Whatever Sanjay Gupta does, he does that with style. And the man knows how to be
in news! Be it his intial ventures like Aatish, Hamesha, Khauff, Jung or his
recent ventures like Kaante, Plan and now Musafir , his movies have always
created a buzz. His casting has generally broken trends. While his last two
flicks ' Kaante ' and ' Plan ' boasted of six and five macho men respectively
with no heroines to hoot about, ' Musafir ' too manages a casting coup by
bringing in Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Aditya Panshcholi and Mahesh Manjrekar
together. His current favorite Sameera Reddy is the sole heroine in this
dramatic thriller presented by Sanjay Dutt, while the hunt for the 'Item Girl'
is still on! It is a role reversal of sorts for composers Vishal Shekhar and
Anand Raj Anand. While in Kaante , ARA composed the majority of songs and Visha
Shekhar chipped in their bit, it is the other way around in ' Musafir ' that has
a whopping 13 songs in all!!
Sunidhi Chauhan rocks in the adrenalin driving ' Ishq Kabhi Kariyo Na ' that is
written by Dev Kohli and composed by ARA. A techno track that is high on beats
and has some good lyrics by Dev Kohli, it gives a just start to this pulsating
album. Sameera exudes raw oomph in the song that is picturized classily without
resorting to vulgarity. As like the characters of the movie that wear a rugged
look, the song too has a similar appeal and comes hard on you. The track
resurfaces after a break as a version ' Ishq Na Kariyo ' by Sukhwinder Singh and
the effects are rocking yet again. This one is for the dance floors!!
Rabba ' appears in four versions. First to come is the Lounge version (which is
the IN thing today!) by Richa Sharma. A track about separation and pain
associated with it, it is thankfully miles away from being another '
dard-e-judaai ' song and is in fact a slow'n'haunting kind that can be enjoyed
with a sip of drink and a tear in eye! Full marks for Dev Kohli's lyrics here.
'Techno' version by Richa Sharma is highly contemporary and should soon find its
place in the hip-hop youngsters music collection. Now that's the power of
modern-day musical arrangements that can just change the shape of the entire
song. Excellent!!
Krishna, who is fast making his presence felt when it comes to 'Sufi' rendition
keeps up the pace of 'Rabba' with his Sufi version written by Kumar and Dev
Kohli, that just confirms the high standards of the album. Sukhwinder Singh is
more subdued and gives a silky touch when it comes to his version of 'Rabba'.
All the four versions maintain an identity of their own and succeed well. After
listening to 'Rabba', one doesn't expect anything more from the rest of the
album as one is more than satisfied from what has been presented so far!
Kumar Sanu and Sunidhi Chauhan come together for the love duet ' Phir Na Kehna
'. A slow moving quite number, it is not of a kind that you may hum around the
town but is still of a kind that can be enjoyed in continuation of other lounge
numbers.
The album takes a turn towards dance floor with ' Door Se Paas ', an amazingly
composed track by Vishal-Shekhar who catch the pulse of the disc hopping crowds.
The arrangements are stylish and go with the kind of urban movies that Sanjay
Gupta makes. This track sung by KK should be soon a hot favorite in the
up-market pubs and discs.
' Tez Dhar ' follows next that again appears in two versions - a regular and a
'Techno' mix. Sung by Sanjay Dutt, it is strictly for his fans. A mix of both
dialogues and some singing by Sanjay Dutt (that is extremely amateurish and
takes away whatever he earned with ' Ae Shivaani ' - Khoobsurat), the 'Techno'
version written by Vishal and Milap Zhaveri is high on beats and low on vocals.
As long as one can ignore Sanju baba's singing, this DJ Aqueel's version will
keep you occupied. After a break comes the regular version that is more haunting
than rocking as the focus is on the vocals rather than beats. The number
attempts at being similar to countryside music but the result is average again.
On reading Shreya Ghoshal on the credits, one wonders what are her delicate
vocals doing in this rugged album. But ' Ek Dil Ne ' comes a whiff of fresh air
and gives a much-needed break to relax after all the hardcore rock stuff
happening prior to this. Kunal Ganjawala gives her good company in this
melodious tune aided by some fine musical arrangements. This is a number to be
heard in the wilderness of dark with your beloved.
Okay! So you had some good rest. Now get up to the task once again with the
foot-tapping track ' Sun Suniyo ' by Hema Sardesai, who gets to sing a song
matching her capabilities after a long time. A sure-shot item number, is this
the one for which the auditions are happening for the 'Item Girl'? Keep
guessing!
' Saaki ' by Sukhwinder Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan is a follow-up to ' Ishq
Samundar ' from Kaante and appears at the end of the album. It cashes in on the
playboy image of Sanjay Dutt and has hot'n'sultry Koena Mitra ( Khullam Khulla-
'Road' ) for company. Dutt looks his every bit mean and devilish (the character
he plays in the movie) and the song should turn out to be a hot favorite amongst
his fans.
' Musafir ' is an apt case of an album that delivers exactly what is expected
from it. There are no pretexts of doing anything different or path breaking just
for the sake of it. Audience expected a pulsating score from the makers of '
Kaante ' and that is what they got. Vishal Shekhar deliver exactly what the
doctor ordered and it should be one rocking party this winter.
Haunting, spell bounding, enchanting, thrilling and rocking - that's what the
score of 'Musafir' stands for.
