Label: Sony BMG
Music: Vishal-Shekhar
Lyrics: Kumaar, Anvita Dutt Guptan, Vishal Dadlani
Rating: 3/5
One can call Vishal- Shekhar Bollywood’s most efficient Hindi-English or better still, Hinglish composers.
Dostana has all the ingredients of Bollywood and offers much more than just fancy beats and forced melodies, which happen to be the current trend. The album includes dance numbers Maa da Laadla and Desi Girl, soft and radio friendly Khabar Nahi and Kuch Kum, freak-out party track Shut Up & Bounce, and of course the title track Jaane Kyun.
Dostana differs from the trend. Music directors/ Producers may note that the title track NEED NOT always have the films title in the lyrics!
Desi Girl, a fun-party track, has some outstanding lyrics by Kumaar. Hinglish off the cuff hooks like ‘thumka lagaike she’ll rock your world’ will make one say – Aila, cool man! But the abundant use of electronic sound can get overbearing at times. Nevertheless, since it’s well mixed, you can look forward to hearing the part where the song touches the Bappida disco era, provided you ‘listen carefully’. But don’t know why, there seem to be some similarities between ‘thumka lagaike she’ll rock your world’ and the pre chorus line ‘All cool boys cm’on make some noise’ of Om Shanti Om – maybe self influenced!
As far as the vocals go, one has to hear closely in order to identify the otherwise distinct voice of Shankar Mahadevan. However, Vishal and Sunidhi’s voices clearly stand out.
Jaane Kyun is the cracker of the album and it’s been cracking everywhere – on promos, radio stations, the pole grabbing office goers in trains, and also at the city’s traffic signals. A sure-shot chart buster, this jazz-reggae-hiphop influenced song (yes, all three genres – its Bollywood!) has a fantastic melody, and one of the catchiest I’ve heard so far. This one has all – jazz improvisations, Hinglish lyrics, hip-hop claps and more importantly, a super organic melody. Kudos!
Khabar Nahi is a soft soulful number; it’s not hard to identify Amanat Ali’s voice, his trademark alaaps fill the score. But, if you hear his previous film songs or his new album ‘Tabeer’, the improvisations seem to be more or less the same. Again, Khabar Nahi is spewed with Hinglish lyrics. Call it Vishal- Shekhars trademark sound!
Vishal gives the listener some fantastic poetic ideas in Kuch Kam, here’s the music duo who don’t really miss a good writer – just in case! The track Kuch Kam is fabulously done by Shaan. The melancholic lyrics demand a melancholic voice and Shaan’s voice is certainly apt.
Sung by Saleem, Maa Da Laadla is a freak out Punjabi track. Saleem is a well-known name in the Punjabi music scenario. If you have heard his name for the first time, then check out his classics like Charkhe de har har ghere, Dil marjane nu, Aivein na ladhya kar, dhola and many more albums where one can get an idea of his wide range. If one diverts attention away from the racy tune of this number (which is bound to make its presence felt in the discotheques and clubs) and instead delve deep into the lyrics, you would realize that Maa Ka Laadla, is one fun number aiding the film’s narrative in a big way.
‘Shut Up and Bounce’ features Shilpa Shetty boogying with Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham on the Miami Beach. With Sunidhi Chauhan leading, Vishal Dadlani provides additional vocals in Shut Up & Bounce. The song will be more of an eye candy – considering that Shilpa Shetty and other bevy of beauties will be dominating the frames.
All in all, the music of Dostana is more than just passable, and if you are looking for a typical Bollywood album, then go for Dostana – it takes the ham, and the burger too!
