Music: Sachin-Jigar Lyrics: Mayur Puri, Priya Panchal & Ashish Pandit Music Label: Tips…  

<b>Music: </b> Sachin-Jigar<BR> <b>Lyrics: </b> Mayur Puri, Priya Panchal & Ashish Pandit<BR> <b>Music Label: </b> Tips<BR><BR> <b>Expectations: </b><BR><BR> Tips as producers are usually known for hit songs and - better still, good music. <BR><BR> <b>Music: </b><BR><BR> Mika begins the album with one of his better drawls...we mean songs, <i><b>'Veerey Di Wedding'</b></i>. The construction of the song is innovative, especially in the first <i>antara</i>, in which the first and second lines have no gap, with the connecting phrase <i>'Main keya'</i> lending an interesting twist to the composition. <BR><BR> Mayur Puri's lyrics are simple and witty (<i> 'Veera puchiya mainu ke azadi ka kya hoga /Main keya daddy ka jo haal tere / Woh tera haal bhi hoga / Haaye... bhai teri jodi nu nazar na lage / Ho Rab kare tainu bhabhi se kabhi dar na lage'</i>) and the Sachin-Jigar composition is aptly breezy. <BR><BR> However, there are two areas in which the song could have been bettered: one, Mika's vocals are, as usual, partially unintelligible as he swallows syllables, and two, this problem is further aggravated by Sachin-Jigar's cacophonous arrangements, choruses and final mastering that further drowns whatever Mika vocalizes! <BR><BR> The remix version is hardly more danceable, but is even noisier and seems pointless. <BR><BR> The highlight of the score is the perky and piquant <i><b>'Johnny Johnny'</b></i> (Jigar-Priya Panchal-Madhav Krishna), again written with a lot of imagination by Mayur Puri to blend a sense of fun into the thematic aptness without any crassness (<i> 'Sunta nahi baap ki/Aadatein kharaab ki/Har botal pe kehta hai yeh/Last hogi aaj ki'</i>). <BR><BR> Priya Panchal is outstanding as she recites <i>'Maine pee nahin hai'</i> in this track. Her co-singers do a decent job, but once again the orchestration is overwhelming - this over-production is one of the danger zones that Sachin-Jigar must avoid in their work. <BR><BR> The third likeable number is the soulful <i><b>'Tera Naam Doon'</b></i> (Atif Aslam-Shalmali Kholgade) with sweet lyrics by Priya Panchal (<i>'Koi qismat jaisa laage / Khushiyaan in haathon pe /Likhta hi jaata hai'</i>) - the novel angle is of 'blaming' the sweetheart for the intangible magic that happens in love. <BR><BR> The treatment in the tune and orchestration is akin to what is known as 'Sufiana music' in films. This is perhaps the long-distance runner of the score, akin to <i>'Main rang sharbaton ka'</i> in Tips' last film <i>Phata Poster Nikhla Hero</i>. <BR><BR> While Shalmali is correctly melodious, one just wishes that Atif had taken the entire song live, as there are clear evidences of the punching-in of vocals, at least in the second stanza. However, the singer seems surer of his pitching now. The song's sad version, <i>'Nahin who saamne'</i> is too brief to make an impact, though Priya's words have a nice imagery, this time likening the beloved to a gift from God. <BR><BR> The only average number is <i><b>'Teri Mahima Aprampaar'</b></i> (Udit Narayan-Anushka Manchanda), which starts with a typical Punjabi <i>bhangra</i> riff and a rap-like intro. Again, the cluttered orchestration could have been avoided to lift the appeal of the song, and we wonder why, as in <i>Tashan</i>, Udit Narayan is given English words to 'sing' with ghastly pronunciation- 'what' comes across as <i>'vaaatt'</i>! He is also made to sing at a very high pitch. Anushka Manchanda's portion is limited, but she is good. <BR><BR> Finally, it beats us why a radio station jingle is incorporated as a short track at the end of the soundtrack! <BR><BR> <b>Overall: </b><BR><BR> A pleasant soundtrack that stops short of being qualitatively extraordinary, but three songs are making big waves already. Our rating, as always, is for the commercial value of the songs. <BR><BR> <b>Our Pick: </b><BR><BR> <i>'Tera naam doon', 'Johnny Johnny', 'Veerey di wedding'</i>