Love Aajkal

Director: Imtiaz Ali
Producer: Dinesh Vijan
Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty

MUSIC

What a kick start! That's an immediate reaction the moment you are through listening to the opening number 'Aahun Aahun' for the first 100 seconds. A true blue fusion piece that has various flavours of Punjabi, Hindi as well as English coming together not just lyrically but also musically, 'Aahun Aahun' has a HIT written all over it. Whether it's the way Pritam puts together his entire composition in place (a difficult one at that), Irshad brings the young flavour on or singers Neeraj Sridhar, Master Saleem and Suzanne set the perfect mood, 'Aahun Aahun' is a winner. One can't wait to see what director Imtiaz Ali and his choreographer have done to this number that is all set to be a rage, especially in it's 'remix version'. Watch out for those guitar strings that open and close the song.

Luck

Actors
Imran Khan ,Sanjay Dutt ,Mithun Chakraborty ,Neha Oberoi ,Shruti Haasan ,Danny Denzongpa

Director
Soham Shah

Salim-Sulaiman and lyricist Shabbir Ahmed had created 'dhoom' with the soundtrack of Kaal and with Luck they come back to the scene once more. As expected, the title song ' Luck Aazma ' arrives first and goes on to find a place throughout the album with two more versions to follow. Sukhvinder Singh sounds ordinary in the original version but things get seriously zany once the 'remix version' of the song arrives a little later. A number about trying one's luck and taking risks that could be the now or never moment for the protagonists, ' Luck Aazma ' with supporting vocals by Satya Hinduja is a kind of number that should find a place throughout the film's narrative as a background score.

For the first time in the album a female voice is heard and it's a pleasant surprise indeed since the person making her debut behind the mike is none other than Shruti Haasan herself. Though it's a slow start for her version of the title track (named 'Aazma - Luck Is The Key'), one looks forward to what Shruti has to offer as she gets into the pop mode. She is well supported by Clinton Cerejo who gives her company with her English portions. Arrangements are a little different for this version as Salim-Sulaiman gives it an entirely Western touch unlike the Sukhwinder version that had an Indian feel to it. Shruti does well with her debut and it would be interesting to see if she manages to get a music video all for herself for this very number!

Kaminey

Cast: Shahid Kapoor,Priyanka Chopra,Amol Gupte
Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Lyrics: Gulzar
Cinematography: Tassaduq Hussain
Editing: Meghna Manchanda Sen
Screenplay: Vishal Bharadwaj, Sabrina Dhawan, Abhishek Chaubhey
Story Writer: Vishal Bhardwaj
Action Direction: Shyam Kaushal

Kaminey is certainly not a run of the mill album and this is where its prime strength lies. The album boasts of at least three chartbuster tracks - 'Dhan Te Nan' (sure shot superhit), 'Thode Bheege' (must for the hearts in love) and 'Raat Ke Dhai Baje' (for some 'masti' and 'hungama'). Songs like 'Fatak' and 'Kaminey' are innovative and situational which showcase the range of Vishal Bhardwaj. Add to that the 'Go Charlie Go - Theme Music' and you know that Kaminey is yet another addition to some excellent albums that have hit the stands during last one month.

www.smswala.co.in

Kambakkht Ishq

Film: Kambakkht Ishq (Comedy)
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Aftab Shivdasani, Amrita Arora
Direction: Sabbir Khan

Kambakkht Ishq delivers what it promised at the very onset. A 'masala' outing was very much in the offering and that is ensured by means of 'Om Mangalam' and title song 'Kambakkht Ishq'. Meanwhile, there is also some nice little surprise in place in the form of 'Kyun' and 'Bebo' that make the album a satisfying affair.

New York

Banner: Yash Raj Films
Cast: John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh
Direction: Kabir Khan
Production: Aditya Chopra
Music: Pritham Chakraborthy

New York turns out to be an okay album when so much more was expected out of it. Agreed that one expected only situational tracks in the film but except for 'Hai Junoon', none of the others turn out to be mighty impressive or the kinds that you would recommend to friends.

www.smswala.co.in

Dostana

Producer/s: Karan Johar and Hiroo Yash Johar
Director: Tarun Mansukhani
Music: Vishal-Shekhar
Lyrics: Kumaar , Anvita Dutt Guptan and Vishal Dadlani
Vocals: Amanat Ali, Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal, Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan and Vishal Dadlani
Label: Sony BMG

After a flurry of mediocre to average albums in the second half of the year, one is really looking forward, in fact, thirsting for one album that will appeal to the sensibilities of quality music lovers and will have a long shelf life, and who better than Vishal-Shekhar to deliver that. V-S have been assigned the responsibility of composing music for the first time for Dharma Productions and naturally expectations assume mammoth proportions. Reasons are obvious. Dharma Productions have always been associated with high quality, chart busting music right from 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' to 'Salaam-E-Ishq'. V-S have had a hit album in the form of 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' but one feels that their best (after 'Om Shanti Om') is yet to come!

Vishal Shekhar gave us 'Lucky Boy' and 'Small Town girl' in 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' and now they bring for us, 'Desi Girl'. The title couldn't be more right as the song is infused with all the traditional musical instruments like 'dhol', 'tabla' and 'harmonium'. The rhythm is reminiscent of Dharmendra's 'Jat Yamla', although certainly not derived or copied. The song is a treat as the superb fusion of Western and 'desi' rhythm is absolutely lethal. Shankar Mahadevan is a class apart and imparts his own touch and uniqueness to the song. His enthusiasm and energy comes through and one does not have to be a Nostradamus to predict that the song is bound to be a surefire chart buster (specially in the Overseas, where it is more relevant), what with the two handsome hunks, John and Abhishek grooving to the beat with the ravishing Priyanka Chopra. The lyricist Kumaar provides the perfect background with a superb intermingling of Hindi and a sprinkling of English. The highlight of the track are its lyrics, "Dekhi lakh lakh pardesi girl, There is no one like my desi girl."

www.smswala.co.in

Producer/s: Bharat Shah, Vikas Kapoor and Samir Karnik
Director: Samir Karnik
Music: Sajid-Wajid and Monty
Lyrics: Sameer, Jalees Sherwani and Rahul B. Seth
Vocals: Kavita Krishnamurthy, Kunal Ganjawala, Parthiv Gohil, Shail Hada, Sonu Nigam, Soumya Raoh, Sukhwinder Singh, Rekha Rao and Wajid
Label: EROS Music

Boasting of some of the top names of the industry, constituting of the younger (Sohail Khan and Bobby Deol), the middle (Salman and Preity) and the senior brigade (Sunny Deol), Heroes is one of the most awaited projects of the year. The director of the magnum opus Samir Karnik started of with the Amitabh, Vivek and Aishwarya starrer, 'Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na...'. While the movie failed commercially its melodious music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy was highly appreciated. This time around Samir has gone in for Sajid-Wajid and Monty. Let us find out if Samir Karnik's ear for good music is still intact or not!

It's a warm welcome to the two most talented and versatile artists of the music industry, Kavita Krishnamurthy and Sonu Nigam (both of whom have become a rarity these days!) through the highly melodious number, 'Mannata'. The song commences with the superb combining of 'ektara', flute and piano notes and immediately transports the listener to the beautiful lush green and yellow mustard fields of Punjab. The essence is all Punjabi but the melodic content extremely high. Sonu with his absolutely mesmerizing soft vocals spins magic and Kavita is simply fab with her part. Never once does she sounds out of touch, such is her hold over the number which in parts does sound a bit familiar to J.P. Dutta's 'Tu Mera Kaun Laage' (Batwara). All those who are still in love with Sonu's 'Pehli Pehli Baar Baliye' (Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta's Sanghursh) will once again fall in love with his 'Mannata'.

Guitar strums commence 'Mannata-Lover's Paradise mix', an all out instrumental that is a treat in itself. DJ Romeo and DJ Raoul need to be commended for a job done well. Base guitaring, drumming and keyboard notes all hinging on superb synth instruments blend into a marvelously crafted version that may be used as a background rhythm in tense emotional parts of the film.

www.smswala.co.in