Raaz 3 Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating
EXPECTATIONS
One has huge expectations from the music of Raaz 3. Other than the fact that this is a successful franchise that has boasted of good music in each of its two installments so far, there are also names like Mukesh Bhatt, Emraan Hashmi and Vikram Bhatt involved, each of whom has a good ear for music. With Jeet Ganguly too making a comeback of sorts in Bollywood parlance with Bhatts' Blood Money, you are reasonably excited to check out six songs that have been placed in the album.
MUSIC
Surprisingly though the first song is by guest composer and lyricist Rashid Khan who arrives with a quintessential Bhatt-Hashmi outing. A melodious outing that qualifies itself as a Vishesh Films' template song, 'Deewana Kar Raha Hai' is a beautiful love song that has Javed Ali coming on his own. Moving at a balanced pace with not much interruption from any background instruments, this one is a serene outing that immediately registers its presence. A hit number all the way.
Jeet Ganguly takes over the album from this point on and he ensures that the album further goes on pick up momentum with 'Zindagi Se'. Yet another love song that will always be the first choice for a Bhatt film, this Sanjay Masoom written track is sung quite well by Shafqat Ali Khan. The overall impact of the song is such that it could well have been placed in a Jannat 2 or a Murder 2 or a Blood Money and one wouldn't have minded that. Yet another song that has a timeless feel to it, it makes it two in a row for the album.
The flow is interrupted though with 'Rafta Rafta' which, by Bhatts' standards, is just about okay. What makes it all the more surprising is the fact that K.K. is the chosen one for this composition. Normally his vocals are picked for the best of the lot but this time around he makes a belated appearance and doesn't quite leave a mark either. Yes, the song follows the template approach again but Jeet Ganguly and Sanjay Masoom at best manage a situational outing.
It's time for some sweet-n-saccharine composition with Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal arriving on the scene, albeit a tad belatedly. From the melody standpoint, 'Oh My Love' belongs to the 'Jab Koyi Baat' [Jurm] and 'Soniyo' [Raaz - the Mystery Continues] mode and one can see the lead protagonists smiling away while holding hands and sharing sweet nothings. Still, one feels that there is something missing due to which the song doesn't quite go all the way. Perhaps it's the deja vu factor at play here though one would like to see how the song is picturised.
Ironically the song that makes least impact is the title song 'Kya Raaz Hai' and that when there is Shreya Ghoshal at the helm of affairs with Kumaar as the lyricist. A situational track which could well be the one for the pre-climax situation in the film, this one has a very 80s feel to it and barely qualifies as a situational outing. In fact if not for its association with a Bhatt film, it would have gone completely unnoticed.
Shreya Ghoshal makes amends with 'Khayalon Mein' which has the kind of beats at the beginning that reminds one of the remix version of 'Thoda Resham Lagta Hai'. A love song about a woman whose heart is pining for someone's love, this one too is a situational outing though better than 'Kya Raaz Hai'.
OVERALL
Raaz 3 begins quite well with 'Deewana Kar Raha Hai' and 'Zindagi Se' though doesn't quite take the same melodic quotient till the very end. Perhaps this can be attributed to the huge expectations that one has from a Bhatt film due to which one looks at the final product with a magnifying glass even though Jeet Ganguly doesn't make a tune that one entirely turns away from. Though Raaz 3 doesn't quite go all the way as some of the previous Bhatt films have been, especially the ones featuring Emraan Hashmi, this one still has in it to deliver at least two chartbusters with the rest fitting the bill.
OUR PICK(S)
Deewana Kar Raha Hai, Zindagi Se, Oh My Love
