DJ Munks.com

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LAMHAA sounds like a beautiful & action packed project. It is the return of a team that has remained inactive for a while now (ranging from 3-5 years). National award winner Rahul Dholakia hasn’t worked on a project ever since his acclaimed work in Parzania which was a super gorgeous movie (that is if you have a taste for off-beat movies that are not mainstream). Thus I am guessing this man must have written a stunner in the last 3 years with Lamhaa. He has direceted this as well. We are from the same college by the way

Bunty Walia who made some big hits like Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya in the late 90′s early 2000′s is producing a movie after 5 years. So I guess Lamhaa must have got him excited. For a movie with a cast like Sanjay Dutt, Kunal Kapoor, Bipasha Basu & Anupam Kher you wouldn’t imagine what to expect. That truly is an odd mix of some really good actors!!

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But on the music side, I pretty much know what to expect. For a movie based in Kashmir that talks about the political, military & militant setup of the state the music score would definitely not be glamorous. But it surely will be good as it is the return of Mithoon after 3 years who has made music of movies like Bas Ek Pal & Aggar. You definitely love those and the lyrics of Sayeed Qadri who wrote some of the best songs for movies like Raaz 2 and Jannat. Lets see if this return of some of the best guys in the industry gives us some buzz in this 6 track album.

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REVIEW

Track 1 – Madno – Madno == Lover, my dear. Now that you know the meaning of the first word, try and get the lyrics of the full song. You will instantly like this song as it will put you to ease of mind and soul. A simple beautiful composition with brilliant folk Kashmiri instrumentation by Mithun. The Sufiana singing style of new comer Kshitij Tarey reminds you of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan every second but at the same time Kshitij makes his own mark. Chinmayi sounds soulful like her previous work in the movie Guru. This is just better. And what can I say about Sayeed’s lyrics. awwwwww.. just awwww.. There is even a full Kashmiri verse in the song!! Mithoon, Kshitij, chinmayi & Sayeed create magic together. A top song. 8.5/10 for this 8:30 mins long song.

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Track 2 – Salaam Zindagi – The title ‘Salaam Zindagi’ sounds like a cliche & inspired by a couple of Rahman patriotic compositions. It still evolves and presents a different flavour unique in a number of ways. It is very ambient and classical in parts. Mithoon’s composition & instrumental arrangement is something to learn from if you are a composer. Arun Daga & Mohd. Irfan’s vocals make you wanna stand up & salute life. The ambient texture to this song mainly comes from their voices that is powerful & yet soulful. The lyrics are not brilliant but work for this song. A good song overall. 7.5/10.

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Track 3 – Main Kaun Hoon – “Main hun banjaara apni hi zameen pe.. Main Kaun hoon.. Kyun apne jahan me.. main hun ajnabee..” The lyrics of this song are by Amitabh Varma and they are stunning if you listen to them carefully. It truly depicts the situation in Kashmir and the dilemma that has become the life of every Kashmiri in a 7 minute song. Truly genius.. The composition by Mithoon is not brilliant but check out the break at 4:50 into the song. It’s instrumentation & recording is eccentric. On top of that what can I say about our rock star singer.. Dr. Palash Sen. He sings in a withheld singing style & perfectly sounds like a person lost in dilemma. I like this one. 8/10 for the lyrics & singing.

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Track 4 – Saajnaa – You won’t believe who is singing this song!!! It’s our punjabi rec-loose superstar Mika. You just won’t believe how different & exotic he sounds in this totally Urdu rendition of the song Madno. He proves his versatility & classical abilities. The song is exactly same as Madno with same lyrics & music composition. Chinmayi’s part is same as well.. but you have to listen to this for Mika & Mika alone.. ! 8/10.

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Track 5 – Zameen-O-Aasmaa – Kshitij Tarey goes solo on this emotional song as a man talks to God asking him to come down to this world to see the hatred & injustice prevalent in this world. It’s almost an acoustic song for the first half with piano and a classic violin orchestra. Mithoon’s recording techniques, composition & instrumentation are terrific & I can go on raving about them. Very good lyrics by Sayeed that can almost make you cry. Touching & heart wrenching. 7.5/10.

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Tack 6 – Rehmat Zara – Am so glad they decided to put this song as the last track on the album. I would be totally turned off if this was earlier in this classic album. Mithoon decides to get on the mic himself with Mohd. Irfan and this is nothing special. Although their singing is not bad at all, this song lacks style, uniqueness & consistency. The composition is not great nor are the lyrics. This to me is an average song at this stage as it is very situational. It probably makes more sense in the movie. 6/10.

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FINAL WORD

Very Good – 7.5/10

For the young UK audience this album does not pack a punch with the big hits that we usually like to hear. But this album can we an instant hit with the first & second generation listeners. Even for the young audience, if you understand a little bit of Urdu & have any interest in music from different parts of India, you will love this OST. The music by Mithoon is brilliant. This is what I call a come back. Sayeed Qadri was here & still rules with his lyrics. The OST completely complements the Kashmiri flavour of the movie & thus shows are amount of research and talent that went in this project by the music team. Dim the lights, close your eyes and enjoy the “Lamhaa“. OST on T-Series.

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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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