DJ Munks.com

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).

..

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.

..

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.

..

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.

..

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.

..

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.

..

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.

..

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.

..

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.

..

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.

..

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.

..

Track 10 – Aahun Aahun (Remix) – Reggae done.. it’s Bhangra time.. !!   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.

..

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 !!

..

..

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…

………….

………….

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..

..

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 .

..

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 .

..

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.

..

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 .

..

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 .

..

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.

..

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.

..

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.

..

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.

..

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.. !!

..

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.

..

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 .

..

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.

..

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 .

..

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.

..

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 .

..

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.

..

A couple of songs by Pritam & they expect the album to do well. Doesn’t always work.. Considering most of his work is “inspired”. No doubt the man has got talent .. but Gourav Dasgupta easily outdoes Pritam on this OST with his songs sounding much better compared to the ones done by the great Pritam…

Gourav Dasgupta is an upcoming name in the Bollywood music scene with the likes of Amit Trivedi. I think this man too has some mettle & a long way to go…

..

A Sci-fi thriller with the title of a R.D.Burman & Anand Bakshi classic, with the cast of sexy Bipasha Basu in the role of a DJ… & “Mr. Do it Different” Neil Nitin Mukesh along with a new director Jehangir Surti under the Eros banner does build up a lot of expectations. You would expect the psychedelic beats and the ambient lounge that goes with the futuristic fast music taste. Well… lets see how it does..

..

REVIEW

Track 1 – Gazab – I like the production of this song. Sounds nothing like a typical Pritam song. Sunidhi Chauhan & Shaan give some really good vocals to average Irshad Kamil lyrics. It’s a fun song with a catchy Bass & beat pattern on the music side and a ‘grow on you’ chorus which will sound very familiar. This song can do well in London Bollywood parties as a warm up party starter. Glad to see Pritam experiment with arrangements and instruments. Like it – 7/10 .

..

Track 2 – Rock The Party – Here we go down the Sci-fi ‘Love Story 2050′ route with Sunidhi Chauhan’s average vocals. Although a fast party bop-per song, it has a certain calm and softness about it. I think that comes from Sunidhi’s vocals. A catchy chorus & punch line again. I think the whole song has been created around Bipasha Basu who plays the role of a club DJ in the movie. Will be quite interesting to see how it’s been shot. the lyrics are average yet again this time by Avishek, Ravi & Sheershak Anand. Decent work by Gourav Dasgupta. Although I don’t see this song working too well in UK Asian market. 6.5/10 .

..

Track 3 – Power – Gourav Dasgupta experiments with this track & I think it fails !! Dibyendu Mukherjee is a brilliant singer but sounds like he is trying to change his voice in this song compared to track 4. Sure it demonstrates his versatility but whole concept does not work. This song is a slower deja vu of Paisa Paisa of Victory & many other such songs that talk about the power of money & it’s intoxication. The lyrics by Syed Gulrez & Prashant are not new or brilliant. Skip this track if you want- 5/10 .

..

Track 4 – Aa Dekhen Zara (Lounge) – After the great R.D. Burman made this song a rage.. there have been endless number of remixes of it. This is by far the best version of the song I have ever heard. Dibyendu Mukherjee & Gourav Dasgupta are the stars of this epic work. Kudos to them !!!  I know people who have heard this song & fallen head over heals for Dibyendu for stunning vocals. Even backing vocals by Shweta Vijay are really good. Gourav plainly uses a tambourine, re-verb’ed electric guitar and Congo percussion’s. He easily outdoes any other lounge producer in Bollywood by miles. I could listen to this song a repeat endlessly. It surely has place in the next Buddha Bar compilation. Fantastic song – 9/10 .

..

Track 5 – Mohabbat Aapse – Another romantic in Pritam style but finally with some good original lyrics in this OST by Irshad Kamil. Most noteworthy & outstanding in this song are the vocals of Aakriti Kakkar… This Delhi girl is not just good looking but the next Shreya Ghoshal of Indian female vocals. She’s already done some really good songs but I think this is the best of her. The best thing about her is that she sounds fresh and like a new voice in every song she does. Track 5 is all about her with lot of credit to Irshad too. Pritam’s musical work is average but a great choice of picking up Aakriti & Irshad of this song. Good listen – 8/10 .

..

Track 6 – Power Club Mix – The song is crapppp… But the version is at least better than the original Track 3. It’s a mix of house with trance and a tinge of rock to it. I guess we will see it as a background track through the fast paced scenes in the movie. Skip again.. – 5/10 .

..

Track 7 – Gazab Club Mix – DJ Sanj doesn’t do much to this song except for give it a Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean beat and then resort to a more Indian beat on the chorus. Still prefer the original. I will still play Track 1 compared to this version. Wasted mix.. – 5/10 .

..

Track 8 – Aa Dekhen Zara – Neil Nitin Mukesh decided to sing this song himself… and he does a decent good job. We have heard Amitabh, Aamir, Sharukh, Sanjay Dutt.. etc. do a bit on the mic … so nothing new here. Singer Sunaina joins in where we hear Bipasha was originally supposed to sing this. But I guess Gourav decided to drop her. We have seen the trailer’s for this song on TV & so we know the club trance feel to it. The music does full justice to what the Director wanted to achieve visually. This song sure has a future in the London clubs & also is on high rotation on Asian radio channels. It surely has the potential to be big. 7/10 .

..

FINAL WORD

Overall Average – 6/10 .

The music sure complements the movie theme and requirements and delivers to the expectations of what we expected it to be. That is what is disappointing about it… No surprises & no outstanding work. A couple of terrible & a couple of good ones make it a balanced average album.Worth a listen no doubt.. and the Aa Dekhen Zara (lounge mix) is a must keep on your Ipod’s.

..