The next one, papa jag jayega, might have been a bit more long lasting but the lyrics of the song are almost crappy (should I say movie oriented?) and the song doesn’t really click at least on an stand alone listening, though Neeraj’s husky voice suits the song and the lyrics Papa jag jaayega well and he sings ‘not bad’.

Aapka kya hoga? Janaabe-aali?? Yeah, it’s the same song with an added Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy touch, which doesn’t sound bad, and Mika flavor which interestingly, surprisingly, sounds Good. Overall, the Dhanno song has quite some additions in between the old Lawaris song but more or less it’s a new version of the old song. Still, the way Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Mika sound, the song may well ROCK dance floors. Purists may choose to keep distance.

I don’t know what to do is something NEW because it brings up so OLD to us. Think of Sunidhi Chauhan singing like Shamshad Begum (hope most of you know her) and Shabbir Kumar cloning Mohammad Rafi in a duet. That makes Housefull’s I don’t know what to do. Did I hear Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy say “aaja tujhe heaven dikhayenge”?

Loser sung by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Vivienne Pocha is a bit different. Though deep down in my heart I felt the song was somehow inspired by Dev.D soundtrack (’Inspired’ is Not ‘Copied’ here), I’m not gonna say that openly. According to me the song, somewhere near rap (though it’s certainly not rap) by my limited knowledge of genres, will take it’s own time but good chances people will love it in the end. The song is going to be good in the movie is doubtless.

Disappointing thing about the album, though, is that the remixes are hardly worth anything and Oh Girl and Papa Jag Jayega both have very normal (read boring) remixes. The only one I liked to some extent was the remix of I don’t know what to do, known as Shabbir’s sexy ’70s remix.

Overall, Housefull is an album made for entertainment and to a large extent, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have been successful in doing what they seem to be trying to do. For now, my pick is O girl while for later I am relying on Loser too. A listening of ‘I don’t know what to do’ is highly recommended. What to do later is your wish.

How enticing the song is can be guessed to some extent by the fact that before moving to the next song, I had already heard the song at least five times. And I am still humming..

Haule Haule, Dheere Dheere, aana meri baahon mein aa jaana,
pyaasi pyaasi, mar jaungi, aise mujhe aise tadpa na..
Na kar, na kar, zara bhi fikar
Mila, mila, nazar se nazar
Aaja tujhe heaven dikhaungi

I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to do
Tauba aage kya karun
I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to do
Tauba aage kya karun…

By the way, if you want the real Mohammad Rafi touch in Shabbir’s voice, listen to the lines:

darr jata hoon, gabhrata hoon
Aage main kaise badun
Anjaan hoon inn raahon se, parbhat main kaise chadhoon

and the last, absolute last aage kya karoon which reminds me of baabul ki duaayen. OK. May be I m going over. But listen to the song.

Biddu was a name that I had read a lot of times, on a lot of tracks that I loved during the Indipop revolution of mid to late ’90s. And so, somehow without even knowing him much, he was a hero for me. At that time, all I knew about Biddu was that he was a guy who didn’t know much Hindi (that was my reason that he didn’t sing himself and didn’t take out his own album) and most probably he lived outside India. That he was a south Indian was my common sense because he didn’t know Hindi.

Now when I suddenly saw his autobiography in Crossword, it was an instant pick for me that I started reading right away, finishing 30+ pages in the first time itself. Before this I didn’t even know how he looked so this was certainly interesting for me. Yes, this is my bad that I had searched little about a person who had once been my hero at a time when I could.

So finally I started reading the book and the first very first sentence of his first chapter was lovable. Biddu says, “I was born at a time when man had learnt to walk upright.” The childhood days of Biddu are interesting and his journey from Bangalore to Calcutta, Mumbai, and Middle East, finally ending in London, is something worth reading. Once he earns success, things start to get a bit boring but thankfully his sense of humor adds a lot to the book and keeps the reader interested even when things are not so interesting.

His back to India parts might not be that good for a patriotic Indian (like me?) as one might have wanted them to be since he doesn’t write much about his association with Indipop of ’90s and summarizes it pretty fast, or so I felt as my knowledge about Biddu started and ended in that part itself. Though there was a part of Biddu’s tryst with India that I had no idea about – his filmmaking. Yes, in case you don’t know, Biddu produced an Indian film (a Hindi film to be more precise), Star. And Biddu has written quite some stories about that.

Overall, I loved the autobiography of a musician who has not only been my hero once but has also made his country proud, outside and inside the country. Read it if you are an Indian and/or into music, and would like to dive deeper into the earlier life of a musician.

The second song, Paathshala or Ye Sama Khushnuma, is sung by Vishal Dadlani in his typical style which has almost become his trademark as he is singing songs in quite a similar manner, except some songs like Dhan te nan or Barso yaaron. Not that the song is anything less than it should be or Vishal’s voice less than anyone else for the song. The composition is fine enough and Vishal sings it with the energy it requires. Good one, though nothing great.

Not even a minute into the song, and I knew I loved Lucky Ali and the song, Bekaraar. Hanif Shaikh composes a good song and Lucky Ali sings it in his typical-lovable-enviable-fan-followed voice taking it to all the highs and lows Hanif gives him in the composition. Though the song has just one Antara, I loved the song enough to listen to it twice to fill in for an antara. With that you know how’s the song. Don’t you?

Mujhe Teri Aankhon ki Gehrayi mein Doobne de. Mujhe teri baahon ki jannat mein khone de. Tulsi Kumar is not that bad, but somehow I don’t really like her voice. Anyway, Mujhe teri aankhon ki is a not-that-slow kind love song sung by Tulsi and Hanif himself with nothing really special but the melody is pretty fine and the song is easy on ears. A simple song that will take on you if you give it time to do so.

Aye khuda, teri marzi ke aage kya hoga hai pata, tu jo chahe waisa samaa ho teri razaa, tu jo chahe tapti dhoop mein aye khuda, khilta hua gulistaan hoga, tune banayi raahein, tune banayi manzil, hum le chale hain apna kaarwan, I can’t stop typing the lyrics but I have to, because it’s a music review. Well, I am loving yet another song in the album, from the very first time I heard it, in that soulful voice of Kailash Kher. Kailash sings Hanif’s tune in a way he sang Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s ya rabba, without going too high and going for a slow rendition instead. Interestingly, while Hanif Shaikh has been successful in coming up with a tune that can be called a successor of S-E-L’s Ya Rabba in some way, there seems to be absolutely no repetition and the song doesn’t sound old like KCK’s kaisi hai ye udasi chhayi. Kudos to the composer for that. A job well done by Kailash Kher no doubt.

Paathshala theme isn’t bad either and the chorus there reminds me of childhood serials like Chhutti chhutti and school chale hum ad campaign. A fweet little theme. Forry, Sweet.

Overall, Paathshaala is a good, worth listening to and worth buying album with some wonderful and some good songs. The songs may be a bit old (I do not know if they really are old but with some songs, I felt like they have a 3-4 year old touch) but they sound fresh and a bit different from what has been out in the past some time. One more good thing about the album is that on a quick listening, the remixes also don’t sound bad. So my say is that Paathshaala is most certainly worth a try and actually worth a buy too. School chale hum… aur aap?

If I am sounding incoherent, just stop reading and go listening. Here are the lyrics of Bekaraar.

Bekaraar… Bekarar…
Bekaraar… Bekarar…

Sooni sooni raahon pe hai tera hi intezaar
Jali bujhi saanson mein ab tera hi hai khumaar
Na jaane maine kya khoya, kya paaya, kuch bhi na samjhe yahan
Bhula ke saari baaton ko jee aaya, phir bhi na aaye karaar
Bekaraar… Bekaraar…

Dekho Raste mein is a fast, peppy, but nevertheless romantic number that sounds good with KK and Shreya singing wonderfully. Though I feel the song would have sounded better had it been a bit slower. (I have tried the song at 90% and it does sound good) Anyway a lovable song. Go for it.

The second song, Hum Tum aur Ghost, comes with the so-typical-of-him voice of Vishal Dadlani as he sings the title song with Shankar Mahadevan. The song has a likable melody but the pace again sounds overcoming the melody as Vishal-Shankar sing Hum-tum-aur-ghost at such a speed. Still, the music in the song is worth listening to and the sound manages to remain above average.

Banwre se poochhe banwariya or Baawre se poochhe baawariyaa, the third song of the album, is sung by Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan while almost the entire team of S-E-L has been roped in to give chorus sounds and has been credited on the cover too. The song is a fun piece, and quite catchy, something like man ko ati bhaave saiyyan, though not exactly similar.

And the last original song of the album is the one I had started my album with. And interestingly, Kal tum the Yahan IS the best song of the album. Dominique in her wonderful, wonderful voice teams up with Shankar Mahadevan to give this slow, soft song with beautiful lyrics. Must listen.

Talking of remixes, the remix of the title song is quite usual, while the remix of Dekho Raste mein is quite interesting to listen to, more so because it sounds a lot like Pump it up of Chance pe Dance. The last one is the remix of Kal tum the yahan which makes the slow song a bit fast paced one. Didn’t like that one much compared to the original.

Overall, Hum tum aur Ghost is a good album with some likable and sweet songs. Though, while I liked three out of four songs (all except title), I still had more expectations from Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy after KCK. My advice, get the album anyway. If nothing works for you, put kal tum the yahan on repeat n keep listening.

I think there is enough of curiosity value attached to Love Sex aur Dhokha, the LSD, for a majority of people to listen to the soundtrack as soon as it comes to them. And not without reason.

The first song of the album, the title track, brings us a new Kailash Kher who sings love sex aur dhokha darling love sex aur dhokha without any hesitation. The lyrics, written by Dibakar himself clearly speak for themselves and with the lyrics itself Dibakar is able to tell you what he is trying to make. Good music makes you stick to the song.

Tainu TV pe Vekhya, sung again by Kailash is equally or even more real lyrics about the sleaze market but the music is different and the Punjabi touch reminds me of Oye Lucky. Good song for background. Not big for independent listening.

I can’t hold it any longer is something worth a listening. Sneha Khanwalkar comes up to sing the song herself. English words mixed with Hindi-Rajasthani on the folkish tune remind me of Ranaji. Catchy tune and certainly an interesting piece to listen to.

Mohabbat Bollywood Style is what it says it is. Bollywood Style. The song that makes fun of typical Bollywood Style love stories and even names Aditya Chopra in the start, is good at the start but doesn’t go as great continuously. Interesting. Could be better.

Love Sex aur Dhokha remix sung by Nagarjuna doesn’t sound as good as the original Kailash Kher version. Not bad a remix though.

The last track of the album from the movie, Tu Gandi Achchi Lagti Hai (originally Tu Nangi Achchhi lagti hai and the same in the movie) is composed and written by Dibakar Bannerjee himself and sung again by Kailash Kher. The song starts well and for the first minute or so I feel like Dibakar can compose like a pro, but then the track sounds a bit confused and repetition takes on. Still, a nice try by Dibakar and my guess is that the way it goes, the track may pick up fast and be loved by people. Also, the lyrics of the song are really good and lines main saat janam upvasa hoon, main saat samandar pyaasa hoon sound great. So hats off to Dibakar.

Overall, Love Sex aur Dhokha gives a mixed feel but certainly has some fresh elements. Though the freshness isn’t close to Dev.D and the two albums can’t be, shouldn’t be compared, I somehow wonder if I will fall in love with some song of LSD like I did with Dev.D. Not easy, but Tu Gandi might. Might.

In one sentence, Try. And then only buy. Perfect for the movie though.

The lyrics of the song look good though I have not yet been able to completely understand the exact significance of words. My guess is that the song will be more meaningful and better once we see it in the movie.

Here are the lyrics of the song.

Kal tum the yahan
To ab ho, tum mujhse door kyon
Tanhaiyan poochhen to, batla do kya kahoon
Tumhe ho na saka, kyun mera yakeen
Kami hogi koi mujh mein hi kahin
Saathiya saathiya sun bhi lo
Main tumhara hoon tum meri ho

Ret samjhi ho tum jisko woh dariya hai mera
Bas yehi keh ke tumhari nazron se main gira
Kuch tumhe hai gila kuch mujhe hai gila
Hai magar baat kya sun bhi lo
Todo jhoothe bharam, mil sake taaki hum
Saathiya saathiya sun bhi lo

I have got suggestions from some of my readers that I should give star ratings to my album reviews. But somehow, I do not feel like doing that. Here are my reasons for that.

Firstly, I feel that every song is a different song and so I do not put ratings for entire albums, as I feel individual songs get lost if there are good songs in bad albums.

For example, if a 2 star album has a 5 star song, there is hardly a chance many people will get to know about it

To try and reduce the burden though, I write about what songs one should try while summarizing every album n u can find every song’s name in bold in the review. So u can just read the Summary n get to know about the album.

Also, mostly my n public’s reaction depend a lot on the expectations from an album. This relativity cannot be adjusted with stars as the star rating has to be similar throughout a platform.

Basically, stars give a quick idea of things, but they fail to reach the motive of this blog in many ways. Hence, I avoid stars.

I just want u to read three or four sentences’ summary to know about an album. I hope u would understand what I am trying to do and cooperate with that.

Thanks for the visits, appreciations, comments and suggestions. Keep visiting the blog and loving it.

The next song, Habibi, starts with an Arabic sounding tune and the same Rikkee in the previous song (at least as per credits) starts crooning in a voice that makes the song interesting to me. Shilpa Rao fits into the song like she does in any other song. The lyrics of the song, though not bad, do not catch my even when the Arabic tune and singing is something I find likable. Finally the first song in the album that I did not mind listening to. You can try this one.

The third song, Baby, is a fast track sung by Shaan and Rikkee and sounds okay in parts. Though, once again Arabic sounding tunes and lyrics come in and I am forced to wonder if the songs are original. The pure Hindi parts of the album are definitely less interesting ones.

The fourth track of the album, Kabhi Kabhi, sung by Rikkee alone, is so inspired by Kabhi Kabhi Aditi that I wonder if the composer, Praveen Bhardwaj even would take credit for this one. I’d just say a melody version of Kabhi Kabhi Aditi. Not bad to ears but not good to a mind that doesn’t want repeats. Probably this one is there to just ensure that people know how well ‘Rikkee’ can sing.

The next track, KK’s Barbadiyaan is a something I almost fell for when I heard the song for the first time. If there is one song in the album I would like to listen to after finishing this review, it’s Barbadiyaan. Though there is nothing great in the composition, KK has a voice that can make a song worth listening out of not-so-great tunes. An all KK number.

Swaha Mix is as Swaha as Swaha itself was. A mediocre remix of a mediocre song. Nothing more to say.

Overall, Swaha is a barely average soundtrack with hardly anything new and very few things people would like to listen to. But the negative thing, as I have seen till now, is that the movie looks even worse than the album. If you are one who likes to find good music even from garbage looking movies, try to listen to Barbadiyaan by KK. At the most, you may want to try Habibi once too. I would stop at that. Rest, at your own risk.