohail Khan & Puneet Sira is unknown to me.. But my expectations from the soundtrack of Kissan just took a plunge into cold water because of his presence…

Hum Tumhaare Hai Sanam & Kasoor are the only two hits in his career and that too ages ago. Why does he still keep getting work is something we will have to decide after we listen to the music of Kissan.

With a cast of the likes of Jackie, Arbaaz, Sohail, Dalip Tahil, gorgeous Dia Mirza & the cute Nauheed Cyrusi the expectations are high from the music of Kissan. Also, the topic of the movie caters to the majority population of India that is farmers. It thus needs to have a total traditional feel to the soundtrack with a lot of Punjabi influence so it can appeal to the millions of farmers working in their fields and have this playing on their radio sets in the background

Let’s find out what this 6 track album has in store for the international audience…

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Review

Track 1 - Punjabi Munde - This track implies a decent start to the album. It sounds like a number of Bollywood Punjabi tracks with a bit of english rap. The beat is almost similar to Sambhale from Ek-The Power of One but this one is better for sure as it is more catchy with the ”Punjabi Munde honde hain kamal” punch line. The difference is with the number of singers on this track. Labh Janjua, Shakti Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan, Siddharth Singh, Parthiv Gohil, Earl D & Dabboo Malik himself give their voice but none of them stand out. It’s like a chorus throughout the song !! Nothing extra ordinary about the performances, lyrics [by S.R. Bharti & Kanwar Juneja] or composition of this song but I guess the video will decide if this song turns out to be a hit. 7/10 .

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Track 2 - Humko Rehna Hai - A typical Bollywood romantic song with stars running around in the fields in their traditional clothes.. mannn I can visualise the full thing…. Well the composition, instrumentation & arrangement of this song makes it easy to guess the sequence. The lyrics by Panchi Jalonvi are basic but conveys the message adequately. Shaan & Shreya Ghosal sound totally like villagers with their pronunciations & thus sweet in a way. It is not a hit song but not a bad one either. 5.5/10.

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Track 3 - Jhoomo Re Jhoomo - Yet another multi-singer number for a festive village scene. Ad Boyz, Abhijit Ghoshal, Tarranum, Sujata Majumdar, Pavni Pandey & Dabboo Malik sing the below average lyrics of Panchi Jalonvi. Althought this song is groovier than the Track 1 in many compositional & instrumentation ways it lacks decent performances by any of the singers in the huge list. This song can play well in Dandiya & garba parties but lacks overall commercial appeal. 6.5/10 .

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Track 4 - Neeche Sari Duniya - This might be the main title song of the movie & is with a religious twist. It describes farmers & the hard work they do in very suttle words penned by Salim Bijnori. What makes this song special are the vocals of Room Kumar Rathod. He is just the best for such thematic songs with his deep voice. He is supported by Harshdeep Kaur with the chants & harmonies. I love the instruments used & their arrangement in this song. Credits to Dabboo for that.. 7/10.

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Track 5 - Waqt Ki Dhoop - This is a short sad interlude for the intense dramatic scenes in the movie for the turning point in the script. Toshi sings this with determination in his voice as if he is feeling those emotions. Very well performed as you can feel the character. Lyrics by Panchi are good too. The music is basic but the chorus is deep & soulful. Short & nice.. 6.5/10 .

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Track 6 - Punjabi Munde (Remix) - We couldn’t have had a Bollywood soundtrack without a remix !! But frankly we could have done without this average ’sounding like million other remixes’ track… Brother number 3 - Amal Malik is responsible for this. But at least this can now be used by DJ’s in desi wedding sets. 6/10 .

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FINAL WORD

Simply Average - 6/10.

Well I can at least say Dabboo Malik can continue to get work in the industry as he can do a decent job unlike many others. But when it comes to doing something new or producing hits, neither HE nor this album go a long way. It’s purely an average listen with no big numbers. Lyrics, music composition & all vocals sound similar to many others that you have heard before. All songs are purely situational with relevance in the movie & thus at least make sense & are not out of place. Buy this OST only if you have a thing for early 90’s Bollywood sound.

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Yash Raj films is back with Aditya Chopra producing NEW YORK with a highly commercial cast of John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh & Irrfan Khan. The movie is directed by Kabir Khan who’s last directorial venture Kabul Express was a flop with average reviews & a couple of decent songs on the OST. But with New York your expectations are bound to be higher as it is first of all a Yash Raj movie.. then has the hottest cast in Bollywood right now.. is based in the most glamorous city in the world.. plus it has Pritam doing the music.. All in all it has commercial written all over it !!

But on the other side the agenda of the movie gets you wondering if New York is a commercial music hit maker.. If you don’t know what the movie is about.. have a look at the wallpaper above..

Cant spot it..?? Look closer…

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Yup.. so you spot the ghost of twin towers there & so you know the movie is about 9/11. Not really about the attack but the after effects on the life’s of 3 Muslim students in New York. I still expect the OST to be bright & fun with a few elements of romance & a few serious songs.. Lets find out if it actually sums up to our commercial value expectations..

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REVIEW

Track 1 - Hai Junoon - Doesn’t sound like the start of a commercial album.. Well maybe it’s not then..!! KK renders his soulful Yaaron style vocals but the overall performance is average all thanks to simple & average music composition by Pritam. It has the typical soft college rock style which might go with the movie story but is overdone & cliche in the music market.. Lyrics by story writer Sandeep Srivastava are good & hold the other elements together making it a fun listen.. but with nothing special.. 5.5/10 .

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Track 2 - Mere Sang - Another non-commercial song..! The flow of this album is telling me it is more of a off-beat serious style of a album rather than a fun up-beat Yash Raj type.

Sunidhi Chauhan sings this song using her softer tone & sublime style. It’s not the best side of her & sounds monotonous. Composition style & arrangement by Pritam are just about the same as Track 1 & million’s of other such songs. It lacks innovation.. not just on the music side but also on the lyrics by Sandeep. It’s a decent one time listen but you may not like to come back to it.. 5/10 .

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Track 3 - Tune Jo Na Kaha - Finally something different with still on the down-beat lounge style… n I like that style.. ;)  Mohit Chauhan’s voice does something to a song.. it creates a vibe & gives it the depth of feelings. A romantic ballad with good lyrics that are perfect for a chilled out evening, sitting in the balcony in moon light.. Try it :)  The composition is simple with a good arrangement of backing vocals, light string instruments & a neat flute solo. Overall the track works for me.. 7/10.

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Track 4 - Aye Saaye Mere - The Persian style of this song is the work of Pankaj Awasthi. He has composed & sung this song as well. It’s the song with a message that would play in the background half way through the movie in a sad sequence. Very situational with an intense vibe. The lyrics are by Junaid Wasi & are pretty good with a traditional poetic feel to it. It’s a good song but lacks commercial appeal because of it’s theatrical situational feel. Listen to the lyrics carefully.. “Na Koi Kaala Na Koi Gora.. Ik Rang hi Sabhi ko rang de“. 6/10 .

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Track 5 - Hai Junoon (Remix) - Remixed by Julius Packiam. I have never heard his work before but this is a good start. He plays around well with KK’s vocal harmonies at the start & concentrates on his vocals throughout the mix which is a good relief. The beat is simple & makes the original more fun to listen to. The song now has this energy that it needs to go with the feel & lyrics of the song. 6.5/10 .

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Track 6 - Mere Sang (Remix) - Julius does a decent job trying to revive this dead track. I dint enjoy the original at all.. but this is bareable. There is not much scope in the original to play around with & the best creative element that Julius could come up was to add a subtle tabla sample throughout with ‘Hai Junoon‘ shouts which mix well. 5.5/10.

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Track 7 - Sam’s Theme - Sam is John Abraham in the movie. The theme makes his character sound like a serious & troubled guy.. Doesn’t go very well with John’s glamorous girl man looks & charm. Sound like he is experimenting.. lol. Good in a way.. as we’ll come to know if he can act.. !

Caralisa Monteiro’s classic vocal harmonies are truly amazing while our remix man Julius Packiam shows he’s not just the one with beats. He can surely compose & deliver good theme music to the standards of Yash Raj films which is a common feature in most of their movies. I like this classic music piece as it has some really good orchestra work. 7.5/10.

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Track 8 - New York Theme - Electric guitar’s with tribal drums give this instrumental the intense feel that describes the movie for us.. NO it’s not a fun commercial film.. but rather a serious flick with a message to convey. Sounds like something I have heard before. 6/10.

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FINAL WORD

Average - 5.5/10

The soundtrack for New York is nothing special. It does not even have the basic elements of a Yash Raj movie. No fun dance tunes, no big romantic numbers & no Bollywood style biggies either. An off beat non-commercial album totally opposite to our expectations.. and it is not even outstanding in it’s off beat category. Ignore this OST as am sure you can do without it in your collection.

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Runway seems to be the movie with a lot of careers on it inspiring to take off to the skies. Actor Amarjeet could be another star in the making & is making a come back after a low budget flop back in 2006.

Its exactly the same situation for producer Reeta Shukla who is family to Amarjeet & partner in crime for the flow Iqraar in 2006. They seem to be taking another shot at making it big in Bollywood together.

Director Sunil Tiwari’s story is not quite different either with his directorial debut back in 2003 with a movie called 2nd October. He disappeared after that on the Bermuda Triangle & has some how found his way back to the Bolly land Runway.. lol. Lets see if he can take off skywards again..

Even all the supporting cast like Deepal Shaw, singer - Lucky Ali & cute Tulip Joshi need a hit somehow to be able to sustain in this industry.

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The only established person in the team is music director Shamir Tandon who has done projects like 99, Mission Istanbul, Superstar & also Page 3 back in the good ol days. He is known to strike an off beat sound..

Lets find out what he has done with lyricist Shabbir Ahmed on the soundtrack of Runway…

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REVIEW

Track 1 - Khuda Ke Liye - The album opens beautifully to the soulful voice of Mustafa Zahid [lead singer of Pakistani band Roxen] who sang the amazing hit “Toh Phir Aao” back in 2007 in the movie Aawarapan. The acoustic start of the song create an ambience around you with just his deep sufi rock voice. Shamir keeps the music simple with acoustic guitar & a simple drum pad beat. He lets Mustafa’s voice be the instrument & the medium for some brilliant lyrics by Shabbir Ahmed. This is the kind of a song you usually hear in a Mahesh Bhatt movie & is a definite hit. Am loving this track. Repeat .. repeat.. repeat… 8.5/10.

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Track 2 - Teri Yaadein Leke Dil Mein - A soothing romantic song with a simple melody that works. KK is back in the game with this song as he has been giving average performances in most songs these days. But this is definitely better. It is the not best of him but his voice fits perfectly in the entire setup of this song. The music is good as it relaxes you..  & the rest of the calm is induced by the lyrics. Romantic lyrics with a cross of Kishore Kumar’s “Musafir Hoon Yaaron”. Definitely worth a good audience & international radio airplay. 7.5/10 .

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Track 3 - Roshan Dil Ka Jahan - Now this is a disappointing song.. Nowhere as good as the above two although it has Shaan & Sunidhi providing the vocals on it. The reason I feel for this is the composition of the song. Shamir Tandon fails to give this song any character although it has decently good lyrics & vocal performances. Not my taste.. 6/10 .

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Track 4 - Pyaasi Machuriya - Another very crude item number by Sunidhi Chauhan & almost sounds like “Beedi” from Omkara on her vocals. Ravindra Upadhyay on the supporting vocals is totally wasted. The music is purely rubbish & thus in the final mix the music has been left in the background with full focus on the vocals of Sunidhi. But this song does not have any substance to it. It is neither fun nor sexy. The video will be crap too I recon… Skip this track & save yourself the misery. 4/10.

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Track 5 - Roshan Dil Ka Jahan (Dance Mix) - Now this is not as bad as the Track 3. The reason being they have changed the male lead singer to Raaj with Sunidhi on this. Somehow his vocals suit better on this melody. But the overall remix is average with not much future for it. 6.5/10.

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Track 6 - Teri Yaadein (Remix) - DJ NYK is one of my fav guys in the recent Bollywood remix circuit because of his deep electro house basslines. He makes a good team with DJ Chetas and they make some good stuff. This is one of them. They keep the original melody & excellent vocals of KK intact and just add a good electro beat & keyboard solo to it. It creates a good dancefloor vibe altogether.. & I love the drop in between with just KK’s vocals.. Love it overall & a definite track on forthcoming club mix CD’s…. 7/10.

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Track 7 - Khuda Ke Liye (Remix) - This is a good mix too !! A little too good & grows on you as you listen to it more .. but that is only if you have a thing for electro house cause this is purely Electroooo.. !! The overall psychedelic vibe is funky & a definite spinner in all house sets. Once the original song picks up & is labelled as a hit song.. this remix will become a cult for it. Make sure you ask the DJ to play this song next time to at a desi party.. in case he forgets.. Well done to NYK & Chetas. 8/10.

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FINAL WORD

Average on a whole with a couple of good tracks - 6.5/10.

The soundtrack for Runway is riding on 2 good tracks. Khuda Ke Liye is a definite winner with Teri Yaadein a close second. These two songs definitely deserve 15 MB space on your Ipod’s & your text requests to your favorite radio stations. Other than these 2 & their remixes, the rest of the album is a waste. Shamir makes an impression with the music on these 2 tracks while lyricist Shabbir does a good job on all of them. Mustafa Zahid & KK are the stars of the album & give personality to this OST. If not the CD.. make sure you atleast buy the above two songs of Itunes.

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