Dus Review {4.0/5} & Review Rating
Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan last time the three of them came together in Rakht, the movie went unnoticed. This time the three of them come together for a much slicker and technically superior product 'Dus' that also has Zayed Khan to make it 'chaar' out of 'dus'. Then there are heroines namely Shilpa Shetty, Esha Deol, Raima Sen, while Pankaj Kapur, Jawed Sheikh and Gulshan Grover form the rest of the cast summing up to 10. Dia Mirza is the 11th actor in this Nitin Manmohan production that sounds an extremely promising thriller on world terrorism. A notable (and very interesting) factor about 'Dus' is its director - Anubhav Sinha who moves on from his forte of directing romantic films (Tum Bin, Aaapko Pehle Bhi Kahi Dekha Hai) to thriller genre. Vishal-Shekhar, the composer duo gets the best of the projects belonging to thriller genre (Kaante, Musafir) and 'Dus' is no exception. Famous for their techno tracks, one has extremely high hopes from their compositions that have lyrics by Panchhi Jalonvi.
If there has been a song this year that has caught the nation's attention on day one of the promos, it's the title song 'Dus Bahane'. A marvelous number, the deadly combination of western arrangements with strong Indian melody and a bit of rap make the number instantly catchy and foot tapping. Vishal and Shekhar do it once more with this track that is sung with aplomb by the youngsters KK and Shaan. Both Abhishek Bachchan and Zayed Khan, on whom the song has been filmed, enjoy emoting to this number and are every bit of the cool dude they are supposed to be! Shot as a glossy music video, this number will go a long way in pulling in the crowds. A super hit track! There is an 'extended version' of the same coming up after a few songs and that only facilitates the rocking party mood to continue.
Sunidhi Chauhan continues to enliven the proceedings with 'Deedar De ' that comes up in two versions - 'Nikhil & Naved Z mix' and 'Ranjit Barot mix'. The former is a Western-Arabian composition that is a situational song, which in all likelihood seems to have been created as an item song. Krishna does his bit to give the sufi inputs. Overall, the basics of the song are still the same a techno composition that is racy enough to keep the listener engaged and his foot tapping. 'Ranjit Barot mix' is a step ahead and is a true blue remix with additional beats and the zippy effects that make for a discotheque outing. A better composition to dance to, it establishes the mood of the album that sends the message loud and clear that 'Dus' won't have a single dull moment ahead.
Surprise surprise!! Johar meets Chopra meets Vishal-Shekhar in 'Cham Se Wo Aa Jaaye '. A feel good 'ghar-parivar' genre track, you can already visualize flying dupattas and sherwanis and larger than life sets for this love song set in a house full of celebrations. Male chorus is straight out of Mohabbatein and KKHH while everyone from Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Babul Supriyo, Sunidhi Chauhan to Sapna Mukherjee play their parts efficiently. Dhol and tabla beats give a vibrant feel to this track that would make the likes of Karan Johar and Yash Chopra notice the talented duo of Vishal Shekhar for their future projects. Equally thrilled would be the listeners who get a pleasant surprise of hearing a tune belonging to a different genre from the composers.
Feel good factor continues with 'Unse Poochhen' by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. A melodious number that is most heard when Nikhil Vinay and Sameer join hands; it is very unlike Vishal-Shekhar (yet again) but enjoyable nevertheless. A kind of harmless tune that always works in traditional Bollywood scenario, it continues to maintain the quality of the album.
A romantic duet 'Saamne Aati Ho' follows next that is based around soft beats and softer vocals by Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi Chauhan. Not an extraordinary composition, it still does well to give you a relaxation feel due to the arrangements being very easy to ears. While 'Unse Poochhen' was a mature love song, 'Saamne Aati Ho' has a youthful feel.
An even softer number makes an appearance as a Hariharan-Mahalakshmi duet that brings with a soft breeze on a full moon night. A passionate number, 'Jaaniya Ve' picks up tempo after a soft start only to get back to its silky feel. The track is of a kind that won't go on to become a chartbuster but would be liked for a quiet hearing.
Album gets to a rocking mood once again with the introduction of the Dus theme that has been innovatively billed as 'Adrenaline Nitrate'. The 6-minute techno track literally pumps up the adrenaline and makes you look forward to the movie. If the music is placed in the background as effectively as in the case of 'Mission Impossible' theme music, it should ignite the images on screen. Ranjit Barot composes Sukhwinder Singh sung 'Zalzala' that is a theme song around 'Dus'. Written by Mehboob, it is either a situational track or a promotional number. A fast paced track, it is the only one that is just average and can be given a skip.
For the lovers of hard rock, there is 'Make Some Noise' by Ranjit Barot that is an English song inspired by the background score of the movie. Yet another adrenalin pumping number, it is based around a tense and fast paced sequence of the movie and should be quite effective on screen. A unique attempt in hardcore masala potboiler, it is a musical piece of a kind frequently seen in Hollywood music albums. Caralisa Monteiro does a long drawn 'alaap' based on Western classical music in the musical piece 'Alternate Trance', which is again an experimental track and a first of its kind. Haunting yet enjoyable, it seems to have been designed around the character of the villain in 'Dus'. Final piece in the album is 'Get Into My Car' by Caralisa Monteiro, Nandini Srikar and Earl D' Souza. A techno track merging with lounge music, it is a mix of rap and 'Hindustani' music. One of the best tracks of the albums, it is highly enjoyable and would be lapped up by the hip-hop urban crowd.
After hearing the soundtrack of 'Dus', one thing is for sure that the starcast would have had a major blast while shooting for the songs. Vishal - Shekhar take a step ahead in coming up with a hip urban soundtrack that would also make inroads into the collection of lovers of contemporary Hindi film music. 'Dus' re-establishes the belief that if you want hardcore techno music in a film, Vishal - Shekhar are the ones to approach.
With Nitin Manmohan at the helm of production, known for leaving no stone unturned to come up with a quality product, the tracks in 'Dus' should be a visually appealing affair as well. 'Dus' is destined to be yet another musical success of 2005 after 'Lucky', 'Kaal' and 'Zeher'.
