U me aur Hum music review

I should have heard the soundtrack of UMH ( U Me aur Hum ) a long time ago, but I just couldn't come out of the self created cobweb comprised of Jodha Akbar songs. Everytime I listen to Jashn e bahara, it still carries the same freshness as it did the first time. And when I hear ARR crooning Khwaja ji I feel like......wait a minute. Isnt this supposed to be a review on UMH ?? damn !!

Three things caught my attention to go for this album. First was this being Ajay's first directorial venture, next being Vishal Bharadwaj , and the third and the most important reason, the darling of millions, Kajol.

Many might disagree with me on this, but I thought No Smoking was a very unique and creative album by Vishal B. One of the very few albums in Bollywood which carried the dark and gloomy atmosphere with it. My respect for Vishal B increased two fold after that album which made me expect more from U me aur hum, even though the subject was a typical love story with issues.

The album kick starts with a peppy and energetic Jee Le. The Spanish touch adds to the fun element. Even in the vocals department the song excels thanks to the apt drunken voice of Adnan and the sweet innocent voice of Shreya. I love the start of the song, which was superbly used in the movie's first promo. Although I have one complaint on the way one line is sung by Adnan...he sings " Jinko jinko bhi, milna hai likha... Ishq mil-ha-yegaa" instead of singing Ishq milwayegaa. I don't know if that was intentional or an excuse for his style of singing. Nevertheless a great number by Vishal B, and a potential chartbuster.

The next song is what makes this album a worthy addition to your music collection. An extremely sweet-sounding, mellifluous, dulcet and euphonious title track. It has the power to even make people who are not in love, fall in love. Beautifully sung by Shreya Ghosal, its gotta be a song very close to heart for Vishal B and so it is for me. The last I remember hearing such a song from him was in the cute comedy movie Chupke Se where he gave the two gems "Kehte Kehte" and "Koi to ho". The prelude to the song with english lyrics perfectly sets the romantic mood and I can already imagine this being shot while Ajay and Kajol are on the cruise and the sun has just set, the sky is painted with yellow and orange colors...The best song of the album.

Exit Shreya and Enter Sunidhi for the next track Saiyaan. Although the lyrics by Munna Dhiman are a bit cheesy and idiotic, I think they'll make more sense in the movie and sound much better, thanks to Kajol. Its an interesting song which starts off in a Jazzy fashion and goes into a catchy song with a slight Punjabi flavor added to it, and then a mix of electric guitar and tabla thrown in. All for a situational number...Pretty cool ha ! Compared to the first two songs, this one's an OK number ( but not bad ) which would appeal more on big screen.

Adnan returns for yet another situation number Phatte. Any Punjabi song is bound to become a hit and also will lighten up the screen. And Ajay knows it very well and hence has incorporated a punjabi song as a theme to display husband-wife duel. Vishal tried to stay away from cliched sounds and rhythms which one has heard time and again in punjabi folk songs, but I guess he too surrendered to the stereotype. Passable song which once again needs a video to elevate itself.

Ohhh no Adnan yet again...is it just me or did anyone else also get tired of listening to Adnan again and again. For some reason I feel Vishal must have composed this song during or after composing for No Smoking. It has some shades of the song Jab Bhi Ciggaret. And wait a minute didn't I hear Sunidhi singing the first line Dil Dhakda hai ?? I don't see her name in the credits though..hmmm...wonder why. Anyways this is a nice steady rhythmic song, kinda off beat or in other words Vishalesque. Lyrics wise I like this song as its a bit funny and witty. One full day I was just mumbling "Joh dil dhakda hai...toh kuch lafda hai" line again and again till my close ones got mad. Finally its an enjoyable song, don't know if it'll stay on forever in minds, but is certainly the third best song of the album.

And the album ends on a very high note with a casual guitar and piano led intro to U Me aur hum rendered by Vishal himself. In some areas he sounds very amateurish, but I think his unique innocent voice really makes this song special and it sounds very easy on ears. The marriage of Munna's poetry and Vishal's music is truly made in heaven sorta. Its quite ironical that to me this is the most brilliant song of the whole album, even though it has minimal instruments and relatively an unprofessional singer. I guess its the sound of real instruments. On the whole a very very very romantic number which sends in a gush of feelings for any lover when he/she listens to it. Now I just want to sleep listening to this song.

Vishal B as we all know always tries to give an off-beat and unconventional album, and he's respected by many for that. And he succeeds in maintaining that stand in U Me aur Hum. Ajay Devgan's job is 33% complete as he's got some classy music for his first directorial venture. The rest is upto him and the acting which also I guess will succeed. So it'll all come down to his direction and how he'll make the movie look nowhere similar to (hopefully) Chalte Chalte or Saathiya. One somehow misses Gulzar saab in this album. Despite the 2 situational tracks U me aur hum is a very likeable album, thanks to the memorable title track ( both versions ), Jee Le and the humorous Dil Dhakda hai. Great going Vishal...

"No Smoking" - Music Review

“No Smoking” ..Pretty unusual name for an Indian name right …then imagine if Anurag Kashyap had gone ahead with the first choice, “Cigarette Smoking is injurious to health”..People would have seen the poster and thought it’s an ad by John Abraham. Thankfully thats not the case.

There’s actually a big story behind this unconventional movie, as to how Anurag had to struggle to get a producer for this movie. You can read his complete struggle in his website Anurag Kashyap's diary. It’s really disheartening to see that our producers are only up for making loads of money and not really making meaningful cinemas. This is the reason why we get mediocre movies which still become hit, thanks to some item numbers which satisfy the front benchers. Take a look at few responses he got when he approached some big time producers with this story (names concealed for obvious reasons) :

” Go back to the planet you came from”
“Try and get a movie release first, get a star, make a movie, ”
“you are talented, why are you wasting yourself over such absurd films”
“tell me something more intelligent”
“too bizarre”

His belief was “dus baar deewal mein sar maaro…deewal kabhi tho tootegi”. And so he kept on trying till he found Vishal Bharadwaj, who agreed to produce the film as soon as Anurag read the story to him. Naturally Vishal also took on the role as music director and delivered songs which go well with the mood and the setting of the movie. Now lets digg into the songs..

"Jab bhi Ciggaret" is a super cool song for me. A smooth jazz with apt rendition by Adnan Sami. You can’t help but notice Gulzar saab’s brilliant touches here and there or may be everywhere.

Lambe dhaage dhuen ke
Saans silne lage hain
Pyaas udhti hui lagi
Honth chhilne lage hain

Shaam hone lagi hai
Laal hone lagi hai

Genius…One has to get high to appreciate the mood and lyrics of the song..hey don’t take it seriously haan :)..Gulzaar depicts the state of mind of a smoker sooooo clearly, that it makes me wonder if he ever was in that situation before ;). I guess its just talent.

The jazz version reappears as a trance version in the end sung by Sunidhi Chauhan..Just like in Jab we met remixes, this song is a complete transformation from the original and feels like a different song. The saxophone loop is replaced by a guitar loop here. This song sure does have a haunting feel to it. A good song, a different song belonging to one of the unattempted genres of music in hindi, I would place it besides the title track of Johnny Gaddar.

"Phoonk De" has Rekha Bharadwaj singing it in a very familiar style which we’ve heard in Omkara. Quite easily I can imagine Bipasha when hearing this song and I believe she is doing an item song in this. The tone of this song is once again dark, gloomy and mesmerizing, with nice electronic beats usage on a bhangra base. The word ‘phoonk de’ is pretty addictive. Again brilliant lyrics by Gulzar..

Aas paas kuch nahi jee udaas hai zara
Dard sabz hai abhi mujhko raas hai jara

Hayaat phoonk de
Hawaas phoonk de

Saans se sila hua libaas phoonk de

Actually the entire song has amazing lyrics describing a man totally drowned in smoking…Gulzar you are a genius. Sukhwinder’s version of the same song comes again in the end, with different musical setup, a bit more pacy..mostly like a background song.

After 2 dark songs, “Kash Laga” comes in as a “smoke-free, fresh air zone” type of song. When I was listening I could make out Sukhwinder’s voice, but couldn’t make out Daler’s voice, even when I knew it was him singing. Amazing variation in voice. Vishal’s voice however sounds like a school kid singing amidst music teachers :). Gulzar is once again at his best in the lyrics department.

Ye jahaan faani hai
Bulbula hai paani hai
Bulbulon mein rukna kya
Paaniyon pe behta jaa

It’s a joyful song, like a celebration. I like it for the lyrics and rendition, not so much for the music.

Vishal once again tries to create an eerie effect with the next song "Ash Tray"…I feel I’m surrounded by smoke listening to it…dhuan dhuan…somehow when he says yeh ash tray it feels awkward and forced in the song…Just being the nature of the song, one can totally concentrate on the lyrics and find the sparkling poetry of Gulzar

Na haath daalo
Ki waqt se chheele hue lamhon ki raakh Garam hai
Waqt se chheleey hue lamhon ki raat narm hai

Wah wah …It’s sung very sorrowfully by Deva Sen Gupta, which means he’s done full justice to the song.

Kudos to the team – Anurag, Vishal and Gulzar, in coming up with a daring album and a bold movie. They are making films which they believe in, and we know that there aren’t that many in this industry. Its not appropriate to compare this album with any of the other soundtracks released this year. Not even with Johnny Gaddar, as that was a more upbeat, retro feel music. You have to be alone or in a calm place to enjoy this music, especially the lyrics. This has its own charm, uniqueness, sadness and for such an experimental subject, it’s an incredible soundtrack. I wish Anurag all the best for “No Smoking” and hope he continues making meaningful movies, no matter what happens.