New York --- Music Review

New York is the first big film to hit the screens after the long strike between the producers and multiplex owners and also Yashraj's first film for this year . Yashraj had a terrible last year with RNBDJ being the solo hit of the year and they would expect to start this year on a positive note . This film by Kabir Khan of Kabul Express fame is based on different subject matter and is not usual Yashraj entertainer . The film as we all know has the backdrop of 9/11 WTC attacks and the story revolves around that incident . The trailers of this film had hit the cinema halls long back along with Rab Ne.. but the release got delayed and now Yashraj have very less time to promote the film . The music of this one is by Pritam and expectations of a commercially hit album are always there from him . He last worked on Aa Dekhe Zara and the track "Gajab Huio Rama" is still on the charts .

Since the film is completely based in New York , the music of the film also has that complete western feel and there are very few Indian elements in it . The soundtrack has eight tracks in total with 6 originals and 2 remixes . The first song on the album is the track that features in the trailer , "Hai Junoon", by KK . The track begins with a guitar piece that reminded me a bit of the guitar theme from Sholay . When I heard it in the trailer my expectations with the music rose and I started expecting a good soundtrack . I must say that the best part of the track was in the trailer itself and apart from that it has very little to offer , at least in terms of music . The track though a simple one but yet in my opinion is the best on the entire soundtrack and comes upfront . It will definately get popular but at a a slower rate probably because it is not one of those instant hit types . The lyrics by Sandeep Shrivastav are nice and refreshing and capture the emotions of the characters very well . This song suits Katrina very much and this is definately her time . KK as usual does a good job singing the song and I loved the chorus also in the track . Overall , a nice light track to begin the album .

Next comes "Mere Sang" by Sunidhi Chauhan who I think sings very few good songs these days . She has far more talent and she is wasting it on so so commercial tracks . By the way this track is not one of those and is a good one . It also has a western feel to it and is of the league of songs from pritam's film METRO. This song also has a good use of guitars and drums and has the rock feel to it . The lyrics of this one are also good and have that urban feel to them . Overall , its a nice track and Sunidhi does well singing it .

Coming third is "Tune Jo Na Kaha" which reminded me of the track "Chal Chalen Apne Ghar" from Woh Lamhe . Pritam who is famous for composing inspired music this time got a little inspired from his own work from the past . Though not largely but in certain parts you can observe the similarity between this track and that one . Listen to both the tracks and if you think that I am right then please leave a comment , I want to know that is it me only who thinks this way or you also think so . Well , this track is also good one and the lyrics here add to the beauty of the song . Sandeep has done a great job once more and he can do even better . The vocals are by Mohit Chauhan on this one and he has done great job as usual . Overall, a nice slow number and has some nice piece of lyrics .

"Aye Saaye Mere" comes next which aims at sending out a message through itself . The central message of the film also probably lies in this song . This one has been composed and Sung by Pankaj Avasthi . He does a great job singing and his voice does have that sufiana quality of a saint and the music he composed for the song is also pretty simple and basic . This song would most probably feature in the background and would look good that way along with the film's storyline .

Next come the remix versions of "Hai Junoon" and "Mere Sang" which are just like every other remix and have those bass beats and DJ effects with a higher tempo . Nothing great about them and are good for discs etc. Amongst the two , I liked the "Mere Sang" one more . The tracks have been remixed by Julius Packam who has also composed the two themes musics that follow next .

In the end come two theme musics by Julius Packam , first one being "Sam's Theme" which is nice and has vocals by Caralisa Monteiro . The fact that Sam's character has a theme proves that it is the central character in the film . Caralisa does a great job with the vocals and apart from her vocals the music has little to offer in this theme . Nothing so new about the theme but might look good in the film . Sounds a little sad which leads me to believe that Sam probably dies in the film .

Finally comes the theme music of the film and this one is nice bit of music but not a great one . Julius had done a fabulous job in Kabul Express and I expected a little more from him . I hope he does a great job with the background score of the film just like he did in Kabul Express .

Overall , the album falls a little short of the expectations but still is worth listening and the songs are pretty simple . They match to the theme of the film and I am sure they would look and sound even better in the film . Lets hope that the film doesn't fall short of expectations and is at least as good as Kabul Express .

Album Rating : Three out of Five ; certainly worth listening .

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi --- Movie Review

The film for which everybody was waiting since a long time , the film that marks the comeback of the famous Jodi of Aditya Chopra-SRK and the film that would probably take the industry out of the slump it is facing , RNBDJ , released with huge expectations this Friday . People would always expect something good when names like Yashraj , Shah Rukh and Aditya Chopra are associated with a film . SRK also comes back on screen after almost one whole whole year so even his fans are expecting a lot from him . So does the film matches to all these ecpectations ? The answer lies ahead .

The primary aim of any SRK film is to provide three hours of Indian Entertainment to the viewer so that at least he or she can forget his/her daily life for sometime and yet can see his/her life in the film to an extent . And RNBDJ serves this primary aim to its fullest . This time round though there are no Huge Lavish Sets that catch your eye , instead there is a simple Punjabi Kothi that looks much more beautiful than a Haveli . The film doesn't take you to the Highways of Europe like DDLJ does but it does take you to congested lanes of Amritsar . The protagonist is not a Rich Son "Raj" but instead it is an average looking Suri Sahni who is just an average employee of Punjab Power . Still , the film has all those dramatics that any Aditya Chopra film has because it is his style and he knows that only . He creates a Commercial yet Story Oriented film that would please not only the intelligent audience and critics but also the lay man on the street . Adi's last film Mohabbatein though was a hit yet it was according to me one of the most pathetic films of SRK's career . The film was poorly inspired by Dead Poets Society and also had greats like Amitabh and SRK delivering some of the most Cliche dialogues and the situations were age old .

So does this mean that RNBDJ doesn't have those Cliche moments . The answer is No , it has those cliche moments but they are very few in number and don't last that long . So if you can digest few of those cliche melodramatic moments then this film is for you . The film is completely based upon the central character Surinder Sahni who is an average guy who somewhere in the corner of his heart wishes to be a Hero that we see on screen and has a Golden heart . His heart makes him a bigger hero than any of those on screen heroes who are more fake than real . Suri is very real and very believable . He finds happiness in simpler things in life and doesn't aim to become a big shot with all the flamboyance .

He is a man with all the values and he meets this girl , Taani , who probably is the compliment of his personality and is all bubbly and vivacious . Taani loves to live life and believes not only in love but also in a Happily Ever after philosophy . But fate takes its turn and she ends up with Suri who she likes as a person but can never fall in love with .Suri on the other hand falls completely in love with her the moment he sees her . Suri with some help from Bobby (Vinay Pathak) transforms himself into Raj to make her happy . Raj looks good and expresses whatever his heart feels right away . But there is a small twist in the story that I have not revealed and I want you to see that for yourself .

The film successfully portrays all the characters in their true elements and there is no larger than life premise . Some parts still have that Fantasy Love and one has to go along with it to enjoy the film . The most entertaining thing in the film is SRK and his character , of course . He carries the entire film on his shoulders through his Fine performance . It has all those humorous moments that any SRK film has . This time round though he makes you Smile for most of the part rather than make you laugh your heart out . He makes the viewers feel good about his character and makes people realise that how they can find more happiness in small things in life that even an Academy Award cannot give .

There are not many emotional moments in the film and those that are there are not forced in . The film in all is a full on entertainer which has elements of both a Light Hearted and Commercial film . You will fall in love with not only SRK's character but also remember the characters like Taani and Bobby . SRK very well acts out the simple average man's character and shows all the shades of it . His acting is one of the strong points of the film . His body language in the film is one thing one should notice to realise that how good an actor he is . He not only changes his clothes but also changes his walking style and mannerisms . Anushka also plays her character very well and she looks beautiful on screen in both Indian and Western Attires . She acts very naturally and her smile will leave boys asking for some more .Vinay as usual acts his part very well and he also has a good role in the film . Vinay has struck a nice balance by doing both commercial and off beat cinema performing equally well in both .

Adi's Direction I feel didn't have much to do because the film lies completely on the shoulders of SRK .But still he doesn't do a bad job and in films like these the central character has the major part of responsibility . The music of the film by Salim-Suleiman is also one of the strong points . Haule Haule being the best and Dance Pe Chance being an absolutely rocking number . Anushka dances really well in the film and SRK is as usual . Then there is "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" which is a surprise visual delite that will please everyone . The film's music goes along with the film and doesn't hinder the film or its pace in any manner .The choreography and the group of Shiamak Dawar and Vaibhavi Merchant is great and plays an important part in the film. The background score by Salim-Suleiman is also good but sometimes it looks out of the place because it is very much inspired from the films of west . The cinematography by Ravi K. Chandran is fine and at times quite brilliant especially in the scene where Anushka enjoys the raindrops from her window . The story by Aditya Chopra is good but the screenplay is a little weak in some parts .

Overall , its a nice film that not only entertains you for its length but also makes you feel good . The film has released in a time when people are a little disturbed by the recent attacks on our country (and not Mumbai) and the film will definatly take some focus off the heinous act and make people return back to normal .This film would appeal more to a mature audience and a little less to the youth . Watch this film for SRK and his acting and also for Surinder Sahni who exists everywhere and probably a part of him exists in all of us . The only negatives being some small parts in both the first and the second half where the film gets a little weak . Still, the film is worth a watch till the last credit rolls down , why I say so would be clear to you when you'll watch the film . You might end up clapping in the end .

Film Rating : Three and a Half out of Five Stars ; For SRK's fine performance and Surinder Sahni's character.

First Look --- Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

Here's the first look of SRK and Yashraj's most awaited film of the year , Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi . The poster has been released today in a new fashion where instead of Internet it has first hit all the major daily newspapers of India . A full page poster by Yashraj in all the leading daily's makes there intentions quite clear about the Publicity campaign that they are going to run for this film . The scale of Publicity is going to be huge and it looks like we might get to see a smaller version of last years OSO Publicity campaign once again .

The poster in itself makes a huge impression and conveys a lot about the film . The film as we all know is about a love story between a 40 year old man and 16 year old girl . This film also brings back the Blockbuster duo of Aditya and SRK together who would try to repeat the history . The poster shows SRK in a very simple avatar and behind him is hiding the lead girl in the film , Anushka . The simple shirt , pant and spectacles make SRK look completely like an average man on the street . On closely observing the poster I could also see a cheap pen in SRK's shirt pocket which illustrates the point even further . His moustache and hair style make him look even more common and the most important part being his body language . His expression and his little lose posture show the low confidence of his character in the film . He might play a shy and a very less confident average guy who falls in love with this very outgoing Punjabi girl . Behind both of them stands a scooter with "Punjab Power" written on it . The eyes of Anushka show her playful and little outgoing character .

The tag line of the film says that " There is an extraordinary love story , in every ordinary jodi " which is a nice tag line and again sums up the entire story . The poster on a whole is nice one and I would give it a Ten on Ten considering it would create a lot of interest among the audiences .For the first time probably any film is using Posters instead of trailers for its first Publicity . This might set a new trend and now on every big film would get its poster published in the newspapers . I am eagerly waiting for the trailer ...

Bachna Ae Haseeno --- Movie Review

One thing is for sure now that after giving hit films like Hum Tum , Salaam Namaste , Dhoom , Bunty and Bubly , Chak De etc. , Yashraj have either sold their common sense and logic along with their films or maybe all these films were made without any interference by Aditya Chopra . SCRIPT is one word that Aditya needs to Meditate while breathing and even all his associates who are emptying the fortunes of Yashraj every month or so . I don't know why actors keep doing Yashraj's film and expecting a wonder out of them . Off lately all my posts which have the Word YASHRAJ in it sound like I am protesting against them and booing them down . But the truth is that apart from Chak De nothing has excited me that came from their house . I am a huge fan of Films like Hum Tum and Salaam Namaste which were commercial success only because they had a good script . Two years before I thought Yashraj will rule not only the Box Office but also people's heart but now I think the opposite . Well , enough of Anti-Yashraj Rant lets talk of the film that has released last week , Bachna Ae Hasino , starring Ranbir and three other girls .

The film as you know is about a Boy and Three Girls who fall in love with him . Sounds a little like Dil Mange More starring Shahid and Directed by Anant Mahadevan but take my word guys it just sounds like that . That film was an underrated and box office dud . In fact it was a far better product than this one and the actors in it were also much better . Well this one has three girls , three weak stories and three kisses so I am also devoting three paragraphs to each of them .

The first story is set up in 1996 where Raj Sharma (Ranbir) and his group are on a holiday in Europe and they meet girls just like SRK and group did in DDLJ . This whole part is kind of a spoof on DDLJ since the heroine of the story Maahi (Minissha) is a huge fan of the film . She comes to Europe to find her Raj and meets Ranbir who sets her up so that she falls in love with him to get a little physical with her . So this is when the first question arises . Can Ranbir who has a mushy mushy and a sweet guy image play such a wicked guy's role ? The answer is a straight no . I'll talk a little later about this . This story ends for a while when Minissha realizes that Ranbir was lying and that he doesn't love her . Talking of errors and stupidity in this one , the story is set in 1996 but music of Dhoom is played while the group walks over to girls . Apart from this , the movie starts with the Title track and the starting piece of that song has been used often in the film . It is so often that after each dialogue Ranbir says there is the music of title track in Background . You would like it the first time its played , you would like it even more when used second time but then on it just becomes an overdose of such a fantastic piece of Music . Instead of using it wisely they have bought the rights and abused it . Talking a little about acting , Ranbir though is the lead actor of the film but still he was not able to stand out among the group of four friends . He looked just like all other guys who were as pathetic as he was . Minissha though is a fabulous actor did a lot of overacting in this one and it never appeared that she was in love with Ranbir . It was more like she was in love with the film's Raj , I mean the chemistry was no where . The kiss was looking passionless and emotionless .

Next comes the story (set up in 2002) of Bipasha Basu who is a struggling model and a cool girl who has a live in relationship with Ranbir . She also falls in love with Ranbir but without his knowledge . Ranbir gets a job in Australia and he decides to leave her but she asks him to marry her as she thinks that Ranbir completely loves her . Ranbir tries all the tricks in the book so that Bipasha breaks off with him but he fails since she loves him so much . So at last he ditches her on the day of the marriage and runs away to Australia . Talking of errors again , Ranbir talks of Australia to his friend in the accent that became popular after Jaaved Jaffrey did Salaam Namaste which got released in 2005 . Maybe Yashraj did a special screening for Raj(Ranbir) of the film in 2002 . Then there is a scene where Strippers dance in his apartment along with him on the song Jhoom Barabar Jhoom . Just Imagine strippers dancing to the music from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom which again released just last year . There was one kiss in this one also which in my opinion was the best among all the three . Bipasha looked comfortable while kissing Ranbir and hence it looked better than the other two .

Then starts the third story in 2007 in Australia where Ranbir works happily and Deepika does all kinds of Day and Night Jobs to support her studies .She is a Taxi driver and Ranbir falls for her . She doesn't believe in Marriage at all and breaks Ranbir's heart just as he does with two other girls . Then as usual Ranbir realises his mistake and decides to repent for it . So he flies back to India and then to Germany to say sorry to Minissha and Bipasha respectively . The whole saying sorry sequence has been dragged for last one hour or so and when Ranbir comes back to Australia , Deepika is waiting for her Kiss , I mean she also realises that she loves him and decides to settle down with him . The ending sequence had to be in a Taxi since she is a cab driver . The End .

Talking of Acting Bipasha was the best among all and only she acted professionally . All other actors looked like that they didn't knew what they were doing . Rest of the cast is quite young and they were all probably excited since this was their first film with Yashraj . They enjoyed the foreign locations and comforts . Ranbir , for most of the part played the role of a Wicked guy which not at all suits his personality and he more looked like a Puzzled Guy than a Handsome Hunk . His acting didn't impress me at all and it appeared that he has style without enough substance to back it up . Bips was the best and she tried her best to play Miranda Priestly(Devil Wears Prada) for some part of the film . Ranbir still tries to imitate his father's and grandfather's in his acting but lacks a little bit of Charisma (not Karisma) . And Deepika looks boring on screen but she is so beautiful and has those killer smile and dimples that you can forgive everything else wrong about her . Not much of a role for her and a little disappointment after OSO .

The film as you can see has no script again and even a lay man can guess the whole plot beforehand . There are a lot of Mistakes throughout the film with one of the most loose background score that I have ever heard . Two fantastic pieces of Music from DDLJ and Karz wasted like some ordinary background score . The Director had nothing to do since the script itself was so weak . The Music of the film is also weak and only Khuda Jaane is soulful . If we compare this one to Dil Mange More of Shahid then its a perfect example of how a bad film can earn more than a much better one just because of the Publicity and the names attached to it . I cannot believe the same Director has directed a film like Salaam Namaste and then this one . He has used pieces of Shehnai and the very old Thunder Sounds in background when there is a sad sequence or shock sequence in the film . Where is Yashraj going , now maybe only a Widow breaking her Bangles is left for them I suppose to show on screen .

Bachna Ae Hasino is much better than Tashan is the best compliment that this film can get from my side . Ranbir is OK and Bips is good . The film might entertain you but won't satisfy you . Nothing new in it apart from the actors . The same old formula and same old scenes with almost zero chemistry among the leads . I don't know what I would get to see in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi , Yashraj's last hope for the year . SRK would never work with Yashraj again if the film turn outs to be a failure . Lets not hope so and SRK being my favourite I have to hope for the best . I hope SRK interferes in the film if Aditya gets Logic less while directing the film .

Movie Rating : Two out of Five Stars , Another dud from Yashraj .

Bachna Ae Hasino --- Music Review

The next movie from Yashraj after the disastrous movie Tashan,Bachna Ae Hasino, is all set for release and the Music is out now . The rushes of the film are getting positive feedback and it is visible that Yashraj have again spend a good sum of money for this one . But one thing that Yashraj always forget is to put some efforts on script . The director of this one is Siddharth Anand who gave films like Salaam Namaste and Ta Ra Rum Pum , both of which did quite well at the box office and were also appreciated by the critics . Interestingly music of both these films also got more popular as compared to other films from Yashraj . So we can atleast expect and hope for a nice film if not an exceptional one . This film is also very important for Ranbeer since very few saw him acting in Saawariya . This one would be seen by all and then he would be rated by people at large , as an actor .

The first track on the album is a romantic Track "Khuda Jaane" which is a nice track and quite melodious . The song is sung by KK who has a speciality in singing love ballads , his last one being "Ankhon mein Teri" from OSO . The song is at a higher pitch and we get to hear a different KK from that in OSO . He has the company of Shilpa Rao who also sings quite well . Shilpa got popular from the song in Salaam-e-Ishq - Saiyan Chod Ke na ja . This one has been sung in completely different style by her . She sounds quite soulful in this one . Overall the song has a nice blend of both good lyrics and Melody . The lyrics are by Anvita Dutt who does a decent job .

The next track on the album is Lucky Boy by Sunidhi and Hard Kaur . This one is from the league of Tashan , melody less and lyrics that are so so . Commercial track and might look good in the movie . These type of songs look good in the movie but not meant for Listening purpose only . The tune and lyrics aren't that catchy and overall the song is meant for listening once only . Hard Kaur is a regulation these days and she does her job well as usual . Sunidhi is good but nothing unique . Just regulation stuff .

The third track on the album is Ahista Ahista by Lucky Ali and Shreya Ghoshal . When was the last time that Lucky Ali had sung a song ? And he chooses to come back with this song which is so not at all Lucky Ali style . He usually sings slow and soulful songs with great lyrics . But this track is just a regular track with excessive use of Bass which gives it more of a Club feel . Both Shreya and Lucky are known to sing Great Tracks only but out of the blue they sing this so normal track . Vishal-Shekhar have done almost nothing for this track apart from the starting music piece. This song could have been composed by any DJ in this way . The lyrics are good but get wasted due to lack of melody . The song might work in the movie .

Then comes Jogi Mahi by Sukhwinder, Shekhar Ravjiani and Himani Kapoor . The song has a quite old tune of Dhol and it is suppose to be a Punjabi track . Punjabi Tracks are usually fun filled but this one has a different feel to it . It has been tried to incorporate a sad song into a commercial tune . The attempt has failed to a large extent and the blend has not worked . The song again is like a commercial type of track of the 90's . There is no newness to it and neither the lyrics are that good . The song would definitely slow down the pace of the movie and it would remind you of the movies of 90's . I don't know why Yashraj is doing this Hybrid thing of Mixing the Old with the new . There movies now look like the typical commercial movies that people saw for quite long in the 80's and 90's . They have no new story at all . Though this film has three heroines and one hero which gives it a look of a modern film yet it might end up like a typical commercial movie .

Coming back to Music , the next track is Small Town Girl , one more hybrid track with pathetic lyrics . This one is sung by Shankar Mahadevan who himself is music director and this one sounds a little similar to Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom Title Track and is of the same league . Yet Jhoom Barabar Jhoom had catchy lyrics and tune and this one has none . Those who like just plain noise with no rhythm and lyrics might like this track . One more useless track of Tashan genre with no meaning and feel to it .

Then comes another REMIX version of version of Khuda Jaane which has been done in a nice way and is a faster and has more club feel to it . The original itself is such a good track that even this one rocks . The track has been remixed in a nice way by Abhijit Nalani and has a newness to it . It is not a typical remix and it would definitely work . Abhijit has put some effects which have added some more beauty to the track .

Then comes the title track which is just a remixed version of the older song with some extra lyrics . The Rap in it by Vishal is quite good and he deserves credit for it . Apart from that the entire rhythm and Lyrics are from original which are already a big hit . This song belongs to R.D. Burman and Majrooh Sultanpuri completely so Vishal-Shekhar don't get any credit for this one .

In all , the album is just a regular soundtrack that would just come and go and won't leave its mark . Apart from Khuda Jaane there is no original track that is worth listening twice or more . Vishal-Shekhar have a very limited talent and they are getting repetitive . They should take a break and Yashraj should look for some new talent to bring to their Production house .

Album Rating : One and Half out of Five stars ; one for Khuda Jaane and Half for not including unnecessary Remix tracks on the album .

Half Way Through ...

Well we are half way through 2008 and the first half was a little dissappointing in terms of fim content this year . The same was the case in last year when only three films Guru , Life in a Metro and Namaste London faired well both on the box office and audience expectations . One surprise hit was Bheja Fry . There were some great dissappointments in the first half of last year in form of salaam-e-ishq , eklavya , Nishabd and Ta Ra Rum Pum . Then there were also some of the most pathetic films like Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom , Shaka-laka boom boom , Just Married and Good Boy Bad Boy etc. But last year some great movies released in first half that didn't do fair at the box office yet deserved much more than they got like Black Friday , Parzania , Namesake and Ek Chaalis ki last Local .

This year it has been even worse where not only did movies failed on the box office but also lacked creative content . The only two movies which were rich in creative content and a good script were Aamir and Khuda Ke Liye amongst which the latter came from other side of the border . So in all only one film i.e. Aamir was a good film in all aspects of Film making yet it was a disaster at the box office . The team that gave Bheja Fry last year gave Mithya this year which was an excellent attempt at off-beat cinema considering it didin't have the usual happy ending that we always have . Even the Direction and Style was very european . This film did average as it is the case with such films . Jodha Akbar which released in the begining was a very brave attempt by the Director Ashutosh Govariker which did well at the box office but didn't get that much appreciation from the audience . The other two films(Race and Sarkar Raj) that did well at the box office were mere commercial films and the quality of cinema was not up to the mark . I don't know how did films like Jannat and Race did well at the box-office . Small budget films like Woodstock Villa , My name is Anthony... and Superstar were a disaster . Not even the small budget films but even the Big Budget films like Tashan and Krazzy 4 were like rotten eggs .

The Biggest rotten egg came from the biggest production house of country , Yashraj , in form of Tashan . At least Yashraj have some consistency , they had given the rotten egg last year in form of JBJ and this year they have gone ahead and given even more smelly and pathetic one in form of Tashan . I thought only Emran Hashmi did bad films but now even stars like Kareena,Akshay,Anil and Saif are doing so . Bad streak for poor Abhishek and RGV continues , with even Sarkar Raj not doing well on both box office and neither on people's expectations .

The films were a disaster in the first half of the year but one thing that did really well was the Blogging which was an instant hit and provided much more entertainment than the films . The blog has all the elements of a typical commercial film but with real emotions of Jealousy , Revenge and Stupidity . The Blog fever is catching on big time in Bollywood with Aamir,Big B,Salman,RGV and many more using the next big medium to reach their fans .

The biggest hit in terms of Entertainment came from the Cricket Fields in form the Indian Premiere League or the IPL . The biggest show in India , with a lethal combo of Cricket and heavyweight people like the SRK and Ambani's etc and a whopping budjet of around 4000 crores . Set Max rightly called it the "Manoranjan Ka Baap" . For 45 days every producer feared to release any film . Some used it for Promotion of their films (Tashan) and TV Shows (Dus Ka Dum) but neither did well . You see , promotion and hype can guarantee you a good opening but nothing can save the project if it doesn't have a good script or say no script in case of Yashraj .

The second half looks more promising this year with films like Love Story 2050 , Jaane Tu , Singh is Kinng, Kismat Konnection , Bachna Ae hasino , Dostana , Ghajni and Drona . There are also some small budget films like Rock On , Ugly and Pagli , Ashayein , Fashion and Maan Gaye Mughal-e-azam which may attract the multiplex audience .

The second half last year gave excellent films like Chak De India , Manorama Six Feet Under , Johnny Gaddar and Taare Zameen Par . Well , lot of money and expectations are at stake in the second half of this year and lets hope the second half would be much more interesting and entertaining and most important "Paisa Vasool" .

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic --- Music Review

The team that gave us the Brilliant music with Taaren Zameen Par is back with its latest offering in the form of TPTM (tHODA pYAR tHODA mAGIC ) . Well , after Tashan which is a disaster this one comes as a total different album from Yashraj Music . Though it is different from Tashan but still I think it lacks some luster and has not much to offer . Shankar-ehsan-loy and Prasoon Joshi together made a very classic album in form of Taare Zammen Par , so expectations automatically rise but they have not delivered as per the expectations . The album has Five originals and Two Remixes .

The first song on the soundtrack is Pyaar Ke Liye by Shankar Mahdevan which is probably the most balanced track on the album , considering it has a nice mix of both lyrics and music . The music , in general , is very western influenced throughout the album and same is the case with this song . The melody is very western and might sound like you've heard it before yet it will be liked by you . The music is very much influenced by the locations and situations of a movie and may be it has some situations that are usually seen in western light hearted flicks . The song is very well sung by Shankar and has some good chorus in it . It is a soft track and might go very well when it has good situation attached to it .

The second song on the track is Nihal Ho gayi which is again sung by Shankar and is a much more faster song than the first one and has some bhangra beats in it . The song has good lyrical content but lacks the newness in melody . This song sounds typical Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy track and has no new melody in it thats why it doesn't score in my books . It is an usual track for me even though it has good lyrics . Here SEL have failed to an extent .

The third track is by Sunidhi Chauhan and Shankar Mahadevan which is a kiddy track and meant only for kids. Recently , SEL and Prasoon made a kids track in Taare Zameen Par i.e. Bam Bam Bhole which was a great success . This is nowhere close to it and is completely different in nature . This sounds more like an english rhyme that we used to sing when we were kids . Sunidhi has sung it in her very own style and the song is OK but might not get as poular as Bam Bam Bhole did because it might not connect with adult listeners like Bam Bam Bhole did , even though it was a kiddie song .

Then comes Lazy Lamhe which is sung by Anusha Mani which is very fresh to hear since it has been sung very well by Anusha but again the music , though good , sounds very much inspired . The song has some strange lyrics and is kinda fusion track but the style with which Anusha has sung has stood out . It is a more sensual track and might feature the leading actors of the movie . Overall , the track is good but nothing that special , though it might get popular .

Beetay Kal Se is the last original track on the Album and is again meant for kids and has Teaching mode type of Lyrics with Vocals by Rani Mukerjee in between . Shreya has done her usual stuff . Again , nothing in it to become popular but might look good in the movie and may be teach a thing or two to the kids audience . Its nice to see that Directors are thinking of Indian Kids and making films for them .

Then it has two remixes , both by DJ Aqeel , of Nihaal Ho Gayi and Lazy Lamhe . The remix has been done quite well and infact the remix of Lazy Lamhe sounds better than the original and may be it would work in the public even more than the original . Good track for Discs and Pubs . DJ Aqeel though has used his tune from the "Waada Karo" remix which came last year which was quite good .

In all , the soundtrack is great as compared to yashraj's last offering Tashan . But in general it is not as good as it should be and might not be a superhit . The tracks are average and can be heard once and might even look good in the movie but nothing in it to become excessively popular . The two Tracks I liked on the album are "Pyaar Ke Liye " and The DJ Aqeel remix of Lazy Lamhe .

Music Rating : Two and half stars out of Five . Pretty normal stuff .

Tashan --- Music Review

My gut feeling is getting stronger day by day that Tashan might turn out to be the Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom(JBJ) of this year or may be even worse . JBJ at least had a decent music in it but this one seems to doesn't even have that . The Music of this movie is out now and it is not at all worth buying . There is no song in the album that will lead the charts . It seems to me as the bank balance of Yash Raj is growing day by day they are becoming more and more careless . They have tried in this album to bring back the senseless , melody-less and Lyrics-less Music of the times of Govinda & Akshay . The music is by Vishal-Shekhar and after OSO this one is a big disappointment . The songs in this Album have nothing to offer . The reason I speak so strongly is because if such a big Production house of India will behave this way then their days are limited . Well , its too early for me to say something like this but I hope they prove me wrong and at least the movie is Good enough to fade the bad effects of its music .

The Album has Five songs in total out of which only two are Good (comparatively) . There are also four dialogues by all the leading cast introducing their characters .

The first in the lot is Dil Hara by Sukhwinder Singh and has lyrics by Piyush Mishra . The music is what is played in the trailer of the movie . The song is well sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Lyrics are OK . The song is quite good but towards the end it suddenly becomes fast and from a desi track it turns into a hard rock song which has not been done well . Apart from its end , the song is good and probably second best track in the album .

After this comes the dialogue by Kareena , Pooja Ka Tashan . She introduces herself and gives a peek of her tom boy nature in he movie . What I am afraid is that Kareena would look really bad in this movie and she would not at all suit the character . But I can understand why Kareena said Yes to this role , just to get an entry into the Yashraj Camp .

Then comes Chaliya by Sunidhi and Piyush Mishra . The lyrics are by Anvita Dutt and I think her lyrics have not been given full justice . The tune is not at all good and just because of the music the song has suffered . The song might look good in the movie but certainly not for your music collection .

After this song a short dialogue by Saif introducing his character of a Playboy and may be Saif might pull of this role well since it suits his personality .

Then comes a song (Dil Dance Maare) that I couldn't figure out , what is it all about . The song is a pathetic mixture of Desi linguistics and English lyrics making no sense at all . The singing is decent by Sukhwinder , Sunidhi and Udit but lyrics are just so Bakwaas . Vishal , last gave lyrics of a beautiful song in Om Shanti Om (Ankhon mein teri ajab si) and now he has given lyrics to this song that makes no sense at all .

Then there is a Dialogue by Akshay Kumar who plays a "Chhora Ganga Kinare Waala"but delivers his dialogue like Punjabi Jatt which he is . So once more I don't think this role might suit his Jatt Personality . Probably Abhishek would have done it better .

Then comes which is probably the best song on the album " Falak Tak " by Udit and Mahalaxmi Iyer . It is the Romantic pic of the Album and is quite melodious and Lyrical . The Music is also good in this one by Vishal-Shekhar and the Lyrics are great by Kausar Munir . The Music in this one also is quite western influenced with little bit desi beats blended in between .

The whole concept of this movie is blending Western Film Noire Genre with the grassroot desi culture of India . But I don't think it would work that way . The audience won't be able to digest it and it would become a tasteless Cocktail of "Desi Daaru" and Western Wine .

After this comes a Dialogue by Anil Kapoor in typical Hinglish in which he states that he is an Old Style Villian , vulgar and cheap . Though Anil is quite good at doing this so his character might look good in the movie with much more Adult Nonsense after what he has done recently in Race .

Last Song on the Album is the Title Song Tashan Mein by Vishal and Saleem and having Lyrics by Vishal and Piyush . They have not at all done justice to the Title of the movie and the song is a dull affair . There is nothing new about lyrics also .

Still , if you like just dhoom dhadaka and don't care a bit about melody and Lyrics then you might Like the album

Rating : One and Half out of Five . The Album is not at all worth buying and only one song that is Falak Tak is worth listening .

Film Noire : Is it the Next Trend ?

The first teaser promo of Yashraj's Latest flick - Tashan is out now and from the rushes it looks like that the film would be a pure hardcore action flick and would have completely different styling for all the lead stars ( Akshay,Saif,Kareena & Anil) . The teaser has nothing but just an introduction of the star-cast and background score of a typical action flick . The trailer ends with a dialogue by Anil who appears to be the bad guy which goes something like this in crude english : " Firsht Impression ish the lasht impression ".

The Tag-line of the film is " The Ishtyle... The Goodluck... The Pharmoola " which kinda makes me think that this one would be also an attempt to a new genre for Bollywood - Film Noir . The graphics for the title are also like any typical Neo-Noir film .The recent flick which did this was Sriram Raghwan's "Johnny Gaddar" . The movie did quite well and got great reviews .

For Akshay it is back to basics time since this one is not comedy and is his first love Action . For Kareena it is a new arena since she has never done an action flick before . I am sure she would leave her different mark among all the other greats . For Anil this one would be a kinda nostalgia since he himself comes from dharavi where bad guys are regulation and abusing on screen wouldn't be a problem for him . Kareena would have also learnt one or two more (after Jab We Met )from them . Saif would be the Playboy for sure apart from Akshay . Well enough guessing work , I hope the new guy Vijay Krishna Acharya does his job well of Direction and matches Sriram's Vision.

Vijay has earlier written screenplay for both the Dhooms and also written Dialogues for Mani Ratnam's GURU . The Yashraj Banner would certainly not compromise on the Action sequences but of late there Scripts have been quite weak apart from Chak De which was brilliant . Expectations would be running high from Aditya for Vijay .

Bollywood is searching for new scripts and genre and Film Noir genre promises to hold all the attractive ingredients . It has all the Dialogue-Baaji and the Beatiful Girls which are enough to attract the audience not to forget the Action and cheap one liners . The production houses today want to rake in the moolah and they can make any kind of cinema to do it . Looks like the Neo-Noir would be the next insect that would bite the bollywood producers .

AAJA NACHLE ----- Trailer review

Aaja Nachle --- Madhuri is Back

The much awaited comeback film of Madhuri Dixit , Aaja Nachle's trailer is out now and to be fair its not that good . The teaser trailer is too short and can appeal only to die hard fans of Madhuri which I think exist in small numbers today. Its been a long time since any one has seen her onscreen & I don't think this trailer would do any good. I don't think she is that big a star in today's scenario and hence would not be able to attract the masses on her own. The teaser should have had some hint of the story line to work. The film is written by Jaideep Sahni who also wrote Chak De India . Considering chak de's success one thing is sure that at least the writing would be good for this one.

Yet the trailer is a disappointment and I think Laga Chunari Mein Daag (Yashraj's Next) had a better trailer than this one . Aaja Nachle is been directed by Anil Mehta who is a well known Cinematographer and this is his Debut film. Anil has done cinematography for several films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam & Veer Zaara. The movie also stars Akshaye Khanna , Konkana Sen & Kunal Kapoor.

Lets see ahead. Will Madhuri's Charm hit gold or not will depend on story of the film. The trailer is even worse than Om Shanti Om's trailer. Thumbs Down for this one.