I was wondering if I should even listen to the album but then I thought of Sharman Joshi and Tabu’s Toh Baat Pakki and decided to give it a shot. Here is the result, nothing great.

The album starts with another version of Aa jaane jaan, sung by Akriti Kakkar and Antara Mitra with Javed Jaffrey doing some rapping up. Singers are OK but with so many better versions of the song already around, nobody will know when it came and went.

The next song, Band Baaja, sung by RIcha Sharma, Ritu Pathak and Rana Majumder is among the better songs of the album. The song has is an enjoyable dance number, as almost clear by name. The song literally has a ‘ring’ to it from the very start and sounds good at the very first time, though I don’t think it has a long shelf life.

The next is Sunidhi Chauhan sung Dil to saala Ullu ka pattha hai. No doubt, Sunidhi sings the song well but the tune is just not that good. Or probably it’s mixing. I’m actually trying to find out what’s the major difference between Pritam and Pritam A songs. Anyway, Sunidhi’s singing still keeps the song listenable. By the way, even after Shankar and Ali Zafar’s good sounding ‘good looking ullu da pattha,’ Sunidhi’s ‘dil to saala ullu ka pattha hai’ sounded a bit vulgar to me. Can’t explain why. Okay.

Suzanne De’Mello’s Atthrah baras ki is the next song of the album. The tune is barely OK and I still felt the pieces of tune were picked up from here and there. Only after listening to the song 5-6 times was I able to hum the punch line of the song. Kinda boring.

The last song of the album is Working Girls sung by Shweta Pandit, Ritu Pathak and Priyadarshini. Well, I’m quite hopeless about the album now and don’t know why exactly this song doesn’t sound good to me, though the tune of the song is quite okay. One problem with the song, though, is lyrics, which amount to nothing.

Overall, Hello Darling is an album Pritam doesn’t seem to have cared about and I don’t think people are going to care either. The best thing from the album seems to be the peppy-dance number band baaja, followed by dil to saala. I think that’s all.

Kajraare opens with your very own Kajraare. No, don’t be angry. By your very own I mean like it or not, this song is going to be there with you. Very, Very Himesh. The only interesting thing in the song is that he has used both western and traditional instruments in the song, if only you can notice that behind Himesh’s voice. If you think you don’t like the song and can keep away from the song, I can only smile.

The second song of the album is again the one you might have heard already on TV, Rabba luck luck luck luck rabba luck barsa. Oops. Who is that in the voice over? Mahesh Bhatt I guess.. Well, whatever, the song is a typical Himesh song again which might easily stick to your tongue and you can be found cursing yourself for humming the song sometime. I won’t say it’s good but Himesh certainly what he’s doing. So not bad.

The third song of Kajraare, Aafreen, is actually one of the best songs of the album. Some good music with Indian traditional instruments and Dholak beats sound pretty good and if you don’t mind Himesh Reshammiya’s voice, the song is definitely worth listening to, and more than once. The slow song
also has Harshdeep Kaur singing near the end for sometime but most of it goes to Himesh only. Good but Himesh’d.

Before you listen to the fourth song of Kajraare, REDUCE VOLUME. Because if you don’t, you may get shocked by the sudden high voice of Himesh Reshammiya in Bhindi-lelo-aalu-lelo-paalak-lelo mode. I don’t know why he does that in the song which runs comparatively much smoother after the literally killing start. Tujhe Dekh ke armaan jaage is a soft number with beats, or something that can be close to it in Himesh’s voice. By the way, the song also has Shreya Ghoshal in there and she sings really soft and sweet in the song. You can listen to the song just for her.

Next comes Teriyaan Meriyaan which has some good, soft, music again. The interludes are really beautiful, especially the Santoor part of them, and the melody is good too. Himesh is nasal but doesn’t keeps his voice comparatively low, not going too high, while chakhne-pakne sound a bit interesting. With some other singer, the song could probably be a real interesting thing. Shreya doesn’t get to sing much of this one.

Wo Lamha Phir se Jeena hai sung by Himesh and Harshdeep is the next song of the album. This one is a beat based, typical song of Himesh Reshammiya that really isn’t ‘good’, to say the least. The melody isn’t bad but then Himesh packs the song with instruments and his voice doesn’t help much. I wonder if the song could have done well in the Himesh era but for now, chances are almost negligible, mostly because people not really look interested in his voice.

The last song of the album is again a traditional type, dholak based, and nose-talgic Sanu Guzra Zamana yaad aa gaya. Frankly, the song is good and the music is definitely worth listening to, and had anybody else sung the song, it would have been a hit for sure. In fact, the song doesn’t sound that bad to me with Himesh even but on a few points he just goes too nasal. Another Himesh’d, but good song. Btw, we have Sunidhi here too, if that matters.

Overall, Kajraare is totally a Himesh Reshammiya album where he sings from his nose almost everywhere. Still, if you don’t mind his voice for some good songs, go for Aafreen and Sanu Guzra Zamana. Teriyaan Meriyaan sounds okay too while Tujhe dekh ke armaan jaage has some really beautiful parts sung by Shreya.

In even more short, the Himesbhai is back. Be happy if you’re a fan. Beware else.

Anyway, Rahat, or for that matter, anyone else does not sing this song that goes like Wo kissa purana yaad aa gaya, sanu guzra zamana yaad aa gaya, so let me talk of the song as it actually is.

Well, good music, wonderfully simple orchestra, Sunidhi Chauhan, lyrics that pretty well match the music of the song, and Himesh Reshammiya. Overall, the song has four positives and one negative. Now it depends on you how much you like how badly you take that one negative. For me, I’m kinda liking it. In fact, after listening to the song for a few times, I’m fine here with the singing of Himesh too.

In short, good one. Go for it if you can bear with that voice.

Here are the lyrics of the song.

Ho yaad aa gaya
Sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya
Ho yaad aa gaya

Woh raatein, jo humne, saath mein kaati thi
Woh baatein jo humne, mil ke baanti thi
Kissa purana yaad aa gaya
Sanu guzra zamana yaad aa gaya
Sanu guzra zamana yaad aa gaya
Ho yaad aa gaya
Sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya
Ho sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya
Woh raatein jo hum ne, saath mein kaati thi
Woh baatein jo hum ne, mil ke baanti thi
Kissa purana yaad aa gaya
Sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya
Ho sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya

Jag ko main ishq mein, jag ko main ishq mein
Bhula gaya bhula gaya, bhula gaya bhula gaya
Chahaton mein khud ko jaane mann bhula gaya
Apni saansein apni hi dhadkan bhula gaya
Tere liye main saara jeevan bhula gaya
Bhula gaya
Woh vaade jinhe hum roz nibhaate the
Woh mausam jo saari raat jagate the
Hoo kissa purana yaad aa gaya
Sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya
Sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya

Tujhse door rehna, tujhse door rehna
Rula gaya rula gaya, rula gaya rula gaya
Rula gaya rula gaya, rula gaya rula gaya
Tere ehsaas ka pagalpan rula gaya
Teri yaadon ka woh saavan rula gaya
Bikhre sapno ka woh bandhan rula gaya
Rula gaya
Woh galiyan jahan hum, khwaab sajate the
Woh lamhe jinhe hum, saath bitate the ho
Kissa purana yaad aa gaya
Sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya
Sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya
Ho yaad aa gaya
Sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya
Ho sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya
Sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya
Ho sanu guzara zamana yaad aa gaya

The album starts with Jab Mila tu, which is quite like Dostana’s Jaane Kyun. That way, the song cannot be called very fresh but sounds fine, and will be stuck to our tongues the way Jaane kyun did. I think.

The second song of the album is one of the best, or probably the best, Bin Tere (how many songs are called Bin tere, any idea?). Well, the song, sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan and Sunidhi Chauhan is a wonderful piece of music and definitely worth a listen. Go for it.

The third song of the album is a peppy title song, bas pyaar ka naam na lena, I hate love stories, sung by Vishal Dadlani. Very, very tongue sticking,though I don’t think it’s one for longer times.

Bahara is the next song of the album. The song came as a surprise to me as I had not expected Sona Mahapatra in a Vishal-Shekhar album. I wonder if she has ever worked with the duo. Well, Sona is not the only singer in the song, in fact she is more in the background while the song is actually sung by Shreya Ghoshal. A medium-fast-paced song with a touch of folk. Definitely a good one again.

They had one king of rock with them. But they brought in another one. Yes, Vishal Shekhar call in Suraj Jagan for their next number Sadka Kiya, with Mahalaxmi Iyer. Frankly, Sadka is probably the song I have loved the most till date and the more I am listening to it, the more I am falling into the song. A song that keeps itself light, has beats something like Falak tak (Tashan), with Suraj going high in places, in a way that you would love. The best part, on top of the wonderful music and singing, there are those great lyrics, sadka kiya yoon ishq ka, ke sar jhuka jahan, deedar hua. M lovin’it.

If this was not enough, here is more in remixes, no, reprises and mixes and remixes. The first to come up is Shekhar with a reprise of Bin Tere. Now there’s only a guitar (I hope I didn’t miss anything) and Shekhar’s voice. A real reprise, with hardly any background music. One of the toughest and the best things Shekhar has done. Kudos boy.

Now, a chill mix, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan singing what Shreya and Sona sang earlier. Definitely good work by Rahat and worth listening to song, but I think I have fallen for the original version already.

At the end there is a remix version of Bin Tere, which doesn’t sound bad.

Overall, I Hate Luv Storys seems to be a soundtrack which is better than plain good. A few songs may remind you of things here and there, but overall, almost every song of the album is good, which is a big deal. Well done Vishal-Shekhar.

My Picks: Bin Tere, Sadka Kiya.

Whatever I felt, the only thing that matters is that the song is a wonderful piece of music that you would love to listen to. Simply go for it.

Here are the lyrics of the song:

(lost n lonely cuz u r the only
one that knows me n I can’t be without u)

Hai kya ye jo tere mere darmiyaan hai,
andekhi ansuni koi daastaan hai..

lagne lagi ab zindagi khali hai meri
lagne lagi har saanse bhi khali
bin tere bin tere bin tere
koi khalish hai hawaon mein bin tere..

ajnabi se hue kyun pal saare
ki nazar se nazar ye milaate hi nahi
ek ghani tanhayi chha rahi hai
manzilen raaston mein hi gum hone lagi..

ho gayi ansuni har dua ab meri
reh gayi ankahi bin tere..

raah mein roshni ne hai kyun haath chhoda
is taraf shaam ne kyun hai apna muh moda
yoon ke har subah ik beraham si raat ban gayi..

Hai kya ye jo tere mere darmiyaan hai,
andekhi ansuni koi daastaan hai..

lagne lagi ab zindagi khali khali
lagne lagi har saanse bhi khali
bin tere bin tere bin tere
koi khalish hai hawaon mein bin tere..

By the way, the song has a remix and a reprise version too. And Shekhar Ravjiani does an awesome song singing the reprise version simply on a guitar. Do listen to that one.

The problem of Bappa Lahiri till date seems to be the lack of newness. He has not been able to give much new with an exception of Jai Veeru. Apartment looks like a continuation of the same as there is not much really fresh though there are a few songs about and above average.

The first song of Apartment, Candy man, is hip-hop-rap with some Punjabi touches and sounds like an average song. My guess is that the female part of the song is pretty much okay, though I didn’t find the rap, n even chorus that interesting.

The next song, Ye hai Mumbai, sung by Sonu Nigam, starts on some good news but as soon as Sonu comes in to sing the song, you know you have heard many like this. The song is kinda flat, even though Sonu seems to be trying to make the song worth listening. The background aalap sounds good but doesn’t do much good to the song. Lyrics don’t seem to be helping the case either. Average affair, again.

Ankhiyan na maar, sung by Shilpa, sounds nice in the start when there is no music behind her voice. After that, the song is a beat-based piece that can remind one of O Ajnabi in some places near the beginning, mostly because of the effects added to Shilpa’s voice, but the song sounds quite okay. In fact I’d say that composition and arrangement look pretty good until Bappa falls for typical Punjabi style with Ankhiyaan na maar. Overall not bad. Worth a try.

O jaane jaan jaan, the next song, looks quite smooth ‘n’ soft; a typical love song by Sunidhi that would suit Shreya Ghoshal’s voice equally well. There is not much new to the song but the song sounds just fine and should be liked after listening to it a few times. As for me, I didn’t like the song the first time but after a few times, it’s getting only better.

Ghar Dil mein is a song that Sonu Nigam would have sang a few years back, a typical homely chhed-chhad song with some easy on ears beats and too-simple-n-easy lyrics. Javed Ali and Shreya Ghoshal sing this one. Likeable stuff for sure if you are willing to compromise on quality.

That brings the end of original songs of the album. The next song of the album is a male version of O jaane jaan jaan sung by Shaan. The song sounds equally good, or maybe half a grade better than a Shreya’s version.

The end of album comes with three remixes, the first being that of Ankhiyaan na maar and sounds like some song of Himesh Reshammiya from the Aashiq Banaya Aapne age until Shilpa starts singing.

The second remix, that of Ye Hai Mumbai isn’t very different in its initial treatment though Himesh effect is less here and a sound somewhat like that of Non-nasal Himesh is there in the background for a few seconds. Whatever be the background, the remix is just a bad remix of a barely average song.

The remix of Candy Man is still okay as it doesn’t sound bad like the previous one. Nothing worth talking about.

Overall, Apartment is a barely average album with not much of fresh music and only a few songs above average. Bappa Lahiri keeps showing his talent here and there but he still has a long way to go if he really wants to make it big in the industry. Picks: Ankhiyaan na maar, ghar dil mein. If u are a sucker for slow numbers, try O jaane jaan jaan and if u are a hip-hop guy, u can give a try to Candy Man too.

Naacha Main tere naal is a typical Soniye song by Sonu Nigam, along with Soumya Raoh this time. I guess it’s high time Sonu should say no to any song that has the word Soniye/Hiriye. Typical. So typical.

Jaane Kahan se Aayi hai sung by Shaan is a likable song even though it sounds like a mixture of many songs from Bollywood itself with strong influences from some. Shaan is as good as ever in his singing and makes the song click anyway. The music is catchy and a few promos are enough to make you hum the song.

The last original song of the album is Koi rok bhi lo sung by Sunidhi and Sonu Nigam. After a good start, this is the song that could make the album end well, if you do not consider the remixes, but it kind of fails in being what it is made to be. The song is a slow piece and sounds fresh, but the background could have been a bit lighter and it did not need to be sooo slow towards the end. Still, there is not much bad I want to say about the song as I liked Sajid-Wajid’s music for the song, especially the beginning, as well as Sonu and Sunidhi’s singing. Try the song when you are not in a fast-track mood.

Overall, Jaane Kahan se aayi hai is an average or slightly above average album where Sajid-Wajid seem to be trying hard to give variety and good music in a short album, but seem to falter at points. Still the album is worth a try and some of the songs can be heard and liked too. Pick: Keh do Zara.

Muskura ke dekh Zara, the title song of the movie, is sung by Shaan which gives you some idea as to what you can expect from the song. The song is a hopeful-romantic song and Shaan is an expert at saying Bhool Ja. The good part of Ranjit’s music here is that he keeps on experimenting with such typical songs too and the result is not bad. After hearing the song only the second time itself, I started liking it. If you put your mind to lyrics, it will be even better.

Tu Hai Mera Pyaar, the third song of the album, starts with some very romantic music and brings in a new (at least to Bollywood), kinda strange voice of Raja Mushtaq and it sounds like I’m listening to the title song of a  finally-I-too-made-an-album-through-T-series. The music of the song is okay, kind of clichéd, and to say it straight, boring. The singer with his voice is icing on the cake for the song, even though his singing is probably not that bad. Or maybe it is. In short, skip this one.

The next number, Chandni, sung by Saurabh Srivastav, is a fresh love song. The lyrics of the song are trite but the music is okay, well arranged, and singing pretty fine. So overall the song sounds not bad and worth a try.

Next on the album is the only female song Roothe roothe sahab mere, sung by Sunidhi and happens to be something I loved. The song is quite noiseless, the music is attractive and even though it’s not tongue-sticking, you like the song the very first time you listen to it. Sunidhi’s singing is flawless as ever and Ranjit does create some good music for her. Also, some wind instruments remind me of Sur, which only adds to the value of the song. Try this one.

Raja Mushtaq comes again with Jab se maine tum se aankh lagayi hai, and sounds better than his previous song as the music too goes bit better this time. The song is something like a ghazal turned into club mode and Barot decides to do lot of experiments here too. Not very great, but you can try and decide if you like it after listening to 2-3 times.

Finally Ranjit comes behind the microphone for the last two tracks, out of  which the last is a less than a minute long number called Sangam. So in a way, Aye Dost is the last song of the album that is a lovable and very typical of him piece of music from Ranjit. The song has that signature style of his in the music as well as his usual style of singing. I’d simply suggest you to go for the song if you like Ranjit Barot and try it if you don’t know him.

Overall, Muskura ke dekh zara is an okay, but fresh and free from noise soundtrack which I would recommend to you if you are bored of Pritam and want to go for something more different than Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music. Picks to start with are Sahi Bola Re (don’t mind the chorus), Muskura ke dekh zara and aye dost. And, of course, Roothe Roothe Sahab Mere.

PS: For those who don’t know Ranjit Barot, he is a well known music arranger and creates music for movies at times. He is best known for his theme Mere Watan in Fiza.

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.