DJ Munks.com

If you have seen the trailers.. you know the genre of this movie. A light romantic comedy for a perfect family fun drama. That is exactly what Aloo Chaat gives you… It doesn’t disappoint you on that and thoroughly entertains you keeping you smiling and laughing almost throughout. But it does disappoint you when it comes to movie making technique and originality. Once I have finished watching this movie, I can think of a few movie names that this movie is like.. At the top of my list is Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate.. If you have seen that movie and remember the simple story movie style revolving around a family obcessed with rules and a web of lies tailored by Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla to breed their love, then this is exactly what Aloo Chaat is about.

But does that matter when the movie makes you laugh and keeps you happy for good 2-3 hours ???

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PLOT

Aloo Chaat is directed by Robby Grewal and produced by Anuj Saxena, A. P. Parigi and Gary S. under the Maverick Productions, Mirchi Movies Ltd. and Red-Ice Productions banner.

Aftab (Nikhil) has just come back from USA to his family in Delhi [India]. He is from a typical Delhi Hindu family with the traditional mindset. They want to get him married but he loves a Muslim girl he met in USA but too scared to tell them.

His uncle gives him the idea to lie and say he loves a white girl and let Aamna come in to the family that way with the “gori”. She can then make the family fall in love with her through the wedding preparations like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. haha..

The rest of the drama follows as one lie leads to another and the situation becomes a spicy mixture like an “Aloo Chaat”.

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REVIEW

Well so you are saying that you have heard this story a number of times before.. That’s true.. But how is this different?? Well it’s the supporting cast of this movie and the delivery style of a director that makes a difference to this story. Robby keeps it simple and light hearted throughout with very short situational jokes. The humour is quirky and in the typical Delhi’et Punjabi style which adds the extra spice to this Aloo Chaat.

The flow of the movie is smooth and easy. The edit is good and to the point. Thinking about it.. I can barely think of any extra and out of place scenes in the movie. The music is average with a few good tracks and you can read the music review here. The background music and sound design are a little cheesy at times with the use of some terrible sound effects. The dialogues are good but the screenplay is very limited with not much scope for experimentation or better performances by the actors. And the dialogues and screenplay are both by directory Robby Grewal himself.

The performance’s are plain average by the 3 leading stars Aftab, Aamna & Linda. There is not much for them to do anyway. But Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Sanjay Mishra & Manoj Pahwa are simply brilliant and a total laugh riot. Dolly Ahluwalia & Meenakshi are alright.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- NO action.. NO emotional drama.. NO romantic dance around the trees.. Just pure family fun and laughs glore.

- Great job by the supporting cast of Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Sanjay Mishra & Manoj Pahwa.

- Simple story and to the point edit keeping the movie nice and tight.

- RDB doing the music as our UK connection to Bollywood.

- The art work is good in the casting at the start.

- Has a message at the end and thus a purpose.

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LOWLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- An old story with no creative input twist to it.

- Very limited screenplay and not much performance scope for the main leading cast.

- Below average performance by Aamna for her big screen debut.

- Aftab is expressionless throughout the movie.

- Some very cheesy jokes with scenes trying to force the comedy.

- Limited and restricted comedy style that might not work with all type of audiences.

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FINAL WORD

Good – 7/10 .

Although I have heard this story before and seen a number of films on this line but I give it a decent score because… frankly.. this movie managed to keep me smiling and laughing occasionally through the entire duration of the film !! That’s the entire purpose of the movie and it manages to do that.. poor performances by leading cast and poor screenplay come in secondary. So if you like light family comedies.. then this movie is for you. If you have lived in Delhi or at least been to old Delhi .. that would be an added bonus as you will get the jokes easily. Enjoy this flick and keep smiling.

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Our talented UK boys are back after Singh Is Kinng with a chatpata mixture of music styles on this soundtrack called Aloo Chaat. Yup.. it’s RDB back in business in the massive Bollywood industry with their mix of Bhangra, Hindustani & RnB music styles… but this time with No Akshay Kumar around !!

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Aloo Chaat is yet another Bollywood romantic comedy starring Aftab Shivdasani & the gorgeous Aamna Shariff. It is directed by Robby Grewal and Produced by Anuj Saxena. The trailers of the movie are hilarious and seems like a proper wedding drama family movie based in Delhi. It is set for release in the UK on 20th March 09. Although a small budget flick with no major names in the cast, it surely seems to have the fun element that a normal man craves after a long day at work.

The music is not completely the work of RDB trio but the title song is and thus so has RDB on the cover as the main producers. The other composers on the album are Xulfi, Vipin Mishra & Mehfuz Mahruf. Lets find out what’s the soundtrack like that is already up on all the charts.

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REVIEW

Track 1 – Aloo Chaat (Title Song) – RDB try to give Bollywood the British MC rap flavour in this song. Quite frankly I am not a big fan of such rap style RDB work. They are best when they stick to authentic Bhangra beats and desi mixes. This track is not bad work but I know it does not have a mass appeal in India. You will have the rickshaw drivers switching channels as soon as this song comes on radio. It’s for the cool college crowd as is very “street”. Hate the rap by Smooth but love the vocals of real life couple Manj & Nindy Kaur. They sound fresh and their self written lyrics are good too. Don’t see this song going a long way as it lacks the Bollywood touch.. but surely is something new for that market. 6/10.

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Track 2 – Dhadke Jiya – This song is all about Xulfi. He has written it.. composed and produced the music.. and sung it too. He does a better job as a singer and impresses with the lyrics. The music is average and is prominently acoustic guitar based. I like this song & think it is one of the better romantic songs this year. With the right promotion, this track is heading north on the charts for sure. For a full package man Xulfi & his soulful rendition – 7/10 .

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Track 3 – Aloo Chaat – I don’t get it why this track is not the title song!! It’s very Bollywood and super cool. Vipin Mishra does the music and lyrics while the tiny sufi superstar Kailash Kher blesses the song with his voice and unique style. Other than his amazing vocals, this track has a very easy going but funky beat structure & pleasing fun lyrics. The texture of the beats with the Punjabi shouts creates a great blend with the bass. The predominantely Punjabi lyrics are full of rhymes and funny at times. My favourite track on this OST – 8/10 .

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Track 4 – Boliyaan (Giddha) – Now that’s what I am talking about when I say “RDB are the best when they stick to Bhangra”. NO music director in Bollywood can deliver a track like this !! A proper Punjabi wedding Giddah song like none other. It’s got the traditional lyrics back with the amazing vocals of Nindy Kaur and Manj. Am only doubtful of how did they ever imagine Manj’s vocals to suit Aftaab :/   But what the heck.. it’s a great song & will be my fav for all weddings I DJ at for sometime. 7.5/10 .

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Track 5 – Life Is A Sizzling Aloo Chaat – Kunal Ganjawal sings to the beats of Mehfuz Mahruf and the lyrics of Syed Gulrez. All in all.. it’s a dud package. I think it’s the most boring & at points, annoying !! Skip it.. It lacks sensible lyrics, catchy music and dynamic vocals. 4.5/10 .

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Track 6 – Dhadke Jiya (Remix) – Nah.. nahhhh… DJ Moody & DJ Imti work hard to transform a good track into plain average. They just add a beat to the original song.. The worse is they add re-verb & flanging effects to the amazing vocals of Xulfi and ruin them. 4.5/10 .

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Track 7 – Boliyaan (Giddha) (2nd Version) – RDB doing a 2nd version of the original Boliyaan. This is a more appropriate version of Mehndi ceremonies. It starts slower and then picks up all the way to the top. This is also the version used in the movie. Nothing majorly different in this version except for the pace. 7/10 .

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Track 8 – Aloo Chaat (Remix) – DJ Moody & DJ Imti don’t do a bad job on this ‘already very cool’ track. It has a slight Electro pattern to it but does not truly classify as that. It’s an average regular mix style that you very commonly hear. Nothing original or different here. 6/10 .

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FINAL WORD

Average – 6.5/10 .

The biggest saving grace this OST has is that it does not have any totally rubbish track on it. It’s full of average & slightly above average tracks. This makes the OST buy-able as you wont be spending the money just for a couple of good tracks. Plus we have RDB on it which any day adds a lot of weight to the sale value in the UK market.

Boliyaan is the track that opens the door of Bollywood to folk Punjabi music… while Dhadke Jiya brings out the talented Xulfi in the limelight. Aloo Chaat is my favourite track & recommendation. This album is unique to the Bollywood music market & is recommended. Lets see what the movie is like now..

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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…

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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..

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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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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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 .

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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.

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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.. !

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