Wake Up S!d --- Music review

Recently John Hughes passed away who has made some of the finest coming of age films of all time like "16 Candles" , "The Breakfast Club" and "Ferris Beuller's Day Off". He portrayed the young teenagers in a very real and comic way . His films are still relevant as they were 25 years ago and are also some of my favourites . Now we have Ayan Mukerji from Dharma Productions who is also trying his hand on the same genre . What was remarkable in Hughes' films was that they were very simple and portrayed whatever that they wanted in a very simple manner . The same simplicity is what I got to observe in this album too . The music here is by Shankar Ehsaan Loy (K Jo's favourite) and lyrics are also by Javed Akhtar (another favourite) . In past the trio and the lyrical genius have done wonders and the same is expected from them every time they come together . I am very very happy to see a change in Dharma Productions who is now focusing on making a bit different films than usual lavish films that they are associated with .

The first song on the album is the title track which has vocals by Shankar himself . The track has some nice guitar pieces in it which is a feature that has been maintained throughout the album .
I love the way song goes from a soft slow mode to a rock mode and that too in a nice way and not an abrupt way . The music on the entire album for that matter seems to be an extension to Rock On!! Album but in my view it is not . This one has more of a soft rock feel in most of the songs on the album . Well , the lyrics on this one are also nice and Javed sir has done a good job as usual . The song introduces Sid and his character in the film in a nice way . The film seems to be a bit similar to Lakshya , the music and lyrics of which were by the same team . Though the songs here are very different and even lyrics are different . The backing vocals in this song by Loy Mendonsa are also nice . Overall , its a good track to begin the album with and has also done full justice to the title of the film .

Next comes , Kya Karoon? , by Clinton Cerejo which has a nice fresh feel . I always like the sound of harmonica because it very well captures the "easy going happy go lucky " feel and it has been used in this track very nicely . A nice slow track which has good lyrics and "kya karu" seems to be catchy. NICE is a word that I'll be using very much throughout the review because it is a word that very well summarizes the album . And Nice doesn't mean that it is not very good . It is great but in a very subtle way that will probably make you happy . Clinton has provided the song that fresh young feel that was required through his vocals and he is nicely supported by Dominique and Loy . In all its a nice :) song that would look great along with the story in the film . It is almost like those songs that one usually hears in background in many Hollywood films . The lyrics capture the feelings of youth in a nice way throughout the album and also in this song .

"Aaj Kal Zindagi" comes next which reminded me a bit of "Kaisi Hai Ye Rut" from Dil Chahta Hai . The beats in this one are similar to that one . That one was a beautiful track sung by Srinivas who did a great job . This one has vocals by Shankar himself who also as usual has done a great job . This one is somewhat of a feel good inspirational song which has a good melody and lyrics . One nice thing that I observed is that most of the tracks on the album are short and only around 4 minutes long . This in my view is ideal length for any song and songs like these don't even hinder the pace of the film and keep it going . I hope the film is also short and concise like the songs with no unnecessary elongation .

Then comes probably the best track on the album but there is a catch , this one has been composed by Amit Trivedi .Though this song is by a different composer it still doesn't stand out and has maintained the spirit of the album and is of the same league as others and Amit needs to be complimented for that . It is different than others but has the same quality of simplicity in it too . Lyrics wise also this song is the best on the entire album and Jaaved sir has done a fabulous job on this track . The only song which has female vocals and Kavita Seth has done a great job here . She has given it a nice classical feel along with Amitabh Bhattacharya . Both of them have a nice fresh voice quality which goes along with the theme of the soundtrack . Amit Trivedi is definately a find and he is proving that with his work . He has already proved himself in Aamir and Dev-D but here he has stood along with an already established trio of music directors and shown that he is no less and done a good job . Though the music is good and soulful but the strongest point of the song are its lyrics and singing . Full marks to Kavita for her nice Classical Sufiana singing . I would love to hear a bit more of her . Javed sir has also very nicely used the word "iktara".... I am a bit crazy i guess but i would have loved to see this picturised in a bit of rain and also a bit dark , in monsoons, as if time has stopped .

Then at last comes "Life is Crazy", again by Shankar who has been supported by Uday Benegal .All of the songs on the album talk about life in general and its surprising but there is no love song on the entire album . This one is also talks about life and its different elements of happiness . It also calls it crazy and both the singers do that in a stylish way . This song also has a soft rock kinda feel and has a nice pacy rhythm .

One complaint that I have against Shankar is that he is now singing just too many songs on his albums . This one has 4 songs by them(SEL) out of which shankar features on 3 of them . No doubt he is a fabulous singer but he should rather sing a few songs else the audience would get a bit bored with him and all the songs on his album would sound the same .

Lastly comes a remix version of the title track which is also nice and would work more than the original one among the masses . This one has been titled as "Club Mix" and it would work in clubs and discs for sure . The sound of ticking clock in the bgining sounds good , even in the original one . This one is a more faster version and sounds like those songs by teenage bands in the west .

Overall , its a very NICE and different soundtrack and its strength lies in its simplicity .There are no unnecessary remix versions and most songs are of appropriate length .SEL and Javed Sir have done a good job once again . I am looking forward to this film now even more than before I was . Lets hope the film also has something good in store . Its good that UTV has this film with them , they'll do a good job with publicity . One thing UTV is doing great is that it is bringing the commercial and off beat film makers in the same domain and a bit closer than before .

Album Rating : Four out of Five ; Pretty fresh and definately worth listening .

Dostana --- Movie Review

Dostana , the last film for Abhishek and Priyanka this year brings a lot of expectations along with its release and the expectations are also from Dharma Productions who are also back after a long time . So do we get what we expect from the team ? The answer would be a Yes and a slight no along with it . Yes because it is entertaining enough to get your money worth and no because it is not a flawless product . Dostana as the name suggests is about friendship and its different avatars. The film addresses that central theme effectively to an extent but in a little different way . By now everybody knows that the film has Abhi-John playing a gay couple and the film as a result focusses majorly on the homosexuality that they act out in front of Priyanka . The title of the film is Dostana yet the film focusses more on Gay Jokes for its length rather than the friendship part . The good part though is that the Gay jokes are at least funny enough to make you laugh throughout .

The film starts off with a Super-Hot song Shut-up and dance in which Shilpa sets the screen on fire with her hot bod and her dancing skills . She builds up a good youthful momentum in the beginning that makes it quite clear that the film is only for young blood . She probably looked hottest of them all and she is still a hot property . As soon as the song gets over we get to see the the two guys in the film flaunting off whatever they have to please the female audience or should I must also say even the homosexual male audience . Together they put up an image of the youth of today very effectively on screen that focusses more on enjoying the life as it comes in the best possible way . Both John and Abhishek become friends as a result of a co-incidence and then they act out their homosexuality to get an apartment to live which is actually owned by Priyanka . Priyanka allows them to live with her only because they are homosexuals . Then starts the whole sequence where both Abhishek and John hilariously act as a gay couple and also in the meantime keep hitting on Priyanka individually .

There is also a twist with a third guy , Bobby , that drives most of the second half . As I said earlier that the film's first half majorly focusses on Gay jokes and hence the story gets a little side-lined . Yet the first half is very entertaining because it is quite well acted part and hilarious . It makes a lot of fun of the Homosexual's which might offend them to an extent . The story is a sort of an extension to "Deewana-Mastana" story . Just like that one, this one also has a third guy , just the set-up has been updated and has been taken to Miami . One more common factor between both the films is that both are pure entertainers with very less emphasis on content . The film has some typical illogical things that any Entertainer has and sometimes we have to overlook them to enjoy the film . The film can be best called as a "Modern Entertainer" and though it follows the path of a typical entertainer the presentation is different and new .

The first half is brisk and has enough content to make it very much enjoyable whereas on the contrary the second half is a little slow and has very less to offer . It ends in a typical style and there is nothing unexpected about it . The entertainment quotient in the second half is a little less and it is just good enough and doesn't spoil the show . The film ends on a comic note which makes the audience leave with a light heart in the end . Some of the songs in between are quite a turn off and they disrupt the film's pace , especially "Ma Da Ladla" .

Talking of acting , the chemistry between Abhishek and John was much better than what Priyanka shared with any of the guys . Abhishek delivers a fine performance and has majority of the role . Priyanka and John serve as nice eye candy along with a little bit of acting . Priyanka looks great in the film and her looks attracted the most . She doesn't have much of a role and her acting was also very typical . There was nothing romantic for her to act nor it had something comic for her . He role was very limited in the film and though her character is the central one yet it is the guys that have done most of the acting . John can very well take Salman's position as a guy who knows a little bit acting and looks great . When everyone was showing some skin in the film Abhi was cladded with clothes , he just did the job of acting and that too was an average performance . Priyanka can do much better and she has struck a nice balance with Fashion being entirely focussed on her and this one being a commercial film . There is also a small cameo by Boman Irani and he does his job good . But I felt that the Director , Tarun Mansukhani , could have used him in a much better way considering his great acting skills .

The locations and art direction were good as any Dharma Film has and even the choreography of the songs was great . The cinematography was good but nothing exceptional about it and the background score was great . It uses the piece from the track "Jahan Teri Yeh Nazar Hai"(Kaalia) in a very nice and funny way in the background . The film's music is good enough to hold the film and Desi Girl is a rocking song . The Direction by the debutant director Tarun Mansukhani is good and he pulls off a good entertainer in spite of the fact that it was a little low on content . He has created some good comic sequences and has done a fine job overall .

Overall , its a nice entertainer with a little different set-up . It would keep you entertained for its length and looking at the commercial elements of the film it looks like it will work a lot on the box office and would also get decent ratings . The Director makes a nice first attempt and can certainly do much better provided he has a better and stronger script . Go watch it and get entertained .

Movie Rating : Three and a Half Star out of Five ; Nice Entertainer with good Packaging .

Dostana --- Music Review

Its been a long time since last film of Dharma Production has released and music from them is always great , no matter how the movie is . Their last film , KANK , though didn't do well but still its music is one thing that shows one quality of Dharma Productions that they have a great taste and knowledge of music and even if the movie is below expectations sometimes , music is always at par . So they are back with Dostana which will hit the theatres soon . This time though its Karan's assistant Tarun Mansukhani in the director's chair . If we consider that Karan didn't interfere in the Direction then as a producer he at least would have definitely sat in Music seatings for the film . The music this time though has been given by Vishal Shekhar instead of SEL and Lyrics are by Anvita Dutt Guptan and Kumar . The film as we all know by now is based on story of three friends with hopefully some pleasant twist .

Lets talk of the music now . The album consists of Six Original tracks and no Remixes(Thank God!!) . The first song on the album "Jaane Kyun" though is not the title track but very well puts up the entire theme of the film . The song very well portrays the feeling of friendship and has a very nice tune attached to it . The song has been sung by Vishal Dadlani himself and has lyrics by Anvita . Anvita does a good job and has put up a nice blend of Hindi and English Lyrics . Vishal also does a nice job in singing and the duo have also composed it quite well . The tune basically is pretty much western and so is the entire feel of the song . No Indian tunes or pieces in it . Vishal has also sung it in a different fashion . Overall , the song is a nice blend of music and lyrics and backed by good singing . This song would get most popular from the entire album and hence is my Pick of the album .

The second track on the album is "Desi Girl" which is a trademark Vishal-Shekhar track which has Desi-Videsi Cocktail . I am personally not a fan of such tracks and we already got a taste of such tracks in Tashan and Bachna Ae Hasino soundtracks . Such tracks are not meant to be listened , you can just dance on them without listening them . Still , the tune is not one of those that can make anyone and everyone sway to it . The lyrics by Kumaar are an average affair and quite commercial .Shankar and Sunidhi do their usual in Singing dept. I don't know how this song will feature in Miami where the whole film is set-up . I hope they don't have a situation where every Firangi is doing a Bhangra with our leads .

Next comes a Punjabi Track (one of the Four Pillars of a Bollywood Soundtrack) , "Maa Da Ladla " . This Punjabi track has some modern Bass Beats of a Disco and no Dhol in it . A modern Punjabi track with average piece of Lyrics . The lyrics in-fact have nothing to offer and neither they are that catchy . But you never know , if "Bhootni Ke" of Singh is Kinngh can work so can "Ma Da Ladla" of Dostana . Saleem who sings the song has a nice Punjabi voice and sings it well . Overall , a track that I would prefer to listen in the movie itself . Nice pacy tune for dance lovers .

The fourth song on the soundtrack is "Shut Up and Bounce " . If you have seen the first trailer of the movie then you would probably remember the groovy music it had . Well , that was from this song . I must say that when I heard the music in the trailer I was pleasantly surprised but I was quite disappointed when I heard the song on the CD . The whole music is really good but the lyrics have nothing good to offer . I can say that a very good tune probably wasted due to improper lyrics by Anvita . One more thing to notice is that apart from the piece that was in the trailer the whole song has very average music and some basic beats only . In any case , the song is good only to an extent and probably would be liked by people at large due to the bass in it . Another disco track and has some nice singing by Sunidhi Chauhan . Overall , the track is good but could have been much better .

The next track on the album " Khabar Nahin " is a little on the slower side and also on the romantic side . The song has very nice guitaring through out by Sanjay Divecha but apart from his guitaring the tune is pretty much basic and nothing so great about it . The lyrics by Anvita are good and Vishal again does a good job singing . He has been very well supported by Shreya and Amanat Ali . The song in all is a nice one and has some nice guitaring in it . The guitar lovers would like the guitaring in it .

The last rack on the album is again a slow soulful track "Kuch Kam" . It stars off with very less music on Piano and then later slowly some basic music beats are put in it . This one again is a Romantic track which gives a hint that the movie would start off with all the fun and masti and would finally end on a Romantic Note . This song has been composed well by Vishal-Shekhar and they have kept it pretty basic . Shaan sings quite well as usual and his fans would love this track .

If you have noticed , I've repeatedly used word "Basic" in the entire review . I don't know , the tunes and lyrics made me use that word . I found the entire album pretty much basic stuff and nothing extraordinary was there in the entire album . Only the first song "Jaane Kyun" is a winner all throughout . The two slow songs in the end are good but not extra-ordinary . The other songs are good for parties etc. I was expecting a lot since it is an album from a Dharma Productions film . Well , those of you who don't know , there is a special appearance of Shilpa Shetty in some song probably . I couldn't figure out which song it would be . But one thing I couldn't understand , what is Abhishek , the flabby , doing in between all these hot people (Piggy,John and Shilpa) ? No offence Abhishek , I like your acting but dude try to look like your contemporaries . Even your seniors (Shilpa) look much younger than you.

Overall , its a nice album and can be listened to . Jaane Kyun and Khabar Nahi are the pick from the entire album . Good part is that the album won't damage the film and would give it some boost only .

Album Rating : Three out of Five , Jaane Kyun being the best and all songs being good.

Dostana --- Teaser Trailer Review

The next film of Dharma Productions after their infamous KANK will hit the cinemas in November this year . The first teaser promo of the film is out now and from the looks of it another blockbuster is on the cards . This time though Karan has just produced this baby of Tarun Mansukhani . Since this one comes from Dharma Productions the Budget has to be quite high and the movie would also be a full blown commercial one . The teaser gives a taste of whats in store this November . For the ones who don't know the film starrs Abishek , John and Piggy Chops (Priyanka Chopra) .

The film is set in Miami (Florida) so a change of location from Dharma's favourite New York . The film looks as cool as the spirit of the city and would be targeting the Youth at large . Karan has already said that this Dostana has no resemblance with the 1980 hit of same name which was produced by his dad . The only resemblance is that this is also a story of three friends , two guys and a girl .

Well , the teaser starts off with the usual - "From The Makers of " and then the list of films by Dharma Productions over the past few years with the Music of Kal Ho Na Ho in the background . Strangely "Kaal" was missing from the list , maybe because it was not a pure Dharma Productions film . Well , after the slow soulful music of Kal Ho Na Ho suddenly starts a groovy youthful score and the mood of the trailer changes from depressing tone to a lively one . Then we get to see introductory shots of all the three main leads with everyone looking hot apart from AB Baby . With Priyanka in super hot and sexy swim suit and John flashing his six packs they set the screen on fire backed by the terrific background score . Karan would have for sure flown to Miami to see Piggy in a Bikiny .

After this comes the only Dialogue in Trailer where John says that he and Abhishek are a Gay couple which is a lie . The whole story starts with this lie and how this lies gets stretched into truth and the life after the lie . After the dialogue there is a whole sequence of scenes from the film where Abhishek and John do some homosexual acts and tickle our funny bone with their expressions . The Trailer ends with a three framed scene showing all the lead in their avatar . The chemistry among the three leads looks great on screen and a lot depends on that for the success of the film .

The teaser trailer is great in every sense and much much better than Abhishek and Priyanka's October release - Drona . Piggy is super hot and Abhishek might once more face a Media lashing on his looks and fitness compared to other stars . This one creates a lot of interest amongst the audience and people won't be able wait for three more months before the film releases . I am not sure how many of you remember this but Teaser trailer of Kal Ho Na Ho was a treat to watch . In my list of best trailers it ranks quite high because of the fabulous music it had and the rapid moving scenes that were quite in sync with the Music and the famous Heart Beat music of that film . That one had scenes which were not in the film and SRK had delivered some fine lines in that one . This teaser is not as good as that one but still it is a great one and it will for sure create a big element of interest about the film.

Interestingly there are lot of big releases before this one and the Teaser has hit the theatres quite early . I don't know what is the publicity plan of Dharma but I hope it is a good one . It should not be like that the teaser has been released and then its after one and half month or so that people get another dose of the film . The teaser has been attached with Bachna Ae Hasino (another dud by Yashraj) so look out for the trailer in the film or check it out here only :