By Abid, Bollywood Trade News Network
Director, producer, composer, lyricist, screenplay writer, all rolled in all , a one man army, this is Vishal Bhardwaj, especially for his hardcore fans who belong to all sections of the society and love his kind of dark noir cinema. Films that are gripping, music that is earthy and haunting and stories that are engaging and engrossing. Vishal is always unpredictable and that's where his ingenuity and charm lies. Son of renowned poet and lyricist, Ram Bhardwaj, Vishal, (as a composer) has several films to his credit. But the ones that remain etched out in memory are MAACHIS (''Chappa Chappa Charkha Chale and ''Chhod Aayein Hum Woh Galiyaan'') and OMKARA. In his last outing via Ajay Devgan's directorial debut venture U, ME AUR HUM, he broke away from his usual (but well loved) kind of music and so the album was a forgettable experience. However this time around he is back with his kind of cinema and with it, his kind of music. Naturally expectations are manifold from this maverick all rounder, who along with the genius called Gulzar Sahab (fresh from his Oscar win), comes up with his next venture, KAMINEY, which is about to unfold and music lovers who feast on 'hatke' music are in for an audible treat in the form of the audio album of the Shahid Kapoor-Priyanka Chopra starrer, KAMNIEY. So, let's get set and go! Nostalgia grips the listeners as they are simply swept off their feet as the spellbinding rollicking signature tune heralds the arrival of the opening track, ''Dhan Te Nan'', a tune which has been heard in highly tense climax portions of many action movies in the seventies and early eighties. (Obviously inspired by the highly popular theme music of Quentin Tarantino's cult action classic PULP FICTION). Sukhwinder has always excelled under the baton of Vishal and here he is simply mind-boggling and matching him step to step is our very own rock star incarnated Vishal Dadlani, who rocks to the core with some highly energetic and expressive singing. Robert 'Bob' Omulo chips in with the rap portions. One can sense how much they must have enjoyed while recording the song as it is evident from their rendition, and the feeling is mutual as this song has gripped the nation's imagination with its very first teaser. The absolutely awesome guitaring simply invites dancing, rock n roll seventies style! Living legend Gulzar deserves all the accolades for the highly enjoyable but some really apt (though crazy and abstract) lyrics. Just imagine making a song out of a sound, a signature tune, only Gulzar Sahab can do that. The lyrics are the USP of the track. ''Aaja aaja dil nichodein, Raat ki matki phodein, Koi goodluck nikalein, Aaj gullak to phode.'' We have had many numbers that have money as their subject, but nothing can get more zanier and better than this. After ''Beedi' this number by Vishal, Gulzar and Sukhi is sure to top all the charts and occupy pole position, besides being a constant feature in every club, discos, cars, parties and pubs etc. CHARTBUSTER! The remixed version of ''Dhan Te Nan'' is quite different and highly enjoyable too, although the rocking guitar signature tune forms the main backdrop here also. Efforts have been put in to make it sound different. Here the emphasis is more on English rap and reggae with reference to Mr. Bollywood and King of neighbourhood. All credit to the producer Abhijit Vaghani who chips in with the rap parts and Dominique Crejo provides the oomph with the female rap parts as well as doubling up as the lyricist (for the rap portions) . Good work by Aftab Khan who has remixed it. Lovely piano piece serenades as the love ballad ''Pehli Baar Mohabbat'' opens and Mohit Chauhan's deliriously base vocals take over and one is simply mesmerized by the sheer genius of Vishal and Gulzar, who are in prime form together in this number. If the Shahid-Mohit combo regaled listeners with ''Tum Se Hi'' (JAB WE MET), this number is sure to follow suit. Coming to the beautiful composition, the beauty lies in its gradual picking up pace and rhythm reaching a scintillating crescendo (the percussions are absolutely rocking!) as Mohit goes ''Pehli baar mohabbat ki hai.'' This number will find patronage amongst all those who love their romantic ballads to be just that, no foreign infringements in the form of rap, nasal croonings, or sensual sounding back-up chorals. Well, what do we have here. ''Raat Ke Dhai Baje'' is not the chartbusting item number that one was looking forward to after being hit by its superbly rhythmic opening piece, but one of the entirely different (both in terms of lyrics as well as tune) but highly enjoyable versions of the track, ''Pehli Baar Mohabbat Ki Hai''as these line has been incorporated in this song too. This number is more in the form of a highly energetic dance track and has been amalgamated with touches of 'techno qawwali'. Vishal hires the services of his ''Beedi'' queen, Sunidhi Chauhan, along with his ever favourite Rekha Bhardwaj (who mainly excels in folksy numbers) and veteran Suresh Wadkar. Kunal Ganjawala too is a part of this highly charged dance track and URL (Earl ED) is there for the rap vocals and FX. Rekha Bhardwaj is a revelation as she simply excels and at times even outshines Sunidhi (in parts). Gulzar sahab's lyrics are amazing, ''Ek hi lat suljhane mein saari raat guzari hai, Chaand ki gathri sar pe le li, Aap ne kaisi zahmat ki hai.'' Once again an effort to make the remix version of ''Raat Ke Dhai Baje'' appears different as well as entertaining has been made and it succeeds too, making it even more dance and youth oriented. Producer Abhijit Vaghani, arranger Aftab Khan and URL (rap vocals and FX) need a pat on the back for it. In OMKARA Vishal was inspired by a popular folk song from Western Uttar Pradesh (where he belongs) and in ''Fatak'' he once again revisits his Meerut roots and what an idea sir jee, bringing singers like Kailash Kher and Sukhwinder Singh (two highly talented artists) together to render this earthy, folk based but highly infectious track. They simply gel so well together, as they sing in tandem, an entirely situational number that introduces the lead protagonist through some absolutely on dot lyrics, which are funny as well - ''Jitna bhi jhooth bole thoda hai, Keedon ki basti ka makoda hai, Yeh raaton ka bichhoo hai kaatega, Yeh zahreela hai zeher chhatega''. The song goes with the flow of the narrative of the film as one can get a clear insight into the mean, sinister and evil personality of the main protagonist. The song has its high point in the end where Gulzar Sahab innovates Jigar Moradabadi's immortal couplet 'Yeh ishq nahin asaan, Bat itna samajhh lijiye, Ek aag ka dariya hai, Aur doob ke jana hai', with ''Yeh ishq nahin asaan, Aur Aids ka khatra hai.'' Hilarious! A haunting piano piece commences the amazing title track ''Kaminey'', and this is once again a situational composition that should appear as a background score during some sad, unhappy times of the film. And the maverick composer gets behind the mike for the number, which may be slow in pace, but is certainly not lacking in depth. Vishal's sweet, youthful vocals match Shahid's and the song will surely look good on screen. The superb use of saxophone, piano and violin deserve applause as they save the song from being too morose and depict the pain and frustration as well, besides shifting the focus to the delightful musical orchestrations that pick up pace gradually and reach a crescendo. Once again all credit to Gulzar Sahab for writing a song out of a desi swear word, incredible! A trademark Vishal number reminiscent of his NO SMOKING tracks. Rating - 4.5/5
