DJ Munks.com

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On the occasion of Eid Arbaaz Khan has started his own production company with wife Malaika Arora Khan under the banner Arbaaz Khan Productions and out comes their first movie with brother Salman Khan and debutant director Abhinav Kashyap who has also written the story of DABANGG. Dabangg seems to be a jolly good movie similar in some aspects to Salman’s last years hit Wanted but with a funny side to it where he is a corrupt police officer but savior of the poor and thus goes by the name Robinhood Pandey!

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Dabangg Trailer

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Dabangg has a really big cast including the likes of Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Mahie Gill and producers Arbaaz Khan & Malika Arora themselves amongst others. They also have new girl Sonakshi Sinha on the block in the lead role. We’ll have to wait to see how good she is on the screen.. And to support a multi starer movie like this Salman Khan decides to bring his favourite music duo Sajid-Wajid on the job who have done his recent movies including Veer and Wanted. Supporting them with their hand written lyrics are Jalees Sherwani who does most of Salman’s movies, Faaiz Anwar who has written some amazing music like Jab We Met and Lalit Pandit on a song too. So we have a handful of people contributing to this album. To say the least it is a music multi-starrer!

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REVIEW

Track 1 – Tere Mast Mast Do Nain – Start off with one of my favourite singers in the current crop who takes classical to the next level right in the first 30 seconds.. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan sings Faaiz Anwar’s lyrics to a catchy classical composition by Sajid-Walid. The instrumentation and feel of the song is purely simple like many other Rahat songs but that’s what we love anyway.. don’t we? It is still different in many ways with some really good vocal harmonies to check out. Very romantic and works very well for Bollywood music lovers in the UK. It is perfect for an evening radio listen. 7.5/10.

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Track 2 – Munni Badnaam – A typical bad boy at a drunken village girl dancer feast song.. If this is confusing then think Bedi Jalayle or Babuji Zara Dheere Chalo and you will know what I am talking about. Mamta Sharma sings to the lyrics and music by Lalit Pandit. A total carefree fun song with some really crazy lyrics.. not the kind I have ever heard anything similar to before. Very crude but funny.. just a total classic in many aspects.. “Item ye aam hui tere liye.. Mein Jhandu Baam hui darling tere liye..” You will hate it on the first listen thinking what rubbish is this .. But then listen to it a couple of times and sample the video on a music channel to see Malaika Arora looking super sexy and you will start loving this total party number.. ! Can’t wait to play this song in my next party. Definite dance floor burner.. 7.5/10.

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Track 3 – Chori Kiya Re Jiya – Two soulful voices of Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal can come togerther only for a really good romantic song.. and this is the one..! A blend of traditional village hindi with modern singing & lyrics style gives this song a different texture. Sajid-Wajid give it a modern acoustic guitar feel with a simple 2 x 2 beat. Jalees Sherwani keeps the flow of his pen very smooth and so the lyrics are just perfect for such a song. The only thing this song lacks is that extra special touch to make it listenable on a repeat. So I would classify it as an average song. 6.5/10.

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Track 4 – Hud Hud Dabangg – Talk about extra special touch and this song has it.. A clear differentiator the moment you hear the first line and its composition. Never heard anything like this before with some really innovative lyrics by Jalees and a genius composition by Sajid-Wajid with extra-ordinary traditional instrumentation touch. Cant hear a single modern instrument in there even though I am sure they used a few at least. But the best part of this song is Sukhwinder Singh’s vocal rendition. I would give him an award for the best singer this year without a second consideration for this song. Check it out and you will agree. 9/10.

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Track 5 – Humka Peeni Hai – Wajid takes on the mike himself with our UK boy Mater Saleem and Shabaab Sabri for another classic village style fun song this time with a drunken theme on a all men party. And guess what it works.. The use of Harmonium with Dholki and Matki on a digital beat is totally fearless by Sajid-Walid that gives you a really different texture to the melody of the song. The beat is soo cool that your feet and shoulders will move automatically. So let it go and enjoy Jalees Sherwani’s exciting lyrical party. When listening to this song you can’t help but feel the excitement and fun in the song that takes you to the scene of a village party. Brilliant. 8/10.

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Track 6 – Tere Mast Mast Do Nain (Duet) – This is just track 1 on a repeat but this time with Shreya Ghoshal taking over the mike for some of the lyrics. She does an excellent job like she normally does so no complaints. I kind of like the duet more than just Rahat’s solo version as it gives more depth to the feelings in the song. 7.5/10.

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Track 7 – Munni Badnaam (Remix) - Remixed by a female DJ – DJ Megha sounds like a good way to go but even though she does a good job with it you will rather go with Sajid-Wajid’s original desi dance version. The western touch with an electro feel and double synthetic beat looses the whole purpose on a village street song. It’s just a contrast of ideas but Megha still makes a point about her DJ abilities. 6.5/10.

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Track 8 – Tere Mast Mast Do Nain (Remix) - Designer Hippies vs the Bombay Bounce impress me with their ability to look at remixes in a different way but disappoint at certain points in the song. Their arrangement skills and keyboard synths are just a good combination on the right song but they go a little too further with sound effects in an over adventurous spirit to impress. A song is still definitely worth a listen. 6.5/10.

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Track 9 – Humka Peeni Hai (Remix) – Fried Brain Music.com remix this favourite of mine to a good standard. I can imagine the number of difficulties around remixing a song like this but he does a decent job although the song doesn’t fit a UK dance circuit song. It is difficult to place in a traditional or an electro set. 6/10.

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Track 10 – Dabangg Theme – Salman Khan voices this robin hood themed Spanish flavoured music that Dabangg represents. Its different but sounds like you are listening to a movie trailer. That is what probably this track was mixed for. 6.5/10.

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FINAL WORD

Pretty Good – 7/10

Dabangg surely has the bang factor in the typical Indian village style mixed with the Bollywood flavour and the Salman Khan cheesy fun factor. It has style and innovation by Sajid-Wajid in songs like Hud Hud Dabangg, Humka Peeni Hai and Munni Badnaam while romance takes centre stage in Tere Mast Mast Do Nain and Chori Kiya Re Jiya. Kudos to Jalees Sherwani for some exciting lyrical arrangements in a total gaun style. The music of Dabangg definitely has the potential to work in the western market event though it has the total Indian village touch to it. That’s its differentiator. For those who that factor does work too well for .. for them there is always the Salman Khan factor !! Music available on T-Series.

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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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For a crime thriller Bollywood movie, you would expect dark haunting music…… but not lame music !! Cause that is exactly what this OST is..

The album for this Kay Kay & Arbaaz Khan starer movie is a compilation of 9 songs out of which 6 are instrumentals. These 6 instrumentals are plain background scores that have been used through the movie ranging from 1 – 3 minutes. So nothing exciting there either

Plus the 3 songs that do have some vocals don’t even make it to the average mark !!

Manish Gupta has written some great movies like Sarkar, D, James & Darna Jaroori Hai. Now this is the first time he is directing a full length movie. I would imagine a movie about a psychopathic killer and a cover up police case would barely have any music requirements in the script.. only dark-suspenseful background score. But then why come out with an OST album that wont sell..?? Even when you have decided to make an OST album for an off-beat movie, why not get a known music team on board?

For The Stoneman Murders OST, Manish decides to write the lyrics himself along with Kumaar. He then gives the music department to sidelined duo Siddhartth-Suhas who have done music for films like Dil Dosti Etc., Rama Rama Kya Hai Dramaaa & Bhram… none ever so successful.

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REVIEW

Best not to expect anything at all from this OST..

Track 1 – Qaatilaana – Sunidhi Chauhan renders some amazing songs… and then she does songs like this!! She delivers absolutely boring vocals to this “dance-bar” item number. The lyrics are duff while the music & composition are simply ordinary and basic. If you have heard enough cheesy Bollywood music then you can predict the following music bar and lyrics. Nuff said.. Skip it.. 4/10 .

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Track 2 – Sooni-Sooni Rah Pe – This haunting rock song has very clear visuals. When you listen to it you can visualize what the shots will look like for this music piece with empty streets, dark, night, fast forward shots of Mumbai. Suraj Jagan sings this song pretty well but the lyrics are ordinary yet again that describe the killer for you and thus not interesting. I like the lead guitar in this song. But the 4 minute package still does not do the trick. Average of 6/10 .

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Track 3 – Stoneman – Another rock song with a dirty lead guitar about our killer yet again. I wonder if he is the villain or hero of this movie.. But nonetheless, this is the title track of the album and seems to be the most used in the movie from what you can get of the trailers. Music director Suhas Shetty sings it himself and does manage to give it the dark aura. The song does work very well for the movie but not on its own. 6/10 .

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Track 4 – Midnight at Matunga (Instrumental) – Add a deep bass guitar track to the music of Track 3 & you get Track 4. Although I love the bass guitar at the start of this music piece and the drop in music to a piano & bass guitar around 1:15 into the song. I also like the name. Don’t remember when I last went to Matunga.lol . So I guess I will give it a 6.5/10 .

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Track 5 – The Stoneman Cometh (Instrumental) - The typical horror sequence start with violins & back into Track 3 with a few variables. Siddhartth & Suhas are definitely short of compositional creativity. 5/10 .

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Track 6 – Killer In The Kholi (Instrumental) – Sounds like the sequence for when the killer is about to commit the murders. A bit of dark vocal chanting confirms the plot of religious human sacrifice. Creepy.. 6.5/10 .

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Track 7 – The Chase (Instrumental) – As the name suggests, it is the background music for the chase sequence. Finally something different with a lot of variation and quality from Siddhartth & Suhas. Good use of instruments in an experimental way. Listen to it a few times & it will drown you in the sequence and chain of events. I can easily call it the best piece on this CD considering there isn’t much competition. 7.5/10 .

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Track 8 – The Ritual (Instrumental) - Some really good string orchestration to a march past beat pattern. But just not innovative enough. It sounds so familiar. 7/10 for a fab orchestra at work with soft drums at the end.

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Track 9 – Requiem To The Stoneman (Instrumental) - Think Requiem for a Dream & cross it with Track 3. Voila.. we get a theme music piece for a sad climax. 6/10 .

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FINAL WORD

Below Average – 4.5/10 .

I see no point in putting an OST album together for a soundtrack of background scores. Its not even that they are completely unique scores as they are mostly variations of one another. The instrumental pieces are much better than the songs. The soundtrack does manage to develop the satanical, haunting, dark property through sound thus coming true to it’s purpose in this movie… but lacks creativity. Save your money for some other music album…

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