Billa 2007 Music Review

In short, the much awaited album ends up becoming a carbon copy of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's chartbuster Don - The Chase begins again. Yuvan Shankar Raja, who hadn't had a good chartbuster hit since Sathum Podathey's "Pesiguren", seems to be going the "Himesh Way" and I'm not talking about his nasality (he's got Raja-sir's genes yaar!) I'm talking about his repition. Details follow...

Take the Billa Theme for instance. While Don's Revisited and Chase Begins Again themes were phenominal, the rest of the song seems to be stock tunes from his earlier hit with Director Vishuvardhan (ironically, the one directing this remake) Pattiyal. Time-pass I guess.

My name is Billa ends up becoming a short remix with some unclear vocals of singer Naveen. It's a track that's still needs time getting used to. For that, we blame MSV. Not for his music, but rather our habitual growth with the SPB tune.

The other two tracks, Naan Muttum (a pale copy of "Yeh Mera Dil" [DON] and Sei, not being the "Aaj Ki Raat" [DON]. Just imagine Sunitha Sarathy or some pop singer with some techno jig and groove and bam, there's your filler tracks.

Sevval Kodi [Maurya Re] is proably the best track I've heard in this album. For that we must thank Vijay Yesudas for giving me the grace of de-grading this review. I'm not sarcastic. Great instrumentals!

With bated breath my favorite song of the 80s Billa was "Vethalaya Pothendi" by Malaysia Vasudevan [Their version of Khaike Paan Banaraswala.] Here's it's all jazzed up with some kuthu-ized percussion and there's your remix. Add in Shankar Mahadevan and subtract the "Vasudevan" out while shooting it in "Malaysia" (pun intended). Again, it's more or less gone the way of the recent Vijay flop movie Azhagiya Tamil Magan's hit track "Ponmagal Vanthaal." This also goes the same for "My Name is Billa."

In the end, Billa 2007 ends up being an average album. In comparison to this remake and Last year's blockbuster in hindi,the latter had some great tunes. Here's it's all re-mixed and re-jazzed instead of the "Stealthness" it Enjoy "Sevval Kodi" and "Theme Music" and forget the rest.

Rating: ** 1/2

[MOVIE REVIEW] OM SHANTI OM (2007) [HINDI]

D-Day is finally here!

After witnessing much speculation to whether Farah Khan could dish out another hit after MAIN HOON NA, Farah can now "Lage Raho" with her directional journey. After watching OM SHANTI OM, you'll end up with a smile on your face and a good sense of humor to tell. Forget SAANWARYA, OM SHANTI OM is the way to go!

The story: Flashback to the 70s, Junior artist Om Makija [SRK] has aspiring dreams of becoming a huge superstar but he also has a love corner for sweetheart star Shantipriya [Debutant Deepika]. However, consequence lead him to discovering that all time big-shot producer Mukesh Mehra [Arjun Rampal] is said to be married to his sweetheart and what follows is Shantipriya and Om's deaths leading to their reincarnation of present day era.

Farah deserves full marks for satirizing the film industry back in the 70s and today's standards.Namely the following: [SPOILERS below contain scenes. Be Warned!]

- The use of stock fotage from KARZ's "Om Shanti Om" track featuring reshots of director SUBHASH GHAI and SRK and FARAH KHAN [Sp Appearance.]

- Pappu [Shreyas Talpade] explaining the rise to stardom with the sur name of "Kapoor" or "Khanna."

- The Melodramatic scenes with Om's ma and beta.

- The South take [MADRAS RAJA] by SRK as Rajinikanth.

- Dreamy Girl [Obvious take on DREAM GIRL]

- South heroines dominating back then [Shantipriya perhaps?]

- The Manoj Kumar Episode.

- The Filmfare ceremony [Abhishek spoofed in Dhoom-5, SRK spoofed in Johar's off-repeated "Phir Bhi Dil Hai NRI" and "Main Bhi Hoon Na" and Akshay Kumar [sp. Appearance] for "Khiladi Returns" (Best of the lot as well!)]

and many more...

However, credit goes to the editor [Shirish Kunder] for making the film worthwhile without anything unwanted. Superb! Camera by Manikandan and Art by Sabu Cyrill cements the film's picturization glossy look overall. Vishal-Shekhar give one of the best soundtracks till date after TAXI 9211 and JHANKAAR BEATS. The 31 star track and the Dasataan track were the best of the lot.

SRK is indeed awesome in the film. Given his 70s trend or his present trend. Khan shows more proof of competence in any given scene, time, and reaction. Period. Newcomer Deepika is promising as compared to the heroines who debut, never get this much scope. But Farah deserves max kudos for giving Deepika the max footage to shine. Shreyas Talpade excells as sidekick artist to SRK as Kirron Kher does to being the melodramatic maa.

Overall, OM SHANTI OM is a masala that's got everything a Manmohan Desai's film's got. Strongly Recommended. Go have a blast!

Rating: ****/5

[MUSIC REVIEW] TAARE ZAMEEN PAR (2007) [HINDI]

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have come a long way from their conventional compositions. From DILAGI to the popular DIL CHAHTA HAI to the recent JOHNNY GADAAR. This time, they teamup with renowned actor/producer and directional debut, Aamir Khan. His film TAARE ZAMEEN PAR is known to be a children film. Given the number of child films we had in the past, barring Mr. India and Hanuman, none of them have lived up to the audiences nor the box-office's expectations. But from viewing the promos of the soothing music from the team of S-E-L, One knows the film may be the key to reviving a genre among the Indian audiences. If English films can do it, why not us? Anyways, lyricist Prasoon Joshi [RANG DE BASANTI, FANAA, and the upcoming GHAJINI] gives us the meaningful and beautiful poetic verses in these 8 tracks.

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR (5/5)
Shankar Mahadevan is excellent. All credit must go the Prasoon, the background music and the chorus.

KHOLO KHOLO (4.9/5)
Think Pritam's "O Meri Jaan" but less hard rock. Nevertheless, it's got some great guitar and vocals.

BUM BUM BOLE (4.8/5)
A fun-filled song featuring Mr. Khan in some dialogue bits. Otherwise, Shaan goes with ease in this awesome song. Take a few times of hearings to get it sunk in.

JAME RAHO (4.6/5)
Again, it's in the phase as KHOLO KHOLO but it's got Mahadevan's vocals with some soothing music. A catchy song.

BHEJA KUM (4.7/5)
A satire on school punishments, the song is presented in a hard rock like fashion. A must hear for those who deal with such situations. *laughs*

MAA (5/5)
Shankar's back with another soft rock song. This time, it's maa. A real melody and great meaning, it sorta makes you cry. Another pick of the album. Gives me some nostalgia to the QSQT songs by Jatin-Lalit.

MERE JAHAN (5/5)
With an english prologue, the song carries off to an guitar piece accompained by chorus, Adnan Sami brings in the emotion to the music and the song. Badda-bing-badda-boom, you're sunk into the song. Great instrumental and chorus background should be noted.

ISHAAN'S THEME (4.9/5)
Composed by Amole Gupte, it brings in the international standards of piano music all together. Something that you would hear at a restaurant.

Overall, Aamir khan and the team of S-E-L must applaud themselves for bringing themselves one of the best and melodious album of the year. Forget SIVAJI, AZHAGIYA TAMIZH MAGAN and SAAWARYA, this is where the TRUE music is. Picks of the album include the title track, Kholo, Jamhe raho and Mere jahan.

Rating: *****/5

[Rant/News] Diwali Mela 2007 (Saanwariya vs OSO and South releases]

November 9th can't come soon enough.

With just about a week left-over till D-Day (D being the Diwali Day), both Sony Pictures and Eros International aren't leaving any stone unturned. From televised promos to fashion shows to press meets to guest appearances and news channels. Yes folks, I'm talking
about the forthcoming biggies: "Saawariya" [Sanjay Leela Bhansali] taking on Om Shanti Om [Farah Khan].

The latter's film comprises of Shah Rukh "King" Khan, Shreyas Talpade and newcomer Deepika while Bhansali's magnus opus consists of the next generation of kapoors, Randhir and Sonam. Already both films have become the rage and talk of the towns as recent releases (ala pre-diwali films) have been nothing short of but flops. The onlyexception to this is Priyadarshan's "Bhool Bhulaiyaa", which is declared "Super-hit" and still running packed [A remake of Malayalam classic, "MANICHITHRANAZHU".] Reasons for the flops? Blame the "Clash of the Titans" of course!

If I had to choose over a film, I definetely go for Om Shanti Om and here's why. Before you folks decide to go and brand me as an "SRK fan follower" or "SRK fan" what so ever, let me explain. Om Shanti Om has all the makings of a blockbuster. If memory serves backto 2004, when her debut film "Main Hoon Na" released, it was filled with speculation and doubt because people didn't believe that Farah had it all to become a director. Yet her film was declared one of the biggest hits of that year and people were waiting for what Farah hadin store. In Om Shanti Om, the story retells about Reincarnation. The closest thing to what we got to reincarnation was Salman's "Hello Brother" and Arjun Rampal's "Moksha" to which both were disasters in that subject. However, Farah has a theme to the 70s and the promos and trailers looks damn impressive. All she has left is to decide how the audience takes it. Secondly is the music. Vishal-Shekhar have earned a big niche for themselves in Bollywood today (they were also music mentors for Zee Tv's SA RE GA MA PA Challenge 2007.) With hits of SALAAM NAMASTE, TAXI 9211 and JHANKAAR BEATS behind them, the duo-composers have successfully earned themselves a musical hit with Om Shanti Om. Songs like "Ajab Si" and "Main Agar Kahoon" are still playing in local stores and cd players while popular charbusters like "Dard E Disco" and "Deewangi" are fast dance numbers and popular among the public
post their music release.

If you remember last year, SRK had DON ( a modern remake of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer) while Salman had JAANEMANN (Shirish Kunder's debut, Farah Khan's husband) pitted together in October 2006. The former had been declared a blockbuster while the latter ended up becoming critically acclaimed but a commercial dud. So really, SRK has the market of making any of his film a hit at the Box Office (Chak De India is a prominent example of this.)

Now let's talk Saawariya. It's a Bhansali film so you expect big production values and glittering humongous sets and whatnot. Recently, he's been faltering somewhere along the line. If you guessed music, you're absolutely right! The Saawariya music was released withgreat fanfare but in terms of public opinion is really...mixed. Barring "Jab se tera" and the title track, the album is nothing really special. It's more or less below average. I distinctly remember the
days when he and Ismail Darbar were an item. They gave us the classic"Hum Dil De Ke Chupke Sanam" and his version of "Devdas." Numbers like "Aankhon Ki", "Dholna Re", and "Dhol Baaje" are still legendary to the public's ears to this very day. By the time the split had spread word,
people were in disappointment that the classic we all loved was now defunct. His last flick, Black [A remake of MIRACLE WORKER] managed to flop at box office but no one really cared about that MD of his. Monty Sharma, an unknown name to all, can't really get his notes right. The
rest of the album is a pass muster and there's no repeat value in them in comparison to Om Shanti Om.

As far as story goes, it's taken from an Italian film classic. Debutants Randhir and Sonam make look fresh and energetic in the promos, but the story looks like a typical Muslim - Hindu tale. We were dragged into one called "Veer-Zaara" 2 Diwali's ago and now it seems to be the case again. However, rumors are agog that it's a tale of Randhir's character who observes muslim Sonam, who awaits her lover, Salman by that infamous bridge you see in those damn promos. Rani as the prostitute observes Randhir and gets that "feeling" going on and whatnot. Knowing Bhansali inspired route, this is LIKELY the case. The big question is: Will the debutant Kapoors live up to their household names? Will Bhansali score another hattrick?

Down South, Kollywood's (Tamil Cinema) awaiting Ilayathalapathy Vijay's forthcoming film "Azhagiya Thamizh Magan" (Handsome Tamilian.) Already the songs tuned by Mozart of Madras, A.R Rahman are a hit with the crowd with numbers of "Ellappugham", "Nee Marlyin Monroe" and "Kelamal". However the suprise packet is the "Ponmagal" remix from the old film, "Sorgam" [Starring the late Sivaji Ganesan.] The film also stars Sivaji fame "Shriya", Namitha, and "Lollu Sabha's" Santhanam. It's said to be a non-remake so let's hope actor Vijay gets it right this time after the critically panned Pokkiri. Also releasing this Diwali is Priya V's [KANDA NAAL MUDHAL fame] film, Kannammochi Yennada. Starring Prithviraj and yesteryear actor Satyaraj, it's another breezy entertainer from the helm of a former Mani Ratnam assistant. The music by Yuvan Shankar Raja have already already become chartbusters. Other major releases down South include MAACHAKARAN [Jeevan (Thirrtu Payale fame)], POLLADHAVAN [Dhanush] and the possiblity of VEL [Surya]. Again, nothing spectacular compared to last year's VARALAARU but ATM and KY should be big starrers while the rest depend on audience's taste.