Whatever Sanjay Gupta does, he does that with style. And the man knows how to be in news! Be it his intial ventures like Aatish, Hamesha, Khauff, Jung or his recent ventures like Kaante, Plan and now Musafir , his movies have always created a buzz. His casting has generally broken trends. While his last two flicks ' Kaante ' and ' Plan ' boasted of six and five macho men respectively with no heroines to hoot about, ' Musafir ' too manages a casting coup by bringing in Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Aditya Panshcholi and Mahesh Manjrekar together. His current favorite Sameera Reddy is the sole heroine in this dramatic thriller presented by Sanjay Dutt, while the hunt for the 'Item Girl' is still on! It is a role reversal of sorts for composers Vishal Shekhar and Anand Raj Anand. While in Kaante , ARA composed the majority of songs and Visha Shekhar chipped in their bit, it is the other way around in ' Musafir ' that has a whopping 13 songs in all!!

Sunidhi Chauhan rocks in the adrenalin driving ' Ishq Kabhi Kariyo Na ' that is written by Dev Kohli and composed by ARA. A techno track that is high on beats and has some good lyrics by Dev Kohli, it gives a just start to this pulsating album. Sameera exudes raw oomph in the song that is picturized classily without resorting to vulgarity. As like the characters of the movie that wear a rugged look, the song too has a similar appeal and comes hard on you. The track resurfaces after a break as a version ' Ishq Na Kariyo ' by Sukhwinder Singh and the effects are rocking yet again. This one is for the dance floors!!

' Rabba ' appears in four versions. First to come is the Lounge version (which is the IN thing today!) by Richa Sharma. A track about separation and pain associated with it, it is thankfully miles away from being another ' dard-e-judaai ' song and is in fact a slow'n'haunting kind that can be enjoyed with a sip of drink and a tear in eye! Full marks for Dev Kohli's lyrics here. 'Techno' version by Richa Sharma is highly contemporary and should soon find its place in the hip-hop youngsters music collection. Now that's the power of modern-day musical arrangements that can just change the shape of the entire song. Excellent!!

Krishna, who is fast making his presence felt when it comes to 'Sufi' rendition keeps up the pace of 'Rabba' with his Sufi version written by Kumar and Dev Kohli, that just confirms the high standards of the album. Sukhwinder Singh is more subdued and gives a silky touch when it comes to his version of 'Rabba'. All the four versions maintain an identity of their own and succeed well. After listening to 'Rabba', one doesn't expect anything more from the rest of the album as one is more than satisfied from what has been presented so far!

Kumar Sanu and Sunidhi Chauhan come together for the love duet ' Phir Na Kehna '. A slow moving quite number, it is not of a kind that you may hum around the town but is still of a kind that can be enjoyed in continuation of other lounge numbers.

The album takes a turn towards dance floor with ' Door Se Paas ', an amazingly composed track by Vishal-Shekhar who catch the pulse of the disc hopping crowds. The arrangements are stylish and go with the kind of urban movies that Sanjay Gupta makes. This track sung by KK should be soon a hot favorite in the up-market pubs and discs.

' Tez Dhar ' follows next that again appears in two versions - a regular and a 'Techno' mix. Sung by Sanjay Dutt, it is strictly for his fans. A mix of both dialogues and some singing by Sanjay Dutt (that is extremely amateurish and takes away whatever he earned with ' Ae Shivaani ' - Khoobsurat), the 'Techno' version written by Vishal and Milap Zhaveri is high on beats and low on vocals. As long as one can ignore Sanju baba's singing, this DJ Aqueel's version will keep you occupied. After a break comes the regular version that is more haunting than rocking as the focus is on the vocals rather than beats. The number attempts at being similar to countryside music but the result is average again.

On reading Shreya Ghoshal on the credits, one wonders what are her delicate vocals doing in this rugged album. But ' Ek Dil Ne ' comes a whiff of fresh air and gives a much-needed break to relax after all the hardcore rock stuff happening prior to this. Kunal Ganjawala gives her good company in this melodious tune aided by some fine musical arrangements. This is a number to be heard in the wilderness of dark with your beloved.

Okay! So you had some good rest. Now get up to the task once again with the foot-tapping track ' Sun Suniyo ' by Hema Sardesai, who gets to sing a song matching her capabilities after a long time. A sure-shot item number, is this the one for which the auditions are happening for the 'Item Girl'? Keep guessing!

' Saaki ' by Sukhwinder Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan is a follow-up to ' Ishq Samundar ' from Kaante and appears at the end of the album. It cashes in on the playboy image of Sanjay Dutt and has hot'n'sultry Koena Mitra ( Khullam Khulla- 'Road' ) for company. Dutt looks his every bit mean and devilish (the character he plays in the movie) and the song should turn out to be a hot favorite amongst his fans.

' Musafir ' is an apt case of an album that delivers exactly what is expected from it. There are no pretexts of doing anything different or path breaking just for the sake of it. Audience expected a pulsating score from the makers of ' Kaante ' and that is what they got. Vishal Shekhar deliver exactly what the doctor ordered and it should be one rocking party this winter.

Haunting, spell bounding, enchanting, thrilling and rocking - that's what the score of 'Musafir' stands for.

ALBUM RATINGS

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