There is not much that would push anyone to listen to this soundtrack. Saawan Kumar´s strange melodramas rarely have good music (especially his films in the last decade or so). But one factor that had me checking out the album straightaway is the fact that Usha Khanna has composed it. She has already collaborated with this director (who was once her husband) before and their partnership was memorable enough with good songs in "Souten" and "Saajan Ki Saheli". But that was over twenty years ago. Can the Saawan Kumar-Usha Khanna team still deliver the goods? I suppose the answer will have to be a no as the album, as a whole, fails to impress. However, there are a few listenable tracks.

The one that is burning everyone's ears is the already-very popular "Karachi Nahi Jawaangi" by Sunidhi Chauhan. A major portion of the film is set in Pakistan and this song is a comment on one of its cities (once reported as one of the most violent cities in the world by a magazine). Sunidhi´s good-humoured singing makes this one a song to relish. Her imitation of a lecherous policewala is hilarious in the following line: "O tujhe gaar le jawanda, apni begum banawanda, Ek cricket team ki amma banawanda". Saawan´s lyrics are funny and he gives the song a Punjabi touch.

Sunidhi also shines in "O Mubarakan (Mera Sona Sajan Ghar Aaya)". Once again, it is her luscious voice that is the main highlight. It is a joy to listen to. She really is impressing me nowadays. Additionally, there is a brief version of this number.

"Cham Cham Naachoongi" (Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan) is a pleasant duet though the tune sounds like something we have heard many times before. It is a nice song but nothing out of the ordinary.

The award for the most inane lyrics in the entire album goes to... "Aaj Humne Aap Ke Liye Special Breakfast Banaya Hai" (please don´t applaud, we do not want to encourage the creation of more such monsters). The words are so cheesy that they override the positive aspects such as the hummable tune! Sudesh Bhosle and Preeti try hard to not sound embarrassed.

"Ek Pakistani Chehra, Us Pe Zulfon Ka Pehra... Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya" (Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik) has a brilliant start but soon settles into an ordinary tune. It does not know what it is. Is it a bhangra track? Is it a slow love song? Usha Khanna has somehow tried to combine the two styles but it doesn't really work. Do not think though that this means that the song is experimental because it is far from that. The slow parts are as clichéd as they can get. The bhangra parts also offer nothing new.

Sonu always knows how to give out a stirring rendition straight from the heart and he does that for the emotive patriotic song, "O Shaheedon". The only problem is that it is much longer than the length it should have been and therefore whatever impact it makes is diluted. The much shorter, "Kudrat Ne Baksha" (Sunidhi Chauhan, Udit Narayan) is very situational but evokes a somber mood with its message of unity.

Udit gets to go solo with "Tu Kaun Kahan Se Aayi Hai" and it is a sweet love song. Udit´s singing and the lyrics are the best aspects of the track. Usha´s composition could have been better as the instruments used almost make it a bland ballad. But it is saved by the singer and the tender words that he whispers.

Disappointingly, Usha Khanna’s comeback is hardly going to set a trail of blazing fire but her re-appearance on the music scene after such a long time is a welcome one. Do stick around, Ushaji, do not go away just yet. I am convinced that you still have the potential in you to compose better albums than this one.