Pyaar Impossible, Badmaash Company & Lafangey Parindey.. 3 average movies on the box office this year by Yash Raj Films. They need a big hit to make up before this year ends. Will Band Baaja Baaraat (BBB) be that big hit? Who knows.. we will find out on the 10th of December. What we know is this movie launches two new careers. Director Maneesh Sharma is the new man behind the camera while lead actor Ranveer Singh is the new face in front of the camera. He is the son of actor Sunny Deol if you don’t know that already. Thus the man has some big responsibility on his shoulders considering his fathers & grandfathers fantastic reputation on the big screen. Lets hope he can make it work on screen with Anushka Sharma in a movie about weddings in Delhi.
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Winter time in Delhi is the season of weddings. For a movie on that theme & based in that city, the expectations are really high on the music front as it should be able to deliver the music that will be playing at every party of every wedding in this peak season. The guys who producer Aditya Chopra can close his eyes and trust to deliver big hits is the pair of Salim-Sulaiman. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi & Aaja Nachle are couple of the big names of their handy work. Joining them are Amitabh Bhattacharya writing the lyrics and the projection of debutant director Maneesh Sharma. It will be interesting to hear what Delhi sound can this album bring to the market in peak wedding season. Let us listen..
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REVIEW
Track 1 – Ainvayi Ainvayi – Quite a tune.. Salim Merchant voices this song himself with Sunidhi Chauchan. This is after a very long time that I am loving Sunidhis work in a song. Her vocals are bang on with the perfect texture & tone in a song style that suits her perfectly. Salim kicks butt too.. The music is a really good mix of the Punjabi tumbi start & blends into a modern deep base beat pattern. The music is funky and works in the growing & evolving Delhi music scene. It is not a style of music that you would have heard in Bollywood. The lyrics hook line Ainvayi Ainvayi is soo damn catchy & will stick in your head & your tongue for a long time just after the first listen. The lyrics are proper Delhi talk & work very well. This is still not the traditional Bollywood dance songs & so will take some time to grown in the market.. and even longer in the super traditional UK Asian music market. But for the music innovation I give it 7.5/10.
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Track 2 – Tarkeebein – The brilliant voice of Benny Dayal that Rahman once discovered is still one of the most smooth voices in the industry. Salim teams up with Benny on the vocals and they sound unique & fresh together. A good partnership on some fantastic lyrics by Amitabh. Really love the flow of the lyrics on this song which talks about ideas, confidence and the fight to excel in this world. This could be the anthem of the college kids this year. The music is really cool with a unique beat pattern with some exciting mix of sitar & harmonium on this modern mix. Like this song. 8/10.
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Track 3 – Aadha Ishq – The queen of romantic Bollywood songs – Shreya Ghoshal gives this song some effortless vocals. The mix on her vocals does not seem right at some points but I guess that is just me… Salim-Sulaiman cannot get that wrong. The music is an average traditional romantic composition. Nothing flashy about it.. but the highlight of this song are the lyrics. The title hook Aadha Isha has been very well placed in by Amitabh delivering a beautiful song. This song will easily find it’s way to the radio waves but will not rock the boat a lot here in the UK as it lacks stunning music & vocal work. 7/10.
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Track 4 – Dum Dum – Another Benny Dayal number this time with Himani Kapoor who has not been around for a long time. She does well but does not create a lasting impression. The lyrics are catchy but the music composition is not. Although Salim Sulaiman do a lot with the music with fantastic instrumentation & creative use of bass guitar & percussion, it still lacks mass appeal. It sure is a different & good song but something about it does not stick and create an impression. I think it is the arrangement & composition. That is why probably it has been placed in the middle of the album as it could not make place anywhere else in the OST. 6.5/10.
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Track 5 – Mitra – The creators of the song jump on the mic here as well. Lyricist Amitabh & Salim sing this song quite well. It is an easy going number for some background listening in your car after a tiring day at work. A song about separation & loosing your friend but with a rather bright composition. It is not a dark song that will make you cry & thus I like it more as it is a contract of emotions on the music & lyrics front. Something really cleaver & well done by both these boys. It is very situational & the music has a good use of synths & keyboard work with guitars. Must listen song. 7.5/10.
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Track 6 – Baari Barsi – Finally the wedding Punjabi number we have been waiting for. A salute to Salim Sulaiman & Amitabh for what they have done with this song. The traditional lyrics of Baari Barsi has just been totally transformed into a modern spin off with a bold pop RnB beat with a very cleaver use of shenaai & dhol. It still has the classic fast typical Punjabi clossing of the song which will surely get you up on your feet. The lyrics are very interesting and new. It still incorporates all the family members in the rhymes and gets them up to very modern phrases. Vocals by Harshdeep Kaur & Labh Janjua are brilliant. It is absolutely fun when Labh Janjua says “buggi wuggi” instead of “boogie woogie”.. lol. Check this song out as you hear it in the next wedding you attend. Fabulous work. 8/10.
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Track 7 – Band Baaja Baaraat (Theme) – This is soo the new sound of Bollywood.. and the new sound to be of Indian weddings. A complete modern version of your traditional brass band at a baaraat. It is brilliant & perfect creative musical mix by Salim Sulaiman. Love this short 1:55 duration piece. The instrumentation & arrangement of the various instruments & effects is just genius. It is experimental & learning for music producers around the world. 8.5/10.
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Track 8 – Ainvayi (Dilli Club Mix) – This dude Abhijit Vaghani brings in a new sound to remixing all together in Bollywood. He seems to be re-inventing Bolly remixes. He is producing some really classy remixes that have spirit & essence and have not been done just to fill up the CD. This is quite an upbeat & the name clearly describes what sound is working in the Delhi clubs these days. The vocals have been re done by our UK boy Master Saleem of Kangna fame with Sunidhi. The effects & rhythm of the song is bang on the money. This is to be my next favourite mix song for the London parties. 8/10.
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Track 9 – Dum Dum (Sufi Mix) – Ok now.. this mix does not really work for my. It is by Abhijit & in his support he surely has done something different & unique with the original with new more powerful vocals by Sukhwinder Singh. But the song in itself and the whole idea just does not work. The sufi side of it is not even clear.. It completely misses the trick. I rather don’t like this song at all. 5.5/10.
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FINAL WORD
Very Good – 7.5/10
Except for one composition of Dum Dum, rest of the songs of BBB are pretty cool and right there where you would call it a good album. All credit goes to the innovation, creativity and pure musical talent of Salim Sulaiman and the beautiful lyrics of Amitabh Bhattacharya. The performances by the singers are good as always with a come back by Sunidhi Chauhan. The OST lacks a huge range & variety of music but it delivers on the expectations for a wedding centric movie. For the UK market the album will actually pick up & make the best use of its potential when the next wedding season kicks in the summer. Till then it will be slow & steady rise in popularity for this OST & it’s Punjabi numbers Ainvayi Ainvayi & Baari Barsi. Tarkeebein & the theme song are my personal favs. Buy this album. Music on YRF Music.
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!
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.
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.. !!
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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.
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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 .
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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.
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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 .
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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.
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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 .
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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.
Aamir started it .. Sharukh follows… Remakes of South Indian films is becoming a trend. It was Ghajini first and now we have Billu Barber which is a remake of a Malyalam movie.. only this time we have the big name of Priyadarshan associated with it along with Sharukh Khan’s production house Red Chillies Entertainment. So when it comes to Sharukh’s name being associated with a project especially under his own banner than we know it has to be a commercial bonanza. The album is thus no surprise…
The man of comedies from South Priyadarshan is another commercial and masses man. Thus the obvious choice is to bring Pritam on board. He delivered some of the biggest hits of 2008 with movies like Singh Is Kinng, Kismat Konnection, Race, Jannat and many more. Forget the fact that most of his music is inspired or copied. The bottom line is he deliveres music that is loved by the masses and thus super-hit in all aspects. Hence a wise choice to have him on board in a movie that is packed with item numbers with the hot dusky beauties of Bollywood shaking it up with the King Khan himself.
But the question is… Does Pritam deliver yet again.. ?? Lets hit Play and find out…
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REVIEW
Track 1 – Marjaani – Pritam tries to re-invent an already used formula of Mauja hi Mauja in this song. Exactly same beat pattern and style with Punjabi vocals. It starts with an Arabic feel to it with prominent use of Udu. Very clean vocals by Sunidhi and Sukhwinder Singh. Lyrics do make sense.. it’s Gulzar after all. It has a prominent bass line that keeps up with the beat and thus a great club number. Very Bollywoodishly shot with Kareena and Sharukh and thus a sure shot hit for all parties. As a DJ I am already blasting this track all over UK. but cant compare it to Mauja can we ? It’s fair to give it a 7/10.
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Track 2 – Love Mera Hit Hit – Neeraj Shridhar and Pritam are a great team. But what on earth is this song all about!!! Pritam just got a little tooo carried away and lost it.. Senseless lyrics, basic beat pattern, reverb’ed vocals, repetitive… but very catchy and good use of flute in it. I like the rap parts. What a relief to know it’s not Gulzar Saab’s lyrics. I would have been dead of shock.
This is one of those songs that if you listen twice, it will stick in your head and you will keep humming the punch line. Then you will abruptly stop and hate yourself for getting hooked on such a stupid number. It’s dumb, but somehow works in a senseless way. Another club hit with an electro bass. [ Hate it when I have to admit something good in a senseless thing :@ ] . 4.5/10.
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Track 3 – You Get Me Rockin & Reeling – Now we are talking. Neeraj finally gets to do what he is best at. A light romantic number with all the elements to become a big hit eventually once they start promoting it after they are done with Marjani and Hit Hit. This song deserves all the raves for its western with Indian blend. The English parts are refreshing but sound familiar. Pritam finally proves a point on Track 3. A must listen. 8/10.
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Track 4 – Ae Aa O – This sounds like a song written by Neeraj in his college days for his Bombay Vikings launch but failed to ever make it anywhere with it. Great vocals by K.K as always but the song doesn’t work. It’s neither catchy, nor great lyrically and hangs half way between rock and cool pop. The dirty guitar and KK are probably the only good things in this song. Just another college anthem.. but not cool enough. 6/10.
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Track 5 – Jaoon Kahan – Sayeed Quadri pens this beautiful sad song and Raahat Fateh Ali Khan comes yet again to Pritam’s rescue. The song is very situational and relatable to the story of a poor barber faced with hardships and dis-ownment of his family and friends. Sad songs are an integral part of most Sharukh movies. This one not one of the best but I like it. 8/10for the lyrics, vocals and to Pritam for trying something different for a change .
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Track 6 – Billoo Bhayankar – Gulzar comes back with this fun packed song which is my favourite on this album. Very authentic, traditional, rural and true to the flavor of the character played by Irrfan. It suits the movie title and I can imagine it in the climax and at all happy times in the movie. Kudos to Gulzar and the singers Ajay Jhingaran, Kalpana & Raghuveer who clearly outshine all the other regular pro singers on this album !! It reminds you of ‘Khaike Pan Banaras Wala’ from Don.. only peppier and more fun.. Pritam now has new found respect by me for his work on this track. 9.5/10.
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Track 7 – Khudaya Khair – This is just the desi version of You Get Me Rockin & Reeling. Evidently more Bollywood with the same chorus like. The orchestration is good but nothing new or different. Pritam hasn’t done much here plus the vocals by Soham are ordinary. So much so they dissolve Gulzar’s lyrics. Listen to track 3 rather than this. 6/10.
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Track 8 – You Get Me Rockin & Reeling (Video Edit) – It’s the same as Track 3. Things they would do to fill up an album and make the soundtrack look bulky. Dominic does the female vocals on this and they are good no doubt. But ignore this track. 6/10 for doing anything different except a female singer.
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Track 9 – Love Mera Hit Hit (House Mix) – DJ Amyth tries to rescue a messed up track with his House beats. He does rave it up no doubt.. but his best bet would have been to remove the vocals and keep the music for a simple House track. 5/10 .
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Track 10 – Marjaani (Kilogram’s Balkan Mix) – I usually like Kilogram’s mixes but not this one. Too much experimentation !! A Bollywood song with Punjabi lyrics to a house beat with a very prominent Arabic feel and a Spanish chorus bridge. Doesn’t work.. It’s Overdone !! Original is much better. 4/10.
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Track 11 – Khudaya Khair (Reprise) – It’s a pleasure to hear Abhijeet’s voice after a long long time. His voice was used for Sharukh for such a long time but then he went low with so many new singers on the block. He comes back in a more acoustic version of Track 7 and does it so much better. The singing senior proves a point to the freshers. 8/10.
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Track 12 – You Get Me Rockin & Reeling (Remix) - Oh come on !!! What would it take forPritam to leave a good track along. DJ Suketu always does a good job & you don’t doubt his talent in this mix.. but why this track..?? The remix does no good to an already great number. 5/10.
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Track 13 – Ae Aa O (Remix) – I never like DJ Nikhil Chinnappa & DJ Nawed’s remixes. This mix is no different. Plain useless. Waste of 5 mins of listening time. Mr. Nikhil please stick to being a VJ. 4/10 .
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Track 14 – Marjaani (Electro House) – DJ Sunil and Spinz do a much better job than Kilogram. Electro is the most popular dance genre in India at the moment and I can already see this mix being spun on a repeat. It’s a slow soft electro mix with a clean electro bassline and good playing around with the vocals. The Dj’s are not trying hard to impress and thus is pretty good. I recommend this mix. 7/10.
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Track 15 – Love Mera Hit Hit (Remix) – Although it has Delhi boy NYK & DJ Chetas on it.. I still don’t want to listen to it. Just had enough of this rubbish track. Whatever they try with it.. It’s not going to work. Bass gives u a headache on this track. Not mixed well either. 3/10 .
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FINAL WORD
Overall Average – 6.5/10 .
1, 3, 5, 6, 11 and 14 are my recommended tracks. Rest are as easy as hitting the skip button on the remote. Well Pritam does answer my initial question. He surely has still got it.. but it is wearing out !! He has become inconsistent and is going all over the place in some songs but then comes back in a few. Probably, that could also be because of the Sharukh & Priyadarshan influence. You decide..
One of Bollywood’s most expensive film venture – “Victory” has cameo’s by some of the biggest names in Cricket. Likes of Allan Border, Brian Lara, Bret Lee, Shoaib Malik & many more drop by in the movie & that’s what I guess makes this movie one of the most expensive films ever in Bollywood !!
So much so, I think first time director/writer/producer Ajit Pal Mangat got overwhelmed & lost track of his finances and forgot to pay anything to his Music team. You can critisize .. but cannot doubt the musical talent of music director – Anu Malik. But what was he thinking this time !!!!
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At the time when the young Indian cricket team is on a winning & record breaking spree.. comes out another sports film at the start of 2009 about a small town Rajasthani boy who dreams & makes it big in Cricket. You would expect the music to have a certain standard & feel to it. But…
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REVIEW
Track 1 – Money Money Money - I cant think of a worse track to start the album with. He Tried to give it trance dancy feel to it. But got no where. Forget playing in a club.. I wont even play it in an empty loo. If you buy this album start listening from track 2 else after listening to this you might just switch off. Enough said..
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Track 2 – Balla Utha Chakka Laga – By far the best track on the album. Still not very good. It has the Punjabi sportie feel with powerful vocals by Daler Mehndi & Sukhwinder Singh. The song reminds you of ‘Halla Bol’ from ‘Dhan Dhana Dhan Gol’. The composition is a good blend of excitement, climax tension, patriotism and all the fun & emotions that go along in a game of pride. This song might become the highlight of the movie if shot well and can also deliver a visual message.
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Track 3 -Aisa Toh Socha Na Tha – Singer KK proves his musical range & ability once again on a song with age old composition. Nothing new or noticiable in the track except for the lyrics & singing. the composition, orchestration & flow of the song is average & predictable. It sounds like a million other sad songs made in Bollywood. Anu get your act up together. You just wasted some good lyrics & vocals !!
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Track 4 – We Love Kirket – I love the way Kailash Kher says “Kirket”. It’s a good upbeat song which sums the love of cricket in India. Very strong lyrics with sentences like “Diwali & Eid come once a year but we celebrate the festival of Cricket throughout the year”. The raw rural feel to the song is well done by Anu Malik with some traditional Rajasthani string instruments. Kailash Kher is great as always. I can imagine this song becoming a cult at cricket stadiums across India as has the capacity of becoming a hit with the masses of India especially rural.
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Track 5 – Tu Ne Re – You might want to skip this track the first time you hear it as it is a very slow romantic song. But listen to it again & again… It will grow on you. The music score reminds you of Pehla Nasha from JJWS. I am not saying it is even close to as good as that but yess… it does a fair job. A good romantic song with piano, acoustic guitar & light orchestra along with good lyrics and Shaan at his best with deep romantic vocals.
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Track 6 – Victory – You might just sit wondering when this track will get over as its quite long. Very repetitive music unless you pay attention to the vocals which are drowning in the music anyway. Great vocals by Dibyendu Mukherji & suit the song lyrics & feel. But not a song I will listen to again.
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Track 7 – Mazaa Aa Gaya – This is a difficult song to comment on without watching the movie. It sure is a family festive song of celebrations. Veeeeeery cheesyyyyyyyyy !!! Like all the other songs in this album I think this one is saved by all the brilliant singers on it as well. A fun song with low average vocals to a dhol beat. I can visualise Anupam Kher being the fun himself in this song. It is very situational & I can’t imagine it being played at your family get togethers unless you are pissed cause then the punch line Mazaa Aa gaya will blend in just right.
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FINAL WORD
Average !! – 5.5/10
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After delivering some really good songs in his last 3 movies Love Story 2050, Ugly aur Pagli, Maan Gaye Mugall-e-Azam.. you would have expected something brilliant from Anu Malik in a movie which is on a subject that touches almost every life in the Asian Sub-continent. But not a single song stands out in this album of 7 average & below average songs. The rating of 5.5 is for songs 2, 4, 5 and a little for track 7. Excellent singer choices by Anu Malik and they save the album by delivering on every song. Compositions, instrumentation & arrangements are poor. The only saving grace to get any radio or TV airplay for songs of Victory would be if they have been picturised well and deliver visually. Else… give this album a miss.. !
Track 5 – Mitra – The creators of the song jump on the mic here as well. Lyricist Amitabh & Salim sing this song quite well. It is an easy going number for some background listening in your car after a tiring day at work. A song about separation & loosing your friend but with a rather bright composition. It is not a dark song that will make you cry & thus I like it more as it is a contract of emotions on the music & lyrics front. Something really cleaver & well done by both these boys. It is very situational & the music has a good use of synths & keyboard work with guitars. Must listen song. 7.5/10.
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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. 
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. 
