Music: Farhan Faaiz Lyrics: Faaiz Anwar Music Label: Shiv-Shakti Entertainment Expectations: This…  

<b>Music:</b> Farhan Faaiz<BR> <b>Lyrics: </b> Faaiz Anwar<BR> <b>Music Label: </b> Shiv-Shakti Entertainment<BR><BR> <b>Expectations: </b> <BR><BR> This is a small film with a newbie music director, so we have nothing to expect. <BR><BR> <b>Music: </b> <BR><BR> Singer Altamash Faridi dominates the album with three of the four tracks, or four of the five, if we include an unplugged version of one of the songs. <BR><BR> The lead track, '<b><i>Ishq Tera Ishq Tera</i></b>' is a romantic <i>qawwali</i>-like number that makes for pleasant listening. Palak Mucchal accompanies Altamash in this old-fashioned romantic song that flows smoothly and mellifluously. <BR><BR> '<b>Bahot Yaad Aata Hai</i></b>' (Altamash solo) has two versions; one of them termed "Unplugged" due to the dominance of the guitar. This is perhaps the only song that could lay claim to being contemporary. The only hitch is that Altamash decides to ape Atif Aslam, which, despite Altamash's command over <i>sur</i>, is not exactly what we can enjoy! The song resembles any high-pitched love ditty that lays claim to intensity. Nevertheless, the <i>mukhda</i>, for some inexplicable reason, seems to have an influence of Nadeem-Shravan's pattern of notes. <BR><BR> In the album's second duet '<b><i>Bas Yeh Dua Hai</i></b>' (with Ruprekha Banerjee), the N-S influence gets stronger, and the <i>qawwali</i>-esque ambience is again there. The lyrics (Faaiz Anwar) throughout the album are a blend of the modern with old-world poetry, and this song is no exception. <BR><BR> Kavita Krishnamurthy's '<b><i>Muskurane Ke Bahane</i></b>' has a <i>ghazal</i>-like aura, and the mukhda seems to have more than a whiff of R.D. Burman's '<i>Aaj Kal Paon Zameen Pe' (Ghar) </i> as well as Laxmikant- Pyarelal's Kavita-rendered '<i>Aake Tujhpar' (Yateem) </i>, while also showing a lot of influences from other songs and styles from the '80s and '90s, including in the orchestration. Still, Kavita's superb vocals make this song a worthy listen. <BR><BR> <b>Overall: </b><BR><BR> A score that seems to date back to the '90s, it will be appreciated only by those who like that kind of music. <BR><BR> <b>Our Pick: </b> <BR><BR> <i> 'Ishq Tera Ishq Tera'</i>