So after failing Aditya Chopra badly in Tashan I mean, No wedding song, No Punjabi numbers, no disco beats, what kind of a Yash Raj soundtrack was that. Who wants to hear rock-bhojpuri anymore. Nothing doing. YRF demands and gets a typical YRF album and that’s all what “Bachna Ae Haseeno” is . So here goes -
Khuda Jaane – A typical Vishal-Shekhar number with Pritam style vocal flourishes from KK. Shilpa Rao has an interesting voice and compliments KK on this one, but but the tune is nothing to write home about and somehow keeps reminding you of “My Heart Goes Hmm” from Salaam Namaste.
Lucky Boy – The lyrics are tacky, corny even and V&S seriously move into Pritam territory and take a leaf out of Himesh’s book and create an entire song based on just one hook. But boy! is that one catchy hook. It keeps reverberating in your head long after you have left the song and after my first hearing of the album it was this one song I could seriously recall. It is ultimately the required Disco /Item number. . The song also features the voice of Hard Kaur and Raja Hassan, whom I seriously couldn’t make out to be his.
Ahista Ahista – OK now this is one hell of an interesting song. If I had heard this song in isolation I would have thought it to be a Rahman composition. Or maybe it’s just Lucky Ali. Coz the way V&S have used Lucky instantly reminds you of “Anjaana” form Yuva. The same wo-oo-oo’s all over the place and again the Pritam influence is present in form of the flamenco guitars at the beginning of the song. But in my opinion the most well constructed song in the entire album.
Jogi Mahi – The compulsory wedding number. It is so generic that I bet V&S composed it in their sleep and then got Sukhwinder to sing over the difficult parts in the morning and then got Himani Kapoor to provide the female foil. The lyrics are predictable with the same Mahi, Heer, Ranjhna, Sajna and all that crap. The song does have a heart-tugging chorus line and rises to a rousing crescendo at the and but only just.
Small Town Girl – OK Wedding Song. Check. Disco Number. Check. So what’s left. Oh yeah the Punjabi number. Can’t find a tune . No problem recycle some of Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s. Take a bit of “Pretty Woman” from Kal Ho Na Ho and “Jhoom Barabar Jhoom” title track and give it a nice mix with your own "Nachle Ve" from Ta Ra Rum Pum. OMG. Who’s gotta sing it?. Sukhwinder’s refused. He say’s the song reeks of Shankar Mahadevan. Vishal Says to Shekhar. No problem Shankar’s a friend. So Shankar comes and sings a re-hash of his own songs. What’s he gotta lose. He’s getting paid !
Khuda Jaane (Revisited) – If there was any doubt that this song is Pritam inspired, the remix clears all that.
Bachna Ae Haseeno – Vishal and Shekhar have made no bones about their RD Burman fascination and they finally legally get to do what they must have been wanting to all along. Remix a Kishore-RD song. And then get Kishoreda’s son to sing it. Sumit Kumar that is. Whose voice actually gets drowned in the beats and whn his Dad’s voice come in to the picture the drum vanish. Oh Yes and the trumpets are intact. But is the song a patch on the crazy saxophone trumpet jamboree of the original song. No chance.
So Vishal Shekhar play safe. Or are rather made to play safe and create a generic Yash Raj movie ka music album, which I must add they fully succeed in doing and throw up interestinginsights into how their think about their music. And one genuinely interesting song. And a definite screen scorcher in Lucky Boy.
