After listening to Suraj Jagan’s rocking Aafaton ke Parinde, I was expecting some rock from the title song, but Javed Ali’s simple rendition of the title song not only caught me off guard, I knew that the song was going to grow on me. And so it was. Growing on me slowly, every time I heard it. The reasons were plenty. One, the song was quite new for me, as in, it was a simple, nice composition, very much Indian at the heart and Javed Ali sings it very much that way, but it has sax and western drums, which give way to Indian style beats. That was just some analysis I could do, I hope you get the essence. The song suddenly shifting from Javed to Shreya at the end is interesting, though nothing really new, yet Shreya once again surprises with her singing, or rather the voice here. Just listen to the song. A few times.

Hua Chhokra Jawan re. An Amit Trivedi desi song, with a touch of brass band effect, mostly from the drums used. Sunidhi Chauhan is the best part of the song, as the lyrics get full justice done to them the way she sings them. Vishal Dadlani is definitely not bad, but he didn’t here need the depth that generally comes with his voice, and I’m not such a big fan of his masti-mood songs, like Dhaeon-Dhaeon, and this. Still, interesting stuff, to say the least. Worth a try definitely.

Shalmali Kholgade. Main pareshan pareshan pareshan. If you haven’t heard the song on youtube yet, you’re in for a surprise. And if you have, well, the song would still not disappoint. Amit Trivedi here has added some small nuances in the song, that didn’t show their overalls in the trailer version. And Shalmali is definitely a discovery here, even though her voice is a lot like Madhushree’s, and the treatment given not very different. One of the best from the album. Definitely worth a listen.

Item Song next. Well, EVERY single movie nowadays has an item song these days. And some of them may have two, three, more, or can be a collection of item songs only. But THIS is how you make one. Something that tells you that even if they make all the songs as items songs only, the ones that are made well will work anyway, sounding as new as any.

OK, probably I said too much, so here is more detail on the song, instead of praise now. Clearing throat, Shreya’s slow, harkat-ful singing of two lines, where the lyrics go ‘Gulaal’ way, to explain it in a simple way. That’s the beginning. The background is a little Qawwali’ish, with some restricted beats, not coming out of claps necessarily, and overall reminding me of kajra re, to some extent, with its treatment. But with all this music and treatment, it’s the lyrics of the song and Shreya’s singing of them that interest one in the song. Do listen, I’m pretty sure after reading this much you’d be disappointed with the song that is called Jhalla Wallah.

Enough of drama, now back to being Amit Trivedi, the regular one, with all the irregular things. Enter Suraj Jagan, with Divya Kumar, dubstep at a relatively slower pace, a rocking mood and some hardcore lyrics. Also pour in some voice-beats (hut-hut-hut-hut, aali re-saali re style). And bingo, Amit Trivedi is here. If you’re an Amit Trivedi fan, probably Aafaton ke Parinde is what you will come to, again and again. Lovely. Or should I say, Rocking.

Remix time. Main Pareshaan. Starts well, Shalmali’s voice gets some nice treatment, but ‘main pareshan’ part is not striking enough. Dubstep effects seen again. More sounds than voices, being a remix of course, but somehow not bad, unless you start comparing with the original song.

But then there is a remix that is close to the original song, for Jhalla Wallah. Abhijit Waghani seems to have done quite some work here, as the song completely develops its own pace and character, which goes an almost completely different way from the original. Listen to this one.

Overall, Ishaqzaade is a nice, varied, and entertaining album that is not just good for what it is but also because if you’re an Amit Trivedi fan, it tells you what the guy can do besides being ‘regular Amit Trivedi’ which is necessary for him to exist and thrive. After Aisha and Ek main aur Ekk Tu, this is probably the third time that he has come with new stuff that isn’t regular him. Way to go, boy.

And yeah, not to forget the work done by Kausar Munir here. Some real desi lyrics in the times where people think desi means the curses from Delhi’s autodrivers. Keep that up, ma’am.

Yep. Sajid-Wajid sound like a very ’90s composers at times, but their greatness exists in the fact that even when they sound like ’90s, they are so good with it that you end up loving them. The only problems they have had is that they have not really been very consistent, and of course, they haven’t had very big names to work with, with a regular exception of Salman Khan. The latter is changing, and I hope that the former changes too.

OK that was a long prologue for a small album with just four original tracks, though there are twelve versions on the disk. So here we go on Tezzz.

The album starts with the gem of a song called Tere bina tere bina dil naiyo lagda, sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. A nice melody, and quite some Nadeem-Shravan’ish treatment is what the song has, but neither of the two is mediocre and some simple singing from Rahat is enough to make the song lovable. And that is what it is. Lovely.

Tezzz title song sung by Sunidhi is an average number, with a little Abbas-Mustan feel to it, which seems to be going with the movie. Sunidhi’s singing is good here, but the results are more or less just okay. Maybe the song will be liked a bit more with time and promotion.

Mohit Chauhan singing for Sajid-Wajid is something rare, if not a first. However, the duo give the master singer a song that fits his voice perfectly and the treatment is more or less the same as he generally gets from Pritam, with an added Chorus for him singing tere saaye mein, which makes the romantic song more devotional. A simple, light, romantic number, with the added chorus adding a little more to the song.

Laila, the next by Sunidhi is an average number again, and somehow after not liking it after listening to it a few times, didn’t feel like listening to it more. Passable.

For the next track, Shreya Ghoshal comes to sing Tere bina tere bina, which sounds perfectly good, but a little more ‘old’, a little more ’90s. Probably because Rahat’s adds a little twist to a song, you don’t feel it so much in the male version. However, worth a listen for sure. Do listen and decide for yourself if you like this one more.

Shaan’s version of Tezzz is not really great. Wondering if this could have been given to KK. Not sticking much on remixes, I shift towards the sad version of Tere Bina, which I presume could be better with a few more twists thrown in with that simplicity. The last thing I would like to say a little about is Tere Bina (Indian) version. Sudden thought: It’s still Rahat singing, so how’s it more Indian? Well, jokes apart, the version is a little more towards Aashiqui as beats come more from the Tabla here and that IS nice, but I think a little more Indianization of the version could make things more interesting.

Overall, Tezzz has got quite some nice music from Sajid-Wajid, even if it doesn’t go equally in all the songs. Other than that, the album has got a little too many versions. I think if you don’t want to go into much and want to get the sure shot numbers, go for Rahat’s version of Tere Bina and Mohit’s Main hoon shab. And if it’s a little more, you can try the Indian version and Shreya’s version as well.

Also, after taking a look at some more reviews, I think it would be better to mention that I have not heard Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya and hence the review is from the perspective of a person who has NOT heard the original album, and listening to all the tunes for the first time.

Full Review on New Happysing.

Read Full Review here.

The music of Agneepath is supposed to released in 10 days still, but the promotional tracks are out, somehow the thirty second previews were enough to make me write a review, based on promo track, so you can call it a preview as well.

Kamsin kamariya saali ik thumke se lakh maare, note hazaaron ke khulle chhutta karane aayi. Well, Chikni Chameli, featured on Katrina Kaif, is not just interesting with lyrics, its music is attractive and more than everything, Shreya Ghoshal’s singing is surprising. Gonna wait for the song.

Ajay-Atul. Roop Kumar Rathod. A song that says ‘sehme hue sapne mere haule haule angdaiyaan le rahe, thehre hue lamhe mere nayi nayi gehraiyaan le rahe, zindagi ne pehni hai muskaan.’ Seriously, do you need to know more? Again, I am waiting for the album!

Deva Shree Ganesh is one song that is a little regular, probably because of the subject as well. Reminds me of Don’s bappa moriya, and probably not as zealous, but can’t be sure about the latter in a 30 second preview again.

What again beats me is Sonu Nigam’s Abhi mujh mein kahin. Sonu’s singing is getting worth songs after some long break it seems. Recently he sang a nice song in Lanka and now this. Lovely.

Shah ka Rutba sung by Sukhwinder seemed to be Dabangg pattern from the name, but the song has a different flavor and goes more in Azeem o shaan shehenshah in terms of lyrics, and the music is a little qawwali’ish. Not too great from the promo, but definitely a like.

Gun Gun Guna ye gaana re sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Udit Narayan seems to be a break from Sunidhi’s recent series of (mostly average) item numbers, as the song sounds like a light number. Also, Udit Narayan, who does not feature in the promo track should be something to cheer as he is not generally seen in albums nowadays and lately I have started missing his voice to some extent.

So all in all, Agneepath looks like something that can be bought on the day it gets launched. I don’t think anyone’s going to be disappointed. And yes, Ajay-Atul are definitely here to stay.

For Full Review, Check HERE.

The album starts with Iltija, Rishabh Srivastava’s song from his debut album Iltija. The song on the Bhatt pattern is an okay composition and sung okay too, making an okay though a little unevenly spaced start.

The next song Aap ki Aahat, composed by Toshi-Sharib sounds like the beginning of Bhatt-camp-song again as the beginning seconds remind me of aye kaash, kash yoon hota, but then the young Sabri brothers get into a different mood as they compose a slower tune for Sonu Nigam to sing, with some interesting lyrics as well. Nice one, something that Sonu Nigam sounds nice singing.

Sheet Lahar, composed by Gaurav and sung by Shreya, is a slow, nice composition with simple lyrics. The slow pace of the song may not appeal to all and definitely not one for ‘quick listening’ but if you give it time, lyrics as well Shreya’s singing would appeal to you. Nice job by Gaurav Dagaonkar.

The next song is again by Gaurav Dagaonkar, and is my favorite from the movie. Yup, it’s KK singing, where the irritation claimed by the lyrics can almost be heard in his voice. Barham hain hum is something to listen to, definitely.

Qubool, the next, is a regular Toshi-Sharib song, sung by Toshi, but then the song has an added dose of good lyrics, that too in prayer to god, making the song nicer to listen. Liked.

Sheet Leher comes in a different version, this time sung by Tia Bajpai, and sounds okay.

The last one from the album, Sunidhi Chauhan’s Hai Rama Rama, composed by Toshi-Sharib, doesn’t seem to be any purpose more than being yet another item number in the movie.

Overall, however, the album is good, with Gaurav Dagaonkar giving some good numbers while Toshi-Sharib give more or less their average, which is good, to say the least. Do listen to the album especially for Sonu, Shreya, n KK’s songs.

Fast forward to December 1, when I got an email from office mail room saying there was a Flipkart for me and I should come and collect it (that’s what they wrote). While going, I suddenly realized it was the pre-ordered book (I still didn’t remember the name), and then after having scribbled something in the mail register I proceeded to remove the great Flipkart packing.

No, I am not a blurb reader, but those who did read the blurb in the office almost immediately queued themselves up for the copy. And then I had to make them read the absolute first page of the book, which I found interesting.

And then, through my busy schedule (you claim your schedule busy when you work Saturday, of course) I kept turning the pages of the book, which was happening quite fast and the book was over (with this schedule, surprisingly) in just two days.

That was the story of my well spent hundred and five rupees.

Yep. I did like the book. The beginning of the book was funny, and that again means the absolute first page which is Judy Balan’s introduction. After that, the first two acknowledgements made me a bit impatient and I simply moved to the last one, to find what I had expected. And then, the book started.

The Prologue was nice and made me think I was going to read yet another Chetan Bhagat novel. The first page of the first chapter, however, made me a little afraid that I was in for yet another round of the exact same things I had read in Two States. But thankfully, my fears never got realized.

No, not that the story or the way Judy tells the story here are different, but the book, simply is not what Chetan’s book was. It’s not the same two people that were there in that one, and then, the similarities are more the ones which make you laugh, than the ones which make up the real story of the book.

Now before my review goes completely haywire, here are the points that I noticed about the book.

• It’s a page turner. Simple and entertaining.
• In case you had any doubts even after the first one, here I say clearly, It’s funny. At least I found it so.
• Characters of the book are interesting. Though Judy doesn’t describe them specially, their traits come out with the story going on. Liked that.
• A few things (not many, really) are simply impossible to believe to have happened in reality, but they have been added to make things funny and mostly they pass.
• Near the end things go a little too dramatic, but by the time you close the book, things are again mostly sane and real, so you don’t feel cheated, at least.
• Overall, I totally liked the book, though it’s not something I’d read again, hopefully. Yet, I’d like to read the author’s next.

In short, Two Fates is something really good for a first novel and would not disappoint you if you like light reading. That’s all I have to say.

PS (with Spoiler alert): I do not think anyone who went to IIM may not know who O’Henry is. Hope I am right.

Jis jagah khatam sabki baat hoti hai is again a patterned one with Neeraj Shridhar, SIddharth, Mauli, and an almost chorus, and sounds quite like an Abbas Mustan movie song, but works fine.

The second song, Jhoom jhoom jhoomta tu ja, is not just a different one for Pritam, but a lovely one and a well chosen voice. The song has a little Turkish-Arabic touch, a hint of belly dance numbers, but still the tune doesn’t get all alien. Reminds me of Hawa hawa a bit too. But what I loved here was Ritu Pathak’s voice whose voice has been used by Pritam before but not so well.

The third one, however, did not sound that interesting to me. Yashita Yashpal’s Ho gayi tun has a tune that might sound addictive, but not so soon. Not on my list for now. Maybe promos or more listening change the opinion.

The next, Isko Buddhi Do Bhagwan, is a hit material, though quality might not be the aim here. The lyrics are too simple and so is the tune, but it’s Url (Earl)’s Abhishek Bachchan like voice that might do the trick here. As for Shruti Pathak, it’s probably her voice’s worst use till date.

Enter Pritam and Mohit, with Shreya, to make you go mad, again, like always. Dil ye bekaraar kyun hai, tujhpe aetbaar kyun hai, kyun hai ye khumaar kyun hai.. whatever. The whole point is that Pritam can do it with Mohit a hundred times and still get amazing results. God knows how. Just do listen. They do it for the umpteenth time.

Siddharth Basrur’s version of Jhoom jhoom goes with a very different style when compared to that of Ritu. While the first one was all about ‘nice’ singing, this is almost about mad singing. I mean Siddharth seems to be singing a song that was made for Atif here, and interestingly, still manages to sound good. Catchy and yet looks like it’ll have some good shelf life.

Dil ye Beqarar kyun hai appears again, this time with Nikhil D’Souza singing the reprise. Pritam once again keeps him with more techno version, but this time his voice has been processed a bit too. Still the song does sound nice. And though the first choice still is Mohit’s version, I don’t think I’ll be listening to this version very less. Priyani Vani sounds okay.

And then the final, film version of Jhoom Jhoom comes from Arijit Singh, who sings probably his first solo here, and does it really well for a beginner.

As for the remixes, there are two, for the first song of Neeraj and Mohit’s Dil ye bekaraar kyun hai. None too special, though I was wondering if it was Nikhil’s voice in the background of the latter.

Overall, Players is once again a lovely album from Pritam where he mostly creates what he is an expert at, with one or two new things here and there. Dil ye beqaraar and Jhoom Jhoom are definitely the two to look forward to.

First thing, I saw the phone at Univercell, and they told me the phone was available for 33k and not 35k. My motive there mainly was to see what the difference was between S2 and Note, but I was surprised to see that beyond the ‘note’ features Samsung is talking about, the phone was nice, big of course, but somehow I didn’t have a problem with that, and I pretty much liked the things that the large size offered, be it the display, or the written input.

Yeah, being a blogger and Twitter addict, one of the most important things for me is a physical QWERTY, or at least that was what I used to think until two days ago. But with Galaxy note, I had some good space and good response to written input, and for the first time I was wondering about buying a phone which doesn’t have a physical QWERTY.

In short, as far as I could see, if you are okay with the size of the phone, compared to Galaxy S2, Note is worth the difference.

As for the prices, Univercell is offering the phone at 33k right now, with certain cards getting you 6 months’ Free EMI. Snapdeal seems to be getting it for almost 33k too, while Flipkart is offering the phone at 33.5k, with an offer that gives you a designer flip cover worth Rs 1799.

Buy SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE from Flipkart here.

Yes. With the movie, for which soundtrack recording is in progress, and names like Usha Uthup, Javed Ali, Najim Arshad, Kshitij Tarey are all set to be there on the covers, here is a chance for you or your band to share the space on the same cover with an original song of yours if you win the contest.

So if you are a musician looking for a chance, or a band, or know someone who might make it his or her big break, just reach Lorien Motion Pictures at http://www.facebook.com/lorienmotionpictures and get the details.

For any further details you may even tweet to @BhargavSaikia.