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By Joginder Tuteja, April 12, 2004 - 16:05 IST
Deewaar - the title of the movie itself brings so many expectations with it that you await every aspect of the filmmaking - be it the songs, performances or the movie itself. The 70's classic affirmed Amitabh Bachchan's supremacy at the box-office and the namesake produced by Gaurang Doshi (who produced Aankhen two years back, again starring Big B) this side of the century comes at the time when no biggie project is deemed completed till it has Big B on the rolls! 'Deewar - Let's bring our heroes home' has been in news since the time it was launched about a year back and has been completed in record time in spite of a mega star-cast comprising of Big B, Sanjay Dutt and Akshaye Khanna. Amrita Rao plays the sole heroine opposite Akshaye and is in the middle of three consecutive releases - Masti, Main Hoon Naa and Deewaar while Kay Kay (Chhal) plays the main baddie. Milan Luthria, who introduced the genre of 'road movies' in Bollywood with an average earner 'Kachche Dhaage' and has a dud 'Chori Chori' behind him, directs this multi-crore actioner. Aadesh Shrivastava, who hit jackpot with an inspired score in last year's hit 'Baghban' (also starring Big B), gets to score a different tune this time in a patriotic movie about 54 POW (Prisoners of War) behind enemy lines. Written by Sridhar Raghavan who also wrote for Bachchan's 'Khakee', Deewar-LBOHH has lyrics for all the songs by Nusrat Badr.
Sanjay Dutt swings to the tune of 'Marhaba Marhaba', which for sure is not another 'Ishq Samandar'. Though the producers have reportedly spent a fortune in getting the cave-set in place and have hired the services of Ukrainian belly dancers for the oomph factor, the effect is definitely not as expected. Sonu Nigam is honest in trying to give that Arabic feel to his vocals, but the song doesn't impress much. Xenia Ali (who released a non-film album 'Meri Ada' a few months back) gets to croon a few words in this male dominated song but doesn't succeed much. Sanjay Dutt's dance steps are so very typical as in his earlier item numbers and the song may at best appeal to his hard-core fans. Certainly not a song that will be remembered for years to come! Remix of the same track promises to bring some respite but turns out to be as fizzle-less as a 3 days cola kept open! A track that seems to be space-filler for the album and doesn't stand much chance to appear in the movie!
'Chaliye Ve Chaliye' (Vande Mataram) tries hard to be patriotic but doesn't succeed much. At maximum, the punch landed by Big B in the air does remind the poster pose he struck for 'Main Azaad Hoon' about 15 years back, but that's all. Lyrics by Nusrat Badr too aren't any different from many other patriotic songs from the past and the song just settles down to an average category. Udit Narayan is passable while Roopkumar Rathod too goes through the motions. Based on an age-old Punjabi folk tune, the song is strictly for the Bachchan fans who may want to watch his vintage act!!
Musically, the beginning of 'Todenge Deewar Hum' is so similar to Nadeem Shravan's 'Rehne Ko Ghar Nahi' from 'Sadak' that you wonder whether it was a mere 'coincidence' or intentional? Another patriotic number after 'Chaliye Ve Chaliye', it is about the captured soldiers' cry of rebellion on breaking all the walls and going back to the motherland. A completely situational song, it stands no chance of it being played in a person's living room or on a long drive. A brief track, it is mainly sung as a chorus with support from Udit Narayan and Mukul Agarwal.
'Kara Kaga' is the number picturized on a village belle who is waiting for her prince charming to come and take her in his arms. The number by Alka Yagnik is purely functional and doesn't qualify itself to be a long-term prospect. Also, it has to be seen that how well will it be integrated in the narrative of this action-drama that deals with the escape of prisoners of war. Will the filmmakers be really successful in holding the viewer's attention with such a love song?
A better sounding number that follows next is 'Piya Bawri' for which an instrumental also appears. With classical background vocals by Kailash Kher (who sang the superb 'Allah Ke Bande' in Waisa Bhi Hota Hai - Part II last year), the song makes for a fine hearing primarily due to it's soothing music and Alka Yagnik's vocals. A complete 'Hindustani' number, the song still doesn't turn out to be a chartbuster material and again risks of breaking the film's supposedly fast paced narrative!!
Off late most of the big movies have had a qawalli as a part of their musical score. Same follows suit over here where 'Ali Ali' comes towards the end of the album. Sung by Krishna who sounds like late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan saab at places, it is supported by Vijayta and Shraddha Pandit. Sung extremely well by Krishna, the track is put to good music by Aadesh Shrivastava and is again very situational. Like all the other songs from the album, even 'Ali Ali' doesn't has much retention power, is not the number for all and may excite only the lovers of qawallis.
The soundtrack of Deewar - LBOHH defies the mammoth expectations that one had from the movie after the initial promos that were generated about 8-9 months back and the current promos on screen when the movie is about to be released. Movie definitely seems very promising due to it's distinct theme, well-cut teasers, excellent cinematography, mega star cast, good production values and the hype generated in all these months since the time of the project's inception. But the music turns out to be just about average which is disappointing for a project of such stature. In fact one wonders that going by the theme of the movie, probably it would have been a much better bet if it were a song less venture. Nevertheless, now it's on the filmmakers on how cleverly they manage to incorporate these situational songs as a part of this movie.
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