Posts Tagged ‘Raja Hassan’

JAI VEERU – BOLLYWOOD MUSIC REVIEW UK

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

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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