Aadat se majboor has some experimental sounds with the regular Salim-Sulaiman pop pattern. The tune is catchy and the song sounds quite nice. Easy on ears. Salim-Sulaiman-Benny-YRF is a success again.

The next, Jazbaa sung by Shilpa Rao, has some nice lyrics and Salim-Sulaiman give some simple sounding music for this one, though the choice of instruments doesn’t sound that simple if you listen with attention. Salim’s backing vocals might remind you of Fashion or any other of their songs as well. Still, the song is overall a nice one and the hardwork the composers have put in is clearly audible.

Vishal Dadlani and Shweta Pandit’s poppy Thug le has a bit too simple tune in some parts, and even though the song is made to be catchy, I didn’t feel the song would last long. The lyrics aren’t Amitabh’s best either. Okay.

Salim finally enters with a full-fledged song called Jigar da Tukda, sung with Shradhha Pandit. The Punjabi song with a lot of pop in it, Jigar da tukda is interesting and should be a hit considering the amount of publicity YRF would give it.

Fatal Attraction, the theme, which has Salim in it with an unknown female voice which sounded like Sunidhi Chauhan’s at some points, and which hit me like Marjaava at 1.58 mins, is okay. The remix of Aadat se Majboor sounded nice too, though didn’t like Jazbaa remix much.

Frankly, in Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl, Salim-Sulaiman seem to have tried to do something more than their regular even though staying in their favorite region. So there is something new, a little new sound, but still the signature of Salim-Sulaiman is there. I’d say nice, because the album is definitely good, but yeah, I am still waiting for the duo to be less techno and rely more on melody some time, like they did earlier, in Dor and Aaja Nachle. Hope they’ll come up with something ‘that’ nice too.

The next track, Khuda ke liye, is again quite templated and very typical of Salim-Sulaiman, but is lovely nonetheless. Shraddha Pandit’s voice is innocent and sounds nice. The song might not be too fresh, but is certainly worth listening to.

The next, Kailash Kher’s Qawwali’ish Bismillah is one track that sounds a little blank except for Kailash’s vocals in the beginning but as the song proceeds, it grows on you and sounds soothing, relaxing. Definitely like.

Habibi Habibi by Mitika and Benny Dayal gets a new start with the wind instrument, while the song later goes on to become an Arabic sounding number, just like the name says. Benny Dayal quite surprises with his vocals here. Never thought he could sound Arabic. Nice, fresh one from Salim-Sulaiman.

Aazaan theme sounds more like the background music of the climax scene though, and doesn’t make too great an entry in the soundtrack.

Overall, Aazaan is a nice soundtrack from Salim-Sulaiman. The album has only four original songs, but all of them are worth a listen, and then for people like me who were complaining that the duo are getting repetitive, have got some variety as well. What more can one ask for!

The next number, Holika, is a Holi song sung by Kailash Kher, with very typical-traditional dholak based song with Indian style rap in between, something that reminds me of Raghubeer Yadav in Kailash’s voice. Nice one if you are up for this.

Javed Ali’s soft, romantic ‘nostalgia‘ is ready to talk one into childhood with very light music, just supporting the words. Totally liked even though the song is hardly musical. Nice job by Javed.

The last track, Party song, is a three minute parody by Hanif Sheikh with just one to two lines taken from every song, more of them of before ’90s. A little funny, okay.

If you ask me in one word, Bubblegum is ‘different.’ Not exactly good, but not really bad for an album from which I was expecting almost nothing, mainly because of Javed’s Nostalgia.

Tarkeebein, sung by Benny Dayaal, even though not bad, and quite good on lyrics, sounds quite a Pocket mein Rocket. Now all I’d say is that you have just two pockets. So even if this rocket can be adjusted, there is no room for more. Please get us something new, Merchants.

It’s Shreya Ghoshal. Saying this because when Adha Ishq starts you for once are quite convinced it’s Sunidhi. But it’s not, at least by the album cover. Frankly, I loved the song, and except that it’s almost Shukran Allah in the background, I think the song is just wonderful. Well done composers and awesome job Shreya. But Salim sir, try changing the voice a bit or change the styles, like you did in the title song. Will be liked more.

Dum Dum Dum mast, sung by Benny and Himani Kapoor is something I liked again. Though the composition is not huge, the simplicity and the simple highs and lows given to the melody are quite likeable. Except for that characteristic beat, the arrangement quite fine and the way the lyrics have been given an upper hand, it’s just beautiful, a good thing.

Mitra. Though I am a fan of many songs of his, Amitabh Bhattacharya for the first time sounds like a full fledged singer and I’d like to give the credit to Salim-Sulaiman, for giving him the beautiful song. Part sufi style, part rock, part typical merchants, Mitra is something that you’d like to listen to. Amitabh Bhattacharya almost goes into Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan way of singing here. Like like.

Labh Janjua’s name in Band Baaja Baaraat is something that people would just expect. Baari Barsi is something like what you would expect from the name, but not all that. The song is not all Punjabi style but also has some desi comic mode as well as Salim’s groove part. The highlight of the song is Harshdeep’s non-Harshdeep rendering in desi-mood, but somehow I felt she was given a bit too much time, in a very similar tone. Still, I have to see how much the song is liked in future, which will quite depend on the video.

Whatsay about the 2 minute theme of Band Baaja Baarat? Okay. Actually good. Quite.

Ainvayi, the first song, appears in a Dilli Club mix too, quite regular. Not bad though.

And the last thing, Dum Dum (Sufi Mix) is sung by Sukhwinder and Himani. Well, now I know I was right when I thought I could spot some Sukhwinder like voice in the original version. Well, a usual remix, and nothing Sufi about it, and almost nothing good, except Sukhwinder’s voice.

Overall, Band Baaja Baaraat sounds like a usual album in the series that YRF and Salim-Sulaiman have been creating for past some time. The songs are not bad, but then you won’t remember about most of them after a few days. Still, not a bad thing for short term. The only bad thing about the album is that Salim-Sulaiman, coming after such a long break too, sounded quite repetitive.

Best ones: Mitra, Aadha Ishq, Dum Dum.

Update: OK. It’s pocket mein Rocket but m loving it. especially for the lyrics. so add Tarkeebein too. Probably over dum dum.

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?

…and finally Naresh Kamat, the guy who sang ten on ten with Anushka and Mahua in Pyaar impossible and has been there in many films as background vocalist, gets a full fledged solo song for himself as Intezar mein Chhupa. The song is almost rock n quite rocking. Naresh goes quite low n high on notes in the song and while he has been mostly good, he seems a bit uncomfortable with low notes, but the way he turns at the words Intezar mein Chhupa, I just loved that part. Overall, I liked the song, and more because of Naresh’s singing. Hope he does even better in future.

Salim Merchant is a surprise with almost every album nowadays. This time Salim sings a foot tapping number as Teen Patti ke Ghulam, and though there is not much special with the song, especially after singing a number like Ali Maula (Kurbaan), the song adds as one more good and different to the budding list of songs sung by Salim. An average song that, given time, may stick to tongue.

The next number is a full fledged English one, Life is a Game sung by Sonia Saigal, with added dialogues by Amitabh. I’m not very keen on listening English songs mostly but still liked the song. The song talks about life’s philosophy in the language of the film as it talks of equations, mistakes and probabilities too. Okay by me.

The next track is a remix of neeyat. The good thing about the remix is that Sunidhi’s voice hasn’t been much experimented with and so I find the remix fine.

The remix of title Teen Patti by Salim is OK too but I somehow felt that the original number is more danceable which kind of ends the purpose of the remix. Could be better.

The remix version of Naresh Kamat’s intezar mein is more beaty but somehow I didn’t like it much, probably because the songs has more background music than words. Just OK.

The Hindi version of Life is a game is more interesting than it is good to listen. The song has both Hindi and English words and the singers, Sonia and Anushka Manchanda, sing the Hindi and English lines almost without changing the tone. Good to listen. Can work well in background too.

The last song, summertime an the live, is another completely in English number sung by Joe Alvares. The song is probably a Jazz and I quite liked it. (though I am not very sure about the genre) Try the song, you may fall for Joe’s singing.

Overall, Teen Patti is more movie-oriented than ‘musical’, but it sounds good. In fact, after Kurbaan, Rocket Singh and Pyaar Impossible, I was expecting something good from SS, wondering at the same time what they can deliver in an Amitabh Bachchan-Ben Kingsley starrer thriller. But they do well once again. Keep going like that guys.

First comes Vishal Dadlani. The guy has decided to set up some record or something. He sings for a rock band, Pentagram. He composes. He used to sing his compositions too. But this year, he has crossed many borders and sung for many composers, from Vishal Bharadwaj to Salim-Sulaiman. Interestingly, some of the best songs of the year belong to Vishal Dadlani this time. The list includes dhan te nan from Kaminey (Vishal Bharadwaj), barso yaaron from London Dreams (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy), and Kurbaan hua from Kurbaan (Salim-Sulaiman). Besides, he also sang Nazara hai (8×10 Tasveer) and Gadbadi hai (Rocket Singh) for Salim-Sulaiman this year. Never mind a superbly sung You May be (with Shekhar) for Aladin.

Like Vishal, even Shekhar Ravjiani was also called to sing ‘Ye Zindagi bhi’ in Luck By Chance, a Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composed album.

Next comes Salim Merchant who has entered proper singing from giving background vocals for his movies. With Luck’s Khudaya Ve, Salim got himself recongnized as a good singer and came up with Ali Maula in Kurbaan, and even Pankhon ko in Rocket Singh. All these songs are good and have been sung with the expertise they need.

Dev.D composer Amit Trivedi also had his share and sang Nayan Tarse, and a well received Saali Khushi other than Duniya and Aankh Micholi in the album.

Composer-lyricist Piyush Mishra came up with Anurag Kashyap’s next, Gulaal, and hit hard with his ‘Duniya’.

Composer duo Sajid-Wajid were also not left and after doing Bang Bang with Salman in Hello, Wajid sang a beautiful Tere Bina for Vashu Bhagnani’s Kal Kissne Dekha, apparently the best song of the film.

And while Himesh Reshammiya kept all his songs as usual, Ashutosh Gowariker’s newcomer composer Sohail Sen was no less and sang nine songs out of thirteen for What’s Your Raashee, something quite big for a new guy.

Also, Shankar Mahadevan sang songs for Vishal-Shekhar in Aladin and one could hear him sing in both the movies released that day as he had sung a number of songs for his London Dreams too.

Other than these, there were a number of composers who sang a song or two for their albums, but one of the most interesting cases was of Amitabh Bhattacharya who sang no song for Dev.D where he had penned the lyrics for all sixteen songs. Still, he sang an Amit Trivedi composition penned by Javed Akhtar for Wake Up Sid, and it turned out to be one of the best songs of the year. If you haven’t got it yet, I’m talking of iktara, one of the biggest hits of the year. More interestingly, Amitabh sang iktara with Kavita Seth whose compositions were out at the same time in Yeh Mera India. And now, the guy is back to writing as he has written lyrics for one song ‘Just Do it’ for Chance pe Dance.

In short, this has been an year of singing composers, singing lyricists (Amitabh Bhattacharya, Swanand Kirkire, Piyush Mishra), singing actors (Amitabh Bachchan for one), and even singing directors (Yeah, Ashutosh Gowariker sang too, manunga manunga in What’s your Raashee). So peopl are crossing borders. And the future is all the more this way. If there is any doubt, listen to Lalit Pandit (of Jatin-Lalit) in Dulha Mil Gaya.

Alisha (Singers: Anushka Manchanda, Salim Merchant): My guess is you would have heard this song by now. But in case you haven’t, it’s worth listening to. Alisha is a soft, romantic song with some touchy and some tongue sticking music that you’d most probably love. On top of that Priyanka Chopra looks absolutely wonderful in the video of the song which is going to make the song all the more desirable.

Pyaar Impossible (Singers: Dominique Cerejo, Vishal Dadlani): With Salim-Sulaiman, Vishal Dadlani is more regular than regular singers nowadays. This time he sings a soft, lighter, not his ‘type’ song with Dominique and proves again that he is not just for rock songs. Though he has given a rocky touch to his voice at some high notes, he clearly has been all good with the softer parts of the song. Dominique Cerejo is good as ever, absolutely wonderful. I’d say music is good, but it’s singing of the two that makes the song all the more amazing. Though lyrics of song are not that good, I mean 8 on 10.

You and Me (Singers: Neha Bhasin, Benny Dayal): I must have heard Pocket mein Rocket a lot, because I can identify Benny Dayal’s voice now. Anyway, the song is good, but not a catchy number like the other songs of the album. Will take some time before it gets stuck to your tongue. Neha Bhasin has sung the song pretty well and Benny Dayal is equally good.

10 on 10 (Singers: Mahua Kamat, Anushka Manchanda, Naresh Kamath): My guess is, after Yash Raj’s effort, the song must have found some place in your mind. So don’t be surprised if you think the voice in the song is not as it is in the video you have seen. Well, in half the song it’s not. It’s not just Anushka Manchanda in the song but half the Viva, that is Mahua along with Anushka, and in the three and half minute song, more than two minutes are given to Mahua. She sounds good, but Alisha, that is Anushka’s voice, has been made the hot property of the song and has more glamor here. Naresh Kamath, who has been a regular vocalist in Salim-Sulaiman’s team gets a small piece in the song here where he matches Uday Chopra’s voice quite okay.

Ek thi Ladki (Singer: Rishika Sawant): I want to know where the song is there in the movie. A song sung by children, but certainly even the adults would like to listen to the song, for entertainment and even for inspiration. The girl who sings the song, Rishika Sawant, who was a participant in 9X reality show Chak de Bachche, has sung as good as any other singer in the album, probably better than some. Hear the song for the little talent.

Alisha Remix which comes next is a fine remix by Abhijit Vaghani though changes of speed are a bit confusing at some points. Still I wouldn’t rate the remix bad. Can give it a try if you’re into remixes.

Pyaar Impossible Remix is something where Abhijit has done something really good by not pressing Dominique’s voice under instruments. Instead, the guy has added effects to the voices of Dominique and Vishal. While Dominique’s voice gets more surround sound like, Vishal is added as background sound in some places. Try the remix. Liked it.

Overall, Pyaar Impossible is a good, contemporary album which should succeed in targeting its aim, the youth. The songs are well written and composed and the selection of instruments and voices has been really good. Lyricist Anvita Dutt Guptan may not be very good with words at some points but her mixture of Hindi and English words is completely natural, and hence great.

By the way, the word contemporary reminds me of Dulha Mil Gaya which sounds good but at least five years old. My guess is PI should get the benefit of being in their time while competing with DMG on January 8th.

All three original songs of Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year are composed by Salim-Sulaiman. The first song of Rocket Singh is Pocket mein Rocket, which you all must have heard long ago. This addictive song, sung by Benny Dayal, gives you a brief insight of the movie. But more than anything, it attracts viewers and sells the movie.

The second song of the album is Gadbadi hai, sung by Vishal Dadlani. The song is okay and doesn’t attract much. At least not anywhere near the mark he created with Kurbaan. Though with the video, the song should look fine.

And then, when your hopes are about to end, and you think it was all about a Rocket which was already in your pocket, Salim Merchant comes to the rescue of the album and gives a soft, soothing Pankhon ko, a song that makes you feel good. About the movie and yourself.

Other than that, Rocket Singh has only song from other films of YashRaj. Can’t say hits as it even has Dil Bole Hadippa. The other (and better, of course) featured movies are Bachna ae Hasino, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Tashan, Chak De India and Dhoom-2, with one to three songs from each.

Interestingly, the album includes no remixes to lengthen the album. More interestingly, there is a video of Pocket mein Rocket available that can be played on computers. A not-so-bad try!

On the whole, Rocket Singh is a medium affair. The album has just three songs out of which two don’t have long lives. Only Pankhon ko is something that can be heard after long time too. Loved the song. But then, I don’t think many people will buy a CD for that one song. Or will the salesman do some magic?

Salim-Sulaiman are huge. And when they make less songs, they get even better. And lately, when there is a song sung by Salim Merchant, it is absolutely wonderful. And here is one.

Thirty seconds, and I fell in love with Pankhon ko. Pankhon ko is a slow, soft, inspirational, flying song sung by Salim where he sounds a bit like Mohit Chauhan in his album mode. The music and Jaideep Sahni’s lyrics are both wonderful, and the chorus effect in the background is absolutely wonderful. Though I still want to know whose voices are there.

Shimit Amin’s Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year might have just three songs, but when you have something like Pankhon ko, you can buy the album for even one song. I’d say, find it, listen to it, like it, love it. Mind it.

Lyrics:

pankhon ko hawa zara si lagne do
dil bole soya tha ab jagne do
dil dil mein hain dil ki tamanna sau
do sau hon chalo zara si tapne do
udne do… udne do…
hawa zara si lagne do
soya tha ab jagne do
pankhon ko hawa zara si lagne do

dhoop khili jism garam sa hai
sooraj yahin yeh bharam sa hai
Bikhri hui raahein hazaron sau
thaamo koi phir bhatakne do
udne do… udne do…
hawa zara si lagne do
soya tha ab jagne do
pankhon ko hawa zara si lagne do
udne do.. hawa zara si lagne do

dil ki patang chahon mein gotey khaati hai
dheel toh do, dekho kahan pe jaati hai
uljhe nahin toh kaise suljhoge
bikhre nahin toh kaise nikhroge
udne do… udne do…
hawa zara si lagne do
soya tha ab jagne do
pankhon ko hawa zara si lagne do
udne do.. hawa zara si lagne do