DJ Munks.com

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There are a very few talented writers in the Bollywood land.. Abbas Tyrewala is one of these extremely talented bunch. Whether it is a screenplay, dialogues, film story or song lyrics.. he leaves a mark behind. With his portfolio with some of biggest names like Main Hoon Na, Maqbool, Salaam Namaste and Munnabhai MBBS you would not doubt his talent with the pen. But his new found passion for writing and directing young love stories fit in a different league of their own and leave a stamp rather than a mark behind. Jaane Tu.. Ya Jaane Na was his first project and now Jhootha Hi Sahi is his next biggie starring John Abraham and Tyrewala’s wife Pakhi. In reality the story of the movie is her idea and concept while the screenplay, lyrics and direction are husband Abbas’s handy work. Quiet a good family affair and the trailers look exciting.

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On the music front Abbas is trying to reuse the Jaane Tu formula where his lyrics meet the creative music head of the genius Mr. Rahman. the Oscar winner is still riding high on his recent successes of Slumdog Millionaire, Delhi-6 and Raavan but the radio channels are also playing his Robot music which has seen a lot of negative comments for his work. He is truly better than what he has produced there.. and so it remains to see if Jhootha Hi Sahi can help him keep his head above the criticism levels. The expectations from him are always high more so now with the Oscar fiasco… and I am sure Abbas will bring out the best of him. For a movie based in London the music should definitely have something for the London audience from the most versatile music man in the business. Let us play and find out what this duo have in store for us for this off-beat sublime romantic comedy.

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REVIEW

Track 1 – Cry Cry – You must have definitely heard this tune on the TV music channels and some of the Asian radio channels as this song has already found its way up there. Rahman & Abbas had featured newcomer Rashi Ali in Jaane Tu.. Ya Jaane Na simply making the man’s career. You ofcourse knew he would be opening their next OST album after he delivered a brilliant vocal. His vocals on Cry Cry are just perfect as well. He sings it in a very low key with a soft touch to it which gives the song a very natural touch of a man singing at home rather than a pro in a studio. The lyrics are fun and of the Kabhi Kabhi Aditi style.. Aditi was about trying to make one smile and this song is about making one to stop crying with a good message. The Mumbai touch comes with the kayko slang used throughout. Shreya does her vocals in her true classy style too but not her best work as you don’t see the full potential of her vocal range.

The most outstanding part of a song with which the name Rahman is associated is the music. Cry Cry in its soothing style has a simple tribal drum beat on a single drum giving you the lows, a deep keyboard bass note on the mid’s and a continuous shaker on the highs. The other variations that come in are classical acoustic guitar, saxophone & flute solo that fill up most of the frequency range. You barely hear any traces of other sounds. Keeping it simple but beautiful is the genius of a man named Rahman. A song for the music aficionados. 8.5/10.

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Track 2 – Maiyya Yashoda (Jamuna Mix) – Javed Ali’s vocals have been around for nearly a decade and still a pleasure to hear his voice. He still has the youthfulness & charisma in his voice although there is not much for him to show in this song. Chinmayi on the other hand you find featured mostly only in Rahman songs. The classical and traditional flavour of this song is a good east meets west demonstration. The lyrics have been well composed to recite a little story in a fun composition. Called the Jamuna mix for the very traditional touch to the music using modern instruments by Rahman. The deep bass in the background fills up so beautifully that you don’t even realise it is around unless you look out for it. The flute solo at the start is very cute while the tempo pump up for the latter of the song is exciting. Most prominent part of the song is the outstanding sitar solo that blends in like chocolate in a chocolate cake. Overall the song lacks a mainstream approach but musically it is still a piece of genius with the sitar solo. 7/10.

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Track 3 – Hello Hello – The movie is about a phone call and telephonic friendship. This song is situational and seems to be around to fill a desperate need of the script. The lyrics are purely average and the music has nothing innovative to offer. The composition is very Rahman style and his south Indian modern music influence. The vocal effects on Karthik’s voice make it totally distinguishable as a Rahman job. The use of an orchestra is a waste. Skip this song. 5/10.

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Track 4 – Do Nishaaniyan – Sonu Nigam has sung very few but amazing songs for Rahman. This composition is probably one of them. The lyrics and ambiance of this song along with the texture of Sonu’s voice reaches the next level in lounge music. A perfect song for weddings in the background and in restaurants while having a candle light dinner. Sonu’s control on his vocal pitches on every syllable of a word is worth all the praise. The lyrics by Abbas are rhythmic and touch the soul. Although the music might sound like many others we must have heard before but the overall feel & instrumentation fits brilliantly. A really good track. 7.5/10.

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Track 5 – Pam Pa Ra – 2nd Shreya Ghoshal song on the album and this time it is a solo. The na na na na.. start to the song must be the creative simplistic genius of Rahman. The expectations really drop when the main vocals and music start. The lyrics are purely average if not boring. The music loses its momentum but then comes back with more instrumentation and excitement. There are just many ups & downs in the music throughout the song. The variations & orchestration is good but just too much. The vocals are probably only good and consistent factor of the song. 5/10.

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Track 6 – I’ve Been Waiting – Vijay Yesudas returns to music after a 3 year slump. He has been around for decades and it seems Rahman has pulled him out of the dungeons for a brilliant blues composition. Only Rahman could be experimenting with music genres like this. A pure blues jazz orchestra gives this song the perfect melody and support to Vijay’s excellent vocals. The lyrics are simply brilliant, pure and perfect blend of English and Hindi.

“I’ve been waiting for the moonlight. I’ve been waiting for the moonlit sky all night…

Stranger in the moonlight, I’ve been waiting for a lifetime for you..” 7.5/10.

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Track 7 – Maiyya Yashoda (Thames Remix) – The western mix of Track 2 sounds almost the same except for a synthetic drum beat in the background and more effects on the vocals. It has a good amount of Indian instrumentation on it. It still has the fantastic sitaar solo to complement the western drum beat. Can’t give this version much credit as it is almost the same. 6.5/10.

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Track 8 – Do Nishaaniyan (Heartbreak Reprise) – The absolutely perfect vocals of Sonu Nigam in Track 4 just sound better all of a sudden in this version. So soothing, calm, ambient, pure and brilliant. The background flutes and keyboard/piano work by Rahman is simply breathtaking and perfect to every note. A true classic in the making. 8/10.

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Track 9 – Call Me Dil – This is not the normal Bollywood OST trend to have an original as the last song of the album after remixes but it kind of works here as this is the title song. The song is not brilliant in any aspect but just works with the feel of the movie and Rashid Ali’s voice. The lyrics and composition are average. Not much to check out in this song. 6/10.

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FINAL WORD

Average – 6.5/10

What Jhootha Hi Sahi lacks musically is consistency between songs. The vision and feel of the songs is consistent but the brilliance and beauty of every song is inconsistent. Except Cry Cry, Maiyya Yashoda and Do Nishaaniyan other songs are purely average. The OST clearly has the stamp and feel of a Rahman album with a fair bit of his creativity and uniqueness with certain advantage of having a Abbas Tyrewala as the director & lyricist in one body thus making it easier. But as I guess some songs demanded being average to go well with the script of the movie as I can’t imagine an average job from the geniuses of Abbas & Rahman. Overall I would recommend the movie without even watching it.. but not to buy the OST. It’s not there and that is why they have included a disc 2 with Karaoke version of the full album. Just get the top three songs. Album of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa – HMV.

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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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