After embellishing films such as “Gupt”, “Bandit Queen”, “Saudagar” and “Pukar” with his slick camerawork, Ashok Mehta, the highly underrated and under appreciated cinematographer makes his directorial debut with “Moksha,” to be premiered in film festivals worldwide before its Indian release. Touted to be one of the surprise packages of the year, “Moksha” boasts of an impressive cast, which has the newest “find” Arjun Rampal in the lead. While the final shape of the film is yet to be seen, the soundtrack proves to be one that is quite difficult to review. Riding on the success of “Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai,” Rajesh Roshan composes 8 of the 9 tracks in the album. Is this album as impressive as “KNPH?” Not really. Is it worth a listen? Sure. The opening track “Jaan Leva” is an all out winner. Composed along the style of songs like “Kambakth Ishq” this is a racy number that sets your feet tapping instantly. The vocals by Sukhwindara Singh and Kavita Krishnamurthy are immaculate. Unlike its remixed counterpart, this track does not rely much on “techno” arrangements, and also sticks to a clichéd beat. While the tune is nothing fresh, the vocals are the real winners. Shravan Sinha’s lyrics don’t really stand out, but are not bad either. It could however do without those corny English segments. The next track “Humko Pyar Hai” by Kamaal Khan and newcomer Sneha has a typical Rajesh Roshan feel to it. Kamaal Khan does a decent job while Sneha too is quite impressive. The lyrics by Javed Akhtar don’t offer anything new while the musical arrangements are just rehashes of Roshan’s earlier work. “Seep Mein Moti” has two versions, one sung by Pamela and other by Shaan. Pamela’s amateurish vocals are quite a contrast to Shaan’s polished voice. In terms of tune and music, this gazhal-ish song doesn’t offer much. However, the lyrics by Javed Akhtar are simply wonderful. The metaphors of “seep mein moti” for the “baat jo kehni hai” are very well penned. Tracks 4 and 5 are titled “Naani Maa” one sung by Dominique and the other by Mahalakshmi, both A.R. Rahman discoveries. Obviously dedicated to the love of naani maa’s, Javed saab has produced yet another of his wonders. The vocals and arrangements in both versions are certainly above average. However, while listening to it, I had a gut feeling that I had certainly heard this tune before in some English song. I guess if you don’t know what the original was, like myself, it would be an enjoyable number. “Mohabbat Zindagi Hai” sung by Madhushree is a disappointment. The song sounds like a jingle from some advertisement. Skip!!! The 8th track is my personal favorite of the album. The “Jaan Leva” remix is awesome. The techno beat and digitized voice modulations are really cool. This version is also much faster than the original, making it an excellent dance track. Repeat-Repeat and Repeat!!! The final track titled “Beginning of the End” is the theme track composed by Salim and Suleman Merchant. The composers borrow heavily from two of the finest background score composers, A.R. Rahman and Sandeep Chowta. The use of vocals, guitar, and the piano is right out of the Chowta book while the Cello led orchestrations with flute solos are right out of the Rahman book. Many segments of the track bear a striking resemblance to certain sections of the theme tracks of “Satya” and “Asoka”. Despite borrowing so heavily from Chowta and Rahman, Salim and Suleman Merchant fail to make any impact with this track. A very annoying track if you’re as die-hard a fan of Rahman and Chowta as I am. Overall, “Moksha” is not too bad an album. It is definitely worth an ear for some good tracks. The main drawback of the album was that despite its pleasantness, the slower songs tended to get too long and boring, forcing me to hit that skip button.
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