Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam --- Music Review

The third film of Sanjay Chhel as a Director , Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam is all set for release and the music of the film is out now . The Music of the film is by Anu Malik who is kinda a second choice these days since Pritam has taken his place of Lifting tunes and making popular music out of it . The last film by Anu Malik was Love Story 2050 whose music wasn't blockbuster but still wasn't that bad either . One thing that I have noticed that Anu Malik has given his best in the movies where SRK was in lead . Otherwise his albums were average package of some hits and some flops .

This time he has been opted by Sanjay Chel for his movie who himself has been a writer on several good projects but his last two films as director didn't do well , Kya Dil Ne kaha (*ing Tushar & Esha) and Khubsurat(*ing Sanju and Urmila) . This film has the hit jodi of Rahul and Mallika who gave a hit film together (PKSE) . The lyrics of this album are also from the Director himself . Now lets talk about the soundtrack.

The album starts off with "Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya" which is on air these days . The song is a good blend of the original super hit song and some new lyrics and singing style . The song has been sung well by Anushka Manchanda , Ishq Bector and Mahalaxmi Iyer . The tune didn't impress me that much but still it is not that bad either . The song has some nice DJ Beats and would sound good on a good speaker system . The lyrics aren't that impressive and it is expected in such a song .

The next track is the best track on album "Marmari Baahein" which is a nice Romantic and sensuous track by Kunal Ganjawala and Mahalaxmi Iyer . The tune again didn't impress me much and it is a typical one but the beautiful singing by Kunal and Mahalaxmi make it one track to hear again and again . The Lyrics of this song are also the best on the album . This song has a similar feeling as "Tere Bin" of Bhagam-bhag had . Anu didn't work that hard on this track as he could have since the Lyricist and Singers did more than half of the Job themselves .

The next track on album is a ghazal by Pankaj Udhas - "Ek to sharab Kum" . Pankaj Udhas has returned after after a long time with this Ghazal . The Ghazal is good but it is not one of those popular Ghazals so it won't work in the people at large . The Hardcore Ghazal lovers might love it but not general public . The tune is a typical Ghazal tune and nothing new about it with a little bit bass in it .

The next track "Ishqaiyaan" is by Sunidhi . The song can be called a "Modern Mujra" song . The song hasn't come out that well as it could have . The lyrics aren't that strong , neither is the tune . Of late Sunidhi is not getting good songs and she has been type casted even though she has sung beautiful songs like "Bhaage Re Mann" in Chameli .

Then comes a remix version of Marmari Baahein which has Anu Malik holding the mic . If its a anu malik album then one song has to have him . At least he has featured in a remixed version . The song is sort of a Lounge Mix more than a remix and sounds good .

After this comes a second part of to Ghazal "Ek to Sharab Kum" , frankly speaking , which I didn't listen to so can't say anything about it . Didn't like the first part , why would I listen to the second part .

Then there is a remix of Ishqaiyaan which is good but since the original is not that great , I didn't like this one either .

Overall , the album has only one song that's good i.e. Marmari Baahein . Both Anu Malik and Sanjay Chhel , the lyricist , have disappointed me . They didn't put their best efforts in .

Album Rating : Two out of Five Stars ; not recommended only one song is good .

Shaurya --- Movie Review

The second film of television host turned Director , Samar Khan , released this week and I must say that it is worth a watch if you are tired of watching same movies every week with a typical formula . The first movie of Samar was Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye which nobody remembers . I only remember one song of that movie featuring Arshad warsi . The remarkable quality of that movie was that it was so damn dull and had no energy in it even though it was a love story . And I must say that this movie also has shades of that dullness in the first half because the first half of shaurya moves too damn slowly . The story is somewhat quite small but it has been blown to make a full length feature film out of it . The story is good and since the casting is top notch the audience won't feel bored but what lacks in this film is its loose direction .

The story is of an army officer , Javed Khan , who kills his senior for some reason . Then there is a court case in which Rahul Bose defends Jaaved Khan and Jaaved Jaffry who is a dear friend of Rahul is the advocate of opposition . Rahul is an easygoing guy who doesn't like army but he still joins army on his Dad's wish . His dislike increases even more because he loses his dad in War . He is never serious in life and Jaaved who is his best friend insists him to become serious . Rahul lands in this case as an advocate to Jaaved Khan on the recommendation of Jaaved Jaffry . Everybody believes that the case is an open and shut case but Rahul doesn't think so and he defends Jaaved reaching to his motive for killing his senior officer . The regiment to which jaaved belongs is headed by RP Singh (Kay Kay) who is a very powerful and disciplined army officer . Kay Kay loses his family because a Muslim guy, who was a servant in his house , rapes and murders all of his family . Since then Kay Kay develops a deep seated hatred against Muslims and hence thinks every Muslim to be a criminal and hence makes all his officers of his regime think the same way and also makes them sick to such a large extent that they kill innocent people in the valley just beacuse they are Muslims . Due to this unjust approach of officers Jaaved Khan who is a junior officer kills his senior who causes a lot of hate massacres . When Rahul realises that how sick Kay Kay is , he defends Jaaved with his full strength and in the end manages to prove Kay Kay guilty .

The story is very short and has been en-longed just by putting in characters of Minissha Lamba who is a reporter and Love interest of Rahul . Even Jaaved Jaafry's character as a friend of Rahul is a minor character and has been put in just to waste some time . The entire first half consists of introduction of Minissha , Rahul and Jaaved and the story moves very slowly in the first half . If a person omits the entire first half even then he would enjoy the movie to same extent .

What is the strong point of the movie is the pacy second half and powerful acting performances by Kay Kay and Rahul . The climax of the movie where Kay Kay confesses all his crimes is a treat to watch and Kay Kay has given one of the finest performances in those scenes in his entire career . Though the role of Rahul was strange in many ways and lacked the finesse in terms of an Army officer but still it was quite good . Kay Kay plays negative roles quite good but he should now look for some more positive roles or else he will get type casted as villain . There is a very small part of Amrita Rao but even in that small part she leaves a mark and displays her acting skills to the max . So much so that even with few minutes on screen she overshadows the role of Minissha completely . Minissha's role is quite different and even she is a fantastic actress . She has the mettle to become star of both commercial and off beat cinema . Jaaved Jaffry's role is just pure time pass and it has got nothing to offer . Still it has been well played by him .

Cinematography by Carlos Catalan is top notch and he has shown the valley quite beautifully . Full marks to him . The background score is not that good with repetitive sounds that don't even fit the situations that well . Thank God , the movie has no songs or else it would have got longer with story still moving slowly . The film is well written and the writer's have done a good job .

Overall , the movie has got a good script but what it lacked was the inefficient direction and unnecessary blowing up of the plot . The director Samar Khan still needs to learn a lot in Direction . Still , it was way much better attempt than his last movie . The reason why you should watch this movie is that it has got some message and it even has some great acting performances by Kay Kay and the entire remaining cast .
It is not at all a court room drama and has got way much more important message than a typical courtroom drama .

Movie Rating : Two and Half Stars out of Five , for great acting performances and different script . Go watch it and support off-beat experimental cinema .