The music of Raaz The Mystery Continues, like the music of most films produced by the Bhatt Brothers Mahesh & Mukesh has enough in it to lure lovers of music. This album is no exception. The makers of the film keep their faith in three music composers for this album, Raju Singh, Pranay M Rijia and Tarbi Toshi. The lyrics have mostly been written by Bhatt favourite Sayeed Quadri. The highlight of this album is definitely the number' Maahi' sung by Toshi and the from the heart version of 'Soniyo' sung by Krishna.
The album begins with the best number, 'Maahi' sing by Toshi, a singer who shot into fame after his appearance at the one of TV reality music shows. He did not go on to win the show but was definitely one of the more popular singers on it. His rendition of songs with a Sufi ang is what won him admirers, not the least of them being Pooja Bhatt, who was a judge on one of the episodes. It is heartening to know that she kept her promise to him and gave him a good break with this movie. The lyrics of Maahi have been penned by Sayeed Quadri and the music has been composed Toshi and his brother Tarbi. Toshi takes centre stage with his full throated rendering of the number, with just the right amount of pathos and longing in it. He does full justice to the lyrics and this number is bound to top the charts. The second version of this song appears in a rock with me version, which has Toshi sounding a lot more pensive. But the good thing is that he manages to retain the magic of the first version. It definitely calls for repeated hearings.
The second number on this album is the romantic 'Soniyo' sung by Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, with Neerja Sridhar pitching in with the English bits. The music for this song has been composed by Raju Singh with lyrics by Kumaar. Sonu is easiliy among the best singers that we have around today and he displays the mastery of his vocal chords in this number. He is well supported by the mellifluous Shreya. However, it is Sonu's song al the way. The second version of this song which is sung by Krishna, however, is the icing on the cake. He gives the song a totally different twist. This version has a classical touch to it, which somehow sounds more real than Sonu's pitch perfect, soulful rendition. There is an undercurrent of something raw in this version, which is somewhat more beguiling. His opening alaap actually sets the tone of the entire song and draws you into the song.
In fact, Krishna and Toshi seem to have outshdowed the likes of Sonu and KK in this album, which is no easy feat. It is generally KK who manages to steal the show with his soulful rendition, but not so this time. KK sings two songs in this album, but none of them are able to match up to the beauty of the songs sung by Toshi and Krishna. KK's first number in this album is 'O Jaana' with music by Raju Singh and lyrics by Quadri. He sings it very well indeed, and the number is also bound to be among the chartbusters. This number has been remixed (Dance With Me) by DJ Suketu and it gains a little more urgency in the remixed version.
KK's second number in this album, 'Kaisa Yeh Raaz Hai' has music by Pranay M Rijia and lyrics by Quadri. KK manages to invoke the right kind of romantic mood with his voice. It could be taken as the title track of the film and has right kind of atmospherics. The singer does a great job with both the numbers and brings to play his entire vocal range. Both these numbers are definitely above average and one should hear them a lot more.
Krishna sings his second number in the album, 'Bandaa Re' with music by Gourov Dasgupta. This number is based on a Kabir bhajan and has been sung very differently, quite unlike the typical bhajan. Probably composed with a lot of sound effects to suit the needs of the film, the song has been rendered very simply to offset the action in the background. There are a lot of Hindu chants in the background, again keeping in mind the actual action in the film. The number seems to gain in energy and urgency as it progresses and Krishna does a good job with it, never trying to overpower the song with his vocals, but keeping to the demands of the song. Kudos to the comooser as well.
The music of Raaz the Mystery Continues is one which covers a gamut of emotions. The numbers are all extremely catchy, and more importantly, very melodious. The best thing about this album is that the singers have had a field day, as the music composers have given them an opportunity to showcase their vocal prowess. It is definitely one of the better albums that has come out in a while.
