By Joginder Tuteja, September 8, 2008 - 09:07 IST
Phoonk - A film on black magic, Hit. Rock On - A film on rock music, Hit. A Wednesday - A film on terrorism, Critically acclaimed and all set to be a box office success. It couldn't have been a better time for unconventional films to arrive at theaters. With audience more than happy to grab anything which seems different from the rest and sounds promising, these are exciting times for Bollywood. This is when arrives Hello, a film which again has an unconventional setting, considering its call center backdrop. Though the film has been delayed for close to a year, it seems to be just the right timing for a film like this to be hitting the screens. Since the film has Salman Khan in a special appearance, his favorite composers Sajid-Wajid along with lyricist Jalees Sherwani get the soundtrack in place.
The opening track 'Hello' begins with the beep sound making way for Calypso beats to follow. Suzy Q, who has recently impressed with 'Hey Ya' in Kidnap, is roped in by Sajid-Wajid for Hello that sees Ishq Bector, Herchelle, Merlin and Tim coming along with Sajid to create a groovy number. Even though the number is purely theme based, credit must go to Sajid-Wajid for making a track which could play in a lounge or a club or a discotheque and entertain audience all over. The 'Party Mix' further helps the team's cause and gets the proceedings exciting enough for a Saturday night outing. One wonders how come the music video of a foot tapping number like this is not out yet!
With Sufi shades to it, 'Rab Ka Banda' follows next and though it has been fused with a Western sound, the number doesn't quite impress even after repeated hearing. A situational number which has Sonu Nigam in the lead with Zubin and Sunidhi Chauhan pitching in as well, 'Rab Ka Banda' has philosophical shades to it and doesn't really bowls over the listener. This one belongs to the quick-skip kinds.
A quintessential 'bhangra' track comes next in the form of 'Karle Baby Dance Wance' which doesn't break any new ground but stays rooted enough to turn out to be a passable track at least. Daler Mehendi, the obvious choice for a song like this, is roped in for 'Karle Baby' and he goes through his routine rendition along with Sunidhi Chauhan who provides able support. In fact on repeated hearing, the song comes quite close to 'Tera Rang Balle Balle' [Soldier] though the similarity is more due to genre than being a straight lift.
'Bang Bang Bang' is a wannabe rock number which is sung by Wajid himself. The number is very average sounding in spite of the fact that it boasts of Salman Khan power and has been on the music channels 24X7. 'Bang Bang' has been given a concert feel to befit the situation in the film and though rock arrangements along with pyrotechnics are the order of the day in the way 'Bang Bang' has been arranged and picturised, it isn't really the next Salman Khan hit in the offering.
Some 'thehrav' comes in the album the moment 'Mitwa Re' arrives. Reminding of the feel of 'Jaaniye' [Summer 2007], 'Mitwa Re' is a romantic number sung by Shaan and Sadhana Sargam. Yet again a number which doesn't quite explore newer avenues but does well in sticking to the tried and tested formula of getting a romantic melody in place, 'Mitwa Re' immediately takes it's audience to the middle of the hills.
Longest track in the album, 'Caravan', comes at the very end of the album. Lasting more than 6 minutes, it is sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan. Surprisingly, the number turns out to be not just old fashioned but also tends to drag with a predominantly sad feel to it. Seemingly a song which should be making an appearance intermittently into the film's narrative, 'Caravan' doesn't quite make you jump with joy.
After listening to the album, one does feel that though an unconventional subject may make one look forward to the film Hello, the same can't really be said about the music. There isn't any single track which could help this Sajid-Wajid soundtrack achieve a hit status for itself. Yes, a couple of numbers do turn out to be a good hear ('Hello', 'Mitwa Re') but they are not enough to make Hello a must-hear.
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