Jhankaar Beats has a nice surprise in it--Juhi Chawla. The music doesn’t disappoint either. Vishal & Shekhar do a good job with another one of their rare film albums, after Pyar Main Kabhi Kabhi. Although PMKK flopped at the box office, the music was a hit and deserved to be. That album had Shaan’s first great Bollywood tracks. This movie has no newcomers as far as singers but the cast, except for Juhi Chawla, has all relative newcomers.

The theme song kicks off the album with a lot of spirit and a little bit of pizzazz. Reminiscent of R.D. Burman’s awesome songs of yesteryear with a twist, Vishal & Shekhar keep this song alive with real jhankaar beats. Sudesh Bhonsle imitates the great Pancham saab irritatingly. Maybe he should calm the vocals a bit, but they actually suit the song.

Shaan graces “Suno Na” with his soft and soothing voice. The song is similarly soothing and reminiscent of Vishal Shekhar’s Pyar Main Kabhi Kabhi. The music is more modern and quite different, but the stanzas and style of the song are quite reminiscent of “Musu Musu” and “Woh Pehli Baar.”

Now, we come to the more unique portion of Jhankaar Beats. “Boss Kaun Hai” is a tribute to RD Burman saab. Amit Kumar rightfully sings the song very spiritedly. There is a little interlude of “Roop Tera Mastana” which is hilarious. The song is also only about three minutes long, which is a pleasant feature. Vishal Dadlani (the lyricist & first music director) and Shekhar Ravjiani (the second music director) join Amit Kumar in this very lively song.

“Jo Gaya Woh Gaya,” is sung beautifully by K.K. & Vishal Dadlani. KK shines in this rendering. The song falters a bit, because the music is not too creative. Although the song has potential, it doesn’t reach its possibilities.

Udit Narayan sings “Sahi Hai Re.”  It sounds like most of the music is not created by instruments, instead they are created by vocal cords. Rightfully, the music is very “tapori”.

K.K. shines in “Tu Aashiqui Hai”. I hope to hear his vocals in more songs in the future, because his voice and singing is absolutely brilliant. Although he sang songs when he first came into the industry, like “Tadap Tadap” from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam very well, his voice and style have bloomed since then. This is a prime example of his maturing as a singer. This song is moderately paced upbeat song with the vocals of K.K. and a chorus dominating the music. Another wonderfully done number by Vishal & Shekhar.

“Jab Kabhi” has sweet vocals by K.K. and Mahalaxmi. This song is a slow romantic number, and is done very well. KK shows off his versatility in this song. Mahalaxmi does a splendid job with this song also. The music is perfect for the number, although very western. KK is the main focus of the song again.

“Humen Tumse Pyar Kitna” doesn’t need an introduction. This Kishore Kumar classic is redone by Vishal & Shekhar and sung by Amit Kumar & K.K. Amit Kumar sings the majority of the song and does a splendid job (being the son of Kishore-da helps also). K.K. sings stanzas of “Tu Aashiqui Hai” in the middle of the song. The contrast of the two songs is very well done and deserves recognition although it cannot compare to the original. Originals are originals after all!

Amit Kumar sings the next song, “Ruk Ruk.” This song definitely has the RD touch with many synthesized rhythms along with western and Indian beats. The other singer is not listed, therefore I cannot give him any credit.

Finally, the tenth song of the album is “Tera Muskurana”, a fast paced number with Shaan rendering the male vocals. Shaan does a good job, and the song is worth a listen or two.

Jhankaar Beats is a good album, and is worth grabbing a CD or maybe an audio cassette. Vishal & Shekhar have done a good job again with this album. Its too bad they haven’t been signed to many films so far. Suddenly in 2003, the music albums have been outstanding after a pretty lackluster year in 2002. Lets hope that we see more albums like this one throughout 2003 and beyond.