Rowdy Rathore, Rakhtbeej, Yeh Khula Aasmaan - Music Review

Rowdy Rathore (2012)
Music: Sajid-Wajid

1. Chinta Ta Ta Chita Chita --------------------- 9/10
What the hell does it mean? Well, if you stop thinking about it for a second and roll in with it's beats and mood, this could easily be the best casually funny song of the year so far. The banjo beats and overly used synthesizer evoke the 90s and it's corniness without turning off. Repetitiveness could be a little bothersome and this song could easily be a passing fancy. But boy, isn't it an enjoyable one!

2. Dhadang Dhang --------------------------------- 8/10
Sajid-Wajid playing their A game in this one. A perfect song for this year's Ganpati festival. Sajid-Wajid use their style of singing incongruouss sounds perfectly blended with traditional dhol beats making it enjoyable in a hilarious way. No one can put up a straight face while shaking a leg to this song, and if someone does, it could just look funnier. And this track being a duet, makes for a great festival party track for the masses.

3. Aa Re Pritam Pyaare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7/10
As if Chhanno and Anarkali Disco Chali weren't adding to her rising fame in the item song niche, Mamta Sharma teams up with Sajid-Wajid for another carefree and scandalous track. Her trademark raw energy and the kitsch tone make for one fun song, if you prefer to look at it this way. Otherwise, steer clear of this one.

4. Tera Ishq Bada Teekha ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6/10
Yet another track from the album, which although not hilarious this time, reminds highly of the 90s style of music. This romantic duet by Shreya Ghoshal and Javed Ali has good beats, tune and intensity, and if you find the slightly Indian orchestra like style of music interesting, this could be a nice romantic listen.

Final verdict: Overall, gets a 8/10. It is a fun album, although not all songs are that great except for the ones mentioned above. Whoever made the call to hire Sajid-Wajid for this album, or it is the genius of Sajid-Wajid or it is the maximum range of their musical style, this duo has worked out brilliantly for yet another over-the-top kitschy film set in a rugged setting. It is hard to miss the striking similarity to the corny musical style of only 2 decades ago. Good, fun album, could be forgotten after it loses the limelight.

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Rakhtbeej (2012)
Music: Satish Tripathi, Ajay Mantwal

A bad, bad album almost unoriginal and trying to ride off the success of popular genres and singers. A song for a drunken night, an Indian classical song, a gangsta song and a Mamta Sharma item number: all badly done point to the lack of thinking shown by the musicians. Better luck next time.

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Yeh Khula Aasmaan (2012)
Music: Anand-Milind

Didn't know these guys still were active in Bollywood. Of course, being a part of a fringe movie doesn't really count. The album tries to maintain a positive outlook in it's meaning, but the mainstream entertainment factor is left out the door. Aari Aari could be a good lullaby. Need baby volunteers for testing.
Forgettable.


Chinta Ta Ta Chita Chita - Rowdy Rathore Dhadang Dhang - Rowdy Rathore Aa Re Pritam Pyaare - Rowdy Rathore Tera Ishq Bada Teekha - Rowdy Rathore

Ísland - An outsider's overview

The Country

A small island country that is isolated geographically from the rest of the world. Culturally a Nordic country and is a part of Europe. Spelt Ísland in Icelandic.

The size of the country with it's maritime border included is smaller than the US state of Virginia. Currency is Icelandic Krona, and the Euro and US Dollar is not accepted as currency. Either use plastic or Icelandic Kronur. Iceland uses a comma for decimal separation and period for thousand separation. So don't be fooled when you read prices as 15.000. It is fifteen thousand kronur and not fifteen.

The population is a mere 300,000 with two-thirds living in greater Reykjavik, the capital area. Even the capital city is not large enough to be called a metropolis. The second biggest town in Iceland after Reykjavik area, is Akureyri in the north of Iceland with a population of 17,000!

History

The establishment of Iceland was on similar principle as United States. The original settlers had fled the tyranny of the monarchy in their homelands. Of course, they had no indigenous people to fight against, nor they had to gain freedom from their colonizers. Instead they were colonized twice by Norway and Denmark until the second World War, when they finally became independent again.

The people

Most people are Scandinavian descendants, and are thus mostly blonde haired and blue eyed. As other immigrant population is few, there are few people of mixed color. The people are very friendly. It is not difficult for them to know you are a tourist, and they will be more than happy to offer you assistance when you ask for some. They tend to talk freely and will try to answer your question as much as they can, as against a cursory treatment given to strangers all across the world. Xenophobia: None. The country seems to be not affected by any violence and mistrust around the world.

Language
Icelandic is the primary language, that covers street names, road signs and all major shops and building names. Although spotting English signs and billboards is not uncommon. English is part of their mandatory curriculum since kindergarten. Hence, even though the accent varies from mild to thick and fluency varying from cautious to super fluent, all Icelanders are extremely comfortable talking to anyone in English. If you happen to talk to someone in Iceland who absolutely struggles to communicate in English, the person is definitely a non-anglophone immigrant there. Icelanders speak three languages: Icelandic, English and Danish.

Food
Sea food is the biggest food category. Go figure! Contrary to outside view, whaling in Iceland is frowned upon but not banned. Icelanders are trying to put an end to it, but mostly hold, curious travelers seeking exotic whale meat, responsible for it's continued presence.
Lamb is the second most common meat.
Interestingly, Iceland has a thriving vegeterian population and even more interestingly not vegan. Local Icelandic vegeterian restaurants offer food which is highly inspired by Indian food.

Economy
Fishing accounts for 40% of the economy. Due to abundance of steam due to geothermal activity, electricity is obtained from it at will. Electricity is thus cheap and from Iceland's point of view: a renewable, non-exhausting source of energy. As a result, they are attracting energy consuming industries to Iceland. Aluminum smelting factories is a success story for Iceland in this regard.
Tourism is surprisingly only picking up. The industry has sprawled around the country, but huge potential is yet to be tapped. The industry is very courteous, hassle-free and trusting of foreigners.

Farming
Why is farming separate from the economy? Iceland has zero, absolutely zero farming as is known traditionally. Due to super short winters, the only thing that grows on their limited layer of topsoil is grass. Horses, cows, sheep, goats and pigs feed on it. Primary output of farming is thus, Icelandic sheep wool, lamb meat, milk and pork. Beef production is nil as it is not viable. Except for some greenhouse produce like tomatoes and cucumbers, everything else is imported.

Landscape
Very rugged terrain. Volcanic rocks make the whole country. Sand and/or soil is very little. There are no sandy beaches. Since there is not enough soil, there are hardly any naturally occurring trees. Even spotting shrubs in the wilderness is difficult. The most abundant vegetation is the moss that grows on rocks. The second most common tree species is the birches. They can grow to a maxim of 10 feet. No trees that soar in the sky. Not even the pine trees or it's like common to arctic regions. Yes, there are those trees in Iceland, but all, all have been planted artificially and they are unable to survive.


Attractions and other specifics........... to be continued.......

Ishaqzaade, Dangerous Ishhq, Department, Fatso! - Music Review

Ishaqzaade (2012)
Music: Amit Trivedi

Amit Trivedi has been coming up with so many good sounding albums that are not chart busters, that it is hard to keep a track now. Probably, Aisha was his last hit album. This album is no exception to his good work thus far which is sure to bite the dust as soon as the spotlight moves on. He deserves some leeway, though, for a fun album.

1. Pareshaan -------------------------------------------------- 7/10
If you loved Lehrein from Aisha, this one belongs to the same category in terms pace and mood. Soft and silent vocals backed by robust male chorus, harmonium and bass guitar. A good blend of soft and hard hitting musical components.

2. Aafaton Ke Parinde -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7/10
A hard hitting song where Suraj Jagan's gritty has been put to good use. A sure mood lifter. A good suck quencher. It's strong opening feels slightly wasted as the song never seems to reach a defining climax until at the absolutely end.

3. Jhalla Wallah -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7/10
The most fun qawwali I have heard in a while. This song has goofy lyrics. Fun and entertaining. The musical genre is pure qawwali, no mixing it with western instrumentals. This is probably what makes the lyrics stand out and evoke maximum laughs. Shreya Ghoshal for the first time gives an unexpected performance for the better, considering her sticking to formulaic romantic tracks.

Final verdict: Overall, gets a 6/10. Decent songs. Not memorable in any way, but once you play them, you might feel to hang on. But, the songs are just not there in the hit-o-sphere.

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Dangerous Ishhq (2012)
Music: Himesh Reshammiya

With this album, HR has been demoted to being Himesh Reshammiya. If only this album had come out 6-7 years ago during the peak of his career would this album had been received positively. Now, however, Himesh's Aap Ka Surroor like heartbroken songs don't make the cut.The song Naina Re would have been one of your best songs of a broken heart. Not anymore.

The entire album, with especially Naina Re (Reprise) and Ishq Mein Ruswaa  would be perfect for the dhabas and trucks.

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Department (2012)
Music: Bappi Lahiri

The genre of the movie is about the lives of Mumbai cops and gangsters. Other than hoping to find another Kallu Mama, not much was expected and the album does not grant us anything much. The songs are peppy and replete with attitude. So they are amusing to listen to, but nothing in it for a Bollywood music fan.





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Fatso! (2012)
Music: Sagar Desai

Yes, turned this stone over and found nothing. A boring album with no purpose. Wonder if this album is more of a distraction even in the movie.
Pareshaan - Ishaqzaade Aafaton Ke Parinde - Ishaqzaade Jhalla Wallah - Ishaqzaade