Music Review - Rush, Chakravyuh, English Vinglish, OMG Oh My God!, JHTTD

Rush (2012)
Music: Pritam
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This a quintessential Pritam album for an Emraan Hashmi movie. Not new, in fact it is a typical album from Pritam, but it is still so lovable. Wonder when will these tunes of Pritam will get old. At least not now.

1. O Re Khuda -------------------- 8/10
Along the lines of Tera Mera Rishta from Awarapan, this is another track of a saddened soul. Good tempo and instensity. Adnan Sami's smooth voice still has the same magic.

2. Chup Chup Ke (Film Version) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8/10
3. Chup Chup Ke -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8/10
Pritam uses two of his past creation in one. A soft romantic track on a strumming guitar spliced with a rousing romantic qawwali. Sound familiar?
The Film Version is sung by Ash King of Delhi 6 fame, while the other version by Shaan. This is one of the best songs of Shaan of late, where he seems to falling out of favor.

4. Mumkin Nahi --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8/10
A very Jannat 2-esque track. A soft melody with great vocals which develops great tempo, slowly building up to a great pop rock track.

5. Fukraa ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6/10
An average Punjabi track, but fairly zesty that is enjoyable when not paying close attention. Won't mind it.

6. Rab Ka Junoon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6/10
This track is certainly not for everyone, but gets a special mention in that this track is probably the first time any Bollywood track has gone metal, not holding anything back. Kudos to Pritam for the daring move. The style of this song is very similar to American rock band System of a Down.

Final verdict: Overall, gets a 7/10. A fun album overall, with typical yet enjoyable romantic tracks from Pritam with a couple of average but still enjoyable peppy tracks. Pritam doesn't let go one last time in 2012.

Chakravyuh (2012)
Music: Salim-Sulaiman, Aadesh Shrivastava, Shantanu Moitra, Sandesh Shandilya, Vijay Verma
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Too many cooks have spoiled the broth is how this album could be summarized, with the following exception:

Brownie point:

• Chakravyuh Theme - One of the most intense and true to it's motive theme, a rarity in Bollywood which otherwise dishes out soul-less generic fare as 'themes'. Pretty dark and perfectly portrays an iniquitous mood.

English Vinglish (2012)
Music: Amit Trivedi
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1. Badla Nazara (Female) --- 7/10
2. Badla Nazara (Male) ------ 7/10
A fun track, that is essentially the theme of movie, which sparks a great optimistic mood of a person in a new world. Just fun. Both versions are equally nice.

3. Gustakh Dil ------------------ 7/10
A little too slow. Has a tardy opening, but it blossoms into a great melody, that the initial wait is worth it. Very soothing.

4. Manhattan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7/10
An odd song, with a dialogue to open the song. The overall song is a little casual and goofy, but does it entertain? Oh yes. Very foot tapping.

5. Navrai Majhi ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7/10
Amit Trivedi takes Marathi themed song mainstream. This album which precedes Aiyyaa, seemed like the point where he experimented successfully with this genre of music. Not a chartbuster, plain fun and great for weddings. The American accented Marathi is funny, if anything.

6. Dhak Dhuk ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6/10
A typical Amit Trivedi track, which is really nice sounding, but puts you in a wonder whether you could listen this slow and soft track to the end. Probably supports the scene well, but doesn't stand up on it's own as a track.

Final verdict: Overall, gets a 7/10. Entertaining enough, Amit Trivedi was probably is in his stride during the latter part of 2012. Good for him. Good for us.

OMG Oh My God! (2012)
Music: Himesh Reshammiya
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One of another misfires by Himesh Reshammiya. A pretty large album, but nothing to show for.

Jeena Hai Toh Thok Daal (2012)
Music: Shadaab-Abhik, Siddhant Madhav
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An average album for a cop/gangster film. Alas, there are no more cool gangsta songs from such movie albums coming out, but just terrible ripoffs and terrible item number wannabes.

O Re Khuda - Rush Chup Chup Ke (Film Version) - Rush Mumkin Nahi - Rush Fukraa - Rush Rab Ka Junoon - Rush Chup Chup Ke - Rush Chakravyuh Theme - Chakravyuh Badla Nazara (Female) - English Vinglish Gustakh Dil - English Vinglish Manhattan - English Vinglish Navrai Majhi - English Vinglish Dhak Dhuk - English Vinglish Badla Nazara (Male) - English Vinglish

Music Review - Dabangg 2, Kismet Love Paisa Dilli, Ata Pata Laapata, Dhama Chaukdi

Dabangg 2 (2012)
Music: Sajid-Wajid
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1. Dagabaaz Re ---------------------------- 8/10
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan comes back with a gem. It might sound like a typical track of his at first. Give it a few repeat plays and this track transforms into a lovely qawwali track. Tere Mast Mast Do Nain from Dabangg's magic has been successfully recreated here.

2. Fevicol Se --------------------------------- 7/10
3. Fevicol Se (Remix) -------------------- 7/10
A typical Mamta Sharma item number, with predictable beats, tune and instrumentals. The mediocrity of the song ends here and if you can ignore that, this is one goofy track for some rowdy fun. Enjoyable. Trademark Sajid-Wajid.
The Remix has been done well, and sounds like a great song for DJs at discotheques. Not over the top.

Final verdict: Overall, gets a 6/10. Such a typical Sajid-Wajid album, replete with goofy songs that are more rowdy than genuinely interesting. It seems at times that Salman Khan is keeping Sajid-Wajid in business. A few interesting tracks, but overall average.

Kismet Love Paisa Dilli (2012)
Music: Amjad Nadeem, Santokh Singh
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The album is average except the one interesting track below.

Brownie point:

• Appy Budday (Videshi), Appy Budday (Desi) - A fun quirky song sung in a boorish Jat inflection. The lyrics are funny and the execution is perfect. The song is very lively overall, except that is loses it's way in the middle. The Videshi version version uses Hollywood actors and American personalities while the Desi version uses Bollywood actors in the lyrics. Both are otherwise the same and equally funny.

Ata Pata Laapata (2012)
Music: Sujeet Choubey, Amod Bhatt, Rajpal Yadav, Sukhwinder Singh
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The album is replete with village like folk music. So unless you are into this genre, not a lot can be liked about this album. On the other hand, if you look at this sarcastically, there are some songs to enjoy like Don't Take Tension and Joban.

Brownie point:

• Joban - It is a fun rural marriage party song. It covers everything from being a corny song to situational dialogues which add to the authentic folk feel of the song. Employing folk singer Malini Awasthi (Dil Mera Muft Ka Remix from Agent Vinod) works wonders for the overall feel of the song, and the chorus has been directed well too.

Dhama Chaukdi (2012)
Music: Sahil Rayyan
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If you were waiting for a train wreck of an album, this is it. Cliched, corny and thankfully at times, laughably bad. Title track Dhama Chaukdi and Ringfisher Hai Yeh Mast Beer are the best in this sense. For those who don't get enough of Mamta Sharma, there is also Yaar Mood Jhand Kar Ke.

Fevicol Se - Dabangg 2 Dagabaaz Re - Dabangg 2 Fevicol Se (Remix) - Dabangg 2 Appy Budday (Videshi) - Kismet Love Paisa Dilli Appy Budday (Desi) - Kismet Love Paisa Dilli Joban - Ata Pata Laapata

Music Review - Khiladi 786, Myoho, Cigarette Ki Tarah, Le Gaya Saddam

Khiladi 786 (2012)
Music: Himesh Reshammiya
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1. Hookah Bar ----------------------------- 9/10
2. Hookah Bar (Remix) ---------------- 9/10
One of the best, one of the most catchy tunes brought to us by HR after a while. And finally, HR decides to pick up the microphone. The beats are very buoyant, lyrics are fun and easy to croon along; just in time for the holiday season parties.
The Remix is equally nice, with all the goodness condensed by a minute when compared to the original track.

3. Lonely (Remix) ------------------------ 8/10
The ultimate HR experience. With some video bias, I can say HR has employed his nasal twang well after a long break. The monologue at the opening and the middle of the song is genuinely boring and sounds as if the rapper is saying it while taking a dump. Using Teri Yaad Saath Hai from Namastey London tune works nicely in the track.
The Remix works a little better, as the beats are better. The rapper is limited compared to the original and blends a little better instead of the juxtaposed feeling in the main version of the song.

4. Long Drive ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7/10
5. Long Drive (Bhangra Mix) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7/10
An interesting track which blends the western instrumentals with an essentially Punjabi track. Mika Singh's lazy voice sounds more relaxed than forced energetic, so kudos to HR for his choice of playback singer. The songs swerves between a chic track and outright emotional tunes is pretty unique. The Bhangra Mix is an out-n-out Punjabi folk track which is equally foot tapping. The main track and the remix evoke completely different moods.

Final verdict: Overall, gets a 8/10 if you are a Himesh fan. A lot of his albums off late have not featured him behind, which kind of led to a feeling he had lost his mojo. This proves me wrong. The entire album is fairly interesting for his fans, otherwise this could easily have been a mediocre album.

Myoho (2012)
Music: Runa Rizvi

The album has the first big step to climb out of obscurity, and then please the audience enough to take a note. Thankfully enough, the Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na fame Runa Rizvi does a fair job of her music director. The music is folksy and overall pleasant, unlike a lot of painful second tier albums. Good enough to earn some brownie points, and I will respectfully hold back sharp criticisms.
Brownie points:

• Saathiya - A pleasant and Indian classical romantic track with a tinge of sadness. The male lead could have been a little better.
• Haq Ali Da -  A typical but still enjoyable track sung by Master Saleem for fans of the sufi genre.
• Vande Mataram - An oddly interesting patriotic song both intense in it's mood and melody. A good listen every 15th August for Indians.

Cigarette Ki Tarah (2012)
Music: Sudeep Banerjee, Kavita Seth, Ankur Mishra, Viraj Sawant
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An average album for a fairly unknown movie. No surprises here. Not too bad, but nothing of much notice either. Nikhil D'Souza tries in vain to imitate the style of Pakistani rock singers. Sounds haphazard and thus flat in Doorian.
Brownie point:

• Hey Bhagwan - An average but still fun track about a life turned upside down. Pretty catchy, short and simple.

Le Gaya Saddam (2012)
Music: Amjad Khan
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Oh boy! If I was waiting for bad music to happen, this is it. No point in the tunes, vocals or genres of the album. An all round failure. For some sarcastic humor, listen to Ye Le Ye Le. A train wreck of a song, but not enough to own it.

Hookah Bar - Khiladi 786 Lonely (Remix) - Khiladi 786 Long Drive - Khiladi 786 Hookah Bar (Remix) - Khiladi 786 Long Drive (Bhangra Mix) - Khiladi 786 Saathiya - Myoho Haq Ali Da - Myoho Vande Mataram - Myoho Hey Bhagwan - Cigarette Ki Tarah