Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani --- MusicReview

Unlike Vishal-Shekhar and SEL who almost do the entire album themselves , singing,composing and even writing (in case of vishal-shekhar for Aladin) , Pritam has kept himself to composing only and he still believes in bringing in some of the best singers to do their job and he needs to complemented for that . It brings a variety to the album and doesn't keep it monotonous .Vishal has given some horrible lyrics for Aladin and he should seriously think about writing . As far as I can remember most writers had some hair on their head :) , just kiddin , no offence to bald people . He did a great job for "Aankhon Mein Teri" in OSO but doing an entire album is just too much too soon .

Coming to "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani" , its a fun-filled album and it is pretty clear about that . It has 8 originals and 5 remix versions and an unplugged one . Since the film is a crazy love story some of the songs have that crazy element while the others are pure romantic ones . The lyrics are by Irshad Kamil who finally has worked with someone other than Imtiaz Ali . Pritam and Irshad together have already given a hit album this year which results in expectation from this one too .

The first track on the album is very rightly a fun track , "Mein Tera Dhadkan Teri" , which establishes the mood for the entire soundtrack right away . This one has some fun lyrics which are not senseless by the way and the music also has that fun element in it . Its a light track to begin with but has a nice combination of both lyrics and music . I've taken for granted that if its Pritam's album it has to be inspired from some place and I've not spent any time figuring out from where . This track also has some RAP bit by Hard Kaur which is good and adds to the track . Sunidhi and KK have done a good job as usual providing vocals for this track . The lyrics are also a bit catchy in nature but not like "Om Mangalam" of Kambakht Ishq . In all , its a good fun track to begin the album .

Then comes probably the best track on the soundtrack , "Tu Jane Na", by Atif Aslam and not Mohit Chauhan who has sung songs like these for Irshad and Pritam . Atif as usual does a fabulous job with his style of singing . Pritam has also kept the composition simple yet beautiful and given it a bit of classical touch . The chorus (which is a rarity these days) sounds so good and makes the track even more beautiful . The track starts off in an unusual way like it has been continued from some part before . The chorus goes somethig like this ...

kaise bataye kyu tujhko chahe , yaara bata na paye ,

batein dilo ki dekho jo baaki , aankhen tujhe samjhaye , tu jaane na ...

In all , its a great track that has to work for sure and with Ranbir-Katrina chemistry that is evident in trailers , am sure it would look even better on-screen . Great job by both Pritam and Irshad .

The album switches back to fun mode and we get "Oh by God" . Who said that "Shehnai" is just for sad moods only , Pritam has just proved otherwise and used it in a comic way over here . It has that famous "Wedding Shehnai" . Since its a fun track the lyrics are not meant to be taken seriously but still they are much better than "Bhangra Bistar Beer Bater" . Sunidhi-Mika sing it as usual . This track is also more film oriented and though its a fun track , it would make more sense along with a comic situation in the film .

It switches back again to Romantic mood and thus comes "Tera Hone Laga Hoon" which has Lyrics by Ashish Pandit . This one also has Atif and giving him melodius complany is Alisha Chinoy . This one is also a great track and I think it is equally good as "Tu Jane Na" . It starts off with Neeraj singing some nice english lyrics which add to the beauty of the song throughout . The composition of this one is on the lines of "Is This Love" from Kismat Konnection . Ashish has also done a good job with lyrics and even the three singers have done a great job together . Though Atif is a good singer but I think it is his voice quality which is not something very exceptional and quite normal that makes him so much more popular , it makes you sing the song along with him .

Again a sudden jump to fun mode and we have "Prem Ki Naiyya" ; this one being my favourite amongst the fun tracks . Its got Neeraj singing in a bit of UP style accent and its nice to see him attempt at least some thing different if not completely . Though its basically a Neeraj kinda track only and fast-paced with all the groovy music in it . Since Ranbir's name in the film is "Prem" the song has lyrics something like "Prem ki Naiyya hai Ram ke Bharose..." . The song also has Suzanne D'Mello for small bits in between and this time she does the job of singing some weird english lyrics instead of Neeraj . The lyrics are also fine and the music by Pritam is also good in this one .

The long list of the singers gets even longer with Javed Ali and Jojo singing the next romantic track on the album "Aa Jao Meri Tammana" . This one clearly feels like some Emraan Hashmi track that I heard sometime back (so many of them ) . It would have been much better if Emraan would have made a guest appearance for this song . But then he would have demanded to kiss Katrina and if denied would have accused of a biased behaviour against him :) . I just hope Ranbir doesn't lip-sync to this song in the film because the voice just won't suit his boyish charm . This one is not a bad track but i didn't quite find it interesting either . The lyrics and tune both felt like something that we have heard before . Javed's fan would love the track .

The last original on the album is a RAP track by Hard Kaur . She is of the better rappers in India and she does a good job mixing hindi,punjabi and english together in this track . I am not a hard-core rap follower so I cannot comment on whether its inspired from some track or not . But personally I liked the track and its worth listening , much better than that "Genie Rap" from Aladin . Since a part of this tack was also a part of the first track on the album , the music of this one has shades of the first track . A short and sweet track which has not been made unnecessarily long . The lyrics by Hard Kaur are also good and much better than many other rappers in India .

Then follows a long list of remixes,reprise editions and unplugged versions which is a thing to expect in most Pritam's albums . He liked his own work so much that he does it all over again to complement himself . All of them are like usual remixes only so nothing to waste time on . Leave these tracks for DJs only .

I think Pritam wanted to make some record of sorts with this album so he brings on Kailash Kher and his group to sing an unplugged version of "Tu Jaane Na" . Since this one is my favourite track on the album and Kailash is also one of my favourite singers , I liked this one too . Kailash sings it in his own style and in his earthly voice . A nice little treat for Kailash kher fans to end the album .

With so many singers , the album does provide a nice variety of tracks and it doesn't feel monotonous . The album is so much better than the long list of below average soundtracks that are out there in the market right now (All the best,London Dreams,Main aur Mrs.Khanna,Aladin,Jail and even Radio :) ) . The soundtrack has a nice mix of romantic and fun tracks which also have a good bit of lyrics and not some average commercial crap . Both Irshad and Pritam have done a good job together again .The film would definately benifit from it . I am now looking forward to the film and since it is not an out and out comedy like Andaaz Apna Apna , I would try to keep that film out of my mind while watching this one . I hope Rajkumar Santoshi hits back . Bohot din ho gaye koi achchi comedy film dekhe hue .

Album Rating : Three and Half out of Five .