After Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, and countless other actors, it’s now Aishwarya Rai’s turn to sit on the producer’s chair. She, however, does it with brother Aditya Rai in their company Target Films. She brings us Dil Ka Rishta, a film starring herself, Arjun Rampal, Lisa Ray, and Priyanshu, under the direction of Naresh Malhotra.  Numerous reports prior to the film’s audio release had touted this film’s music as one of duo Nadeem-Shravan’s best! And after all the hype, does the music live up to its expectations? My feeling is that I was short-changed.  There is no denying that this film has good music, but there is really nothing to set it apart from the many offerings Nadeem-Shravan have given us in the past couple of years.

The album begins with the raspy vocals of Sapna Avasthi who tries to recreate the magic she displayed earlier in Raja Hindustani’s “Pardesi Pardesi”.  In fact, the song uncannily resembles the very popular tune from the 1996 hit film.  The song also features Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu, both of whom are regular Nadeem-Shravan favorites.  Another version of the song features the remarkable Jaspinder Narula, who seems to have faded out since Sunidhi Chauhan burst on the scene.  The vocals in both versions are done well, but my preference is for Jaspinder’s version.  The lyrics are not very innovative, but one would expect that considering the lyricist is Sameer.

 The second song, “Haye Dil”, again showcases Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu, who do a decent job in this love tune.  The song is quite catchy, but the music is very typical of Nadeem-Shravan.  Lyrics are nothing special, but it is the effortless singing by Alka Yagnik that makes this song so appealing.  And of course, having the song picturized on Aishwarya Rai only adds to its appeal. 

These days a film is not complete without a title song, and Dil Ka Rishta is no exception.  The song is sung by Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu, and Udit Narayan, all of whom do a wonderful job.  Although it’s unfortunate that the song could not be sung by some of Bollywood’s very talented, yet underexposed singers, the song is nonetheless probably the best track on the album.  It’s appeal lies mostly in its simplicity, which Nadeem-Shravan excel in orchestrating.  Another version of the song is sung by Babul Supriyo and Sarika Kapoor.

Next is the female solo, “Dayya Dayya Re”, sung by Alka Yagnik.  The lyrics are below average and the singing is mediocre.  This song is passable and is definitely one that will not remain in your memory for long. 

Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu follow “Haye Dil” with “Dil Chura Le”.  No points for Sameer in the creativity department as this is the third song with the word ‘dil’ in the title.  The song is above average, and both singers manage to create some allure with their pleasant vocals.  As one would expect, the track is a love song whose pace is quite slow.   

The rest of the album does not feature any songs that are too noteworthy.  Udit Narayan sings in “Haste Suraj Ki”, a song that lasts about a minute and a half and is set to the tune of “Dil Ka Rishta”.  Same can be said of Kumar Sanu’s “Kitna Majboor Ho Gaya”, which is so short that it is pretty much forgettable.  The album unfortunately does not display much variety as several of the songs are rehashes of one another.  Basically, Nadeem-Shravan have fooled listeners into believing that they created more songs than they actually did.  As a whole, the album only offers about five new songs, which is disappointing; however, hopefully we can expect the film to rely heavily on its storyline and not just the music.