Reviewed by Anish Khanna
anish@indolink.com

Everything about the film is novel. The cast is a bunch of newcomers (most notably Rinke Khanna). The director is a first-timer. The trailors project a different feel. So, can the music by Vishal, Shekhar, and Salim be far behind? Well, no - the music is definitely different. Different, however, is not always superior.

At times "different" is INFECTIOUS! And this is exactly what happens in "Musu Mush", the great reggae-esque track that will have you reaching for the rewind button. Shaan (of Shaan-Sagarika and "Mast Must Show" fame) makes an excellent debut in the Hindi film music scene with some great vocals here. His other number, "Woh Pehli Baar" is also a great track, and might just ensure that Shaan catches the ear of a few more music directors out there.

The reggae "thing" continues with "Lakhon Deewane", which is a song where the youngsters affirm their immortality in the hearts of their could-be fans (akin to "Fame", which the movie is based on). The singer, Krishan Kumar, is passable. The other number in this genre is "Koi To Mujhe Bata De", where the students dream again of becoming famous. This one is definitely a situational number.

I liked the voice of Shekhar a lot in "Dil Se Mere", a soft romantic number. Here is another Rafi-clone, but he definitely has his own unique vocal quality which manages to escalate him to a step above a mere clone.

Mahalaxmi Iyer's airy vocals are right at home in the waltzy "Tumne Na Humse", which is also a good track with great background istrumentals. Her higher range is a bit of a strain on the ears, though.

The title song, which sounds very much like a leftover of the 80's soundtrack "Star", is one of the more passe numbers on the album. We have Krishan Kumar again, who is better in his higher range but still not a voice that warrants another listen.

The most technically-proficient song is the final number - "Hum Naujawan Hain", which is a good combination of lead vocals, chorus, and instrumentals. The melody reminded me too much of the title track from the T.V. serial "Ek Do Teen Char" for me to take it seriously, but the other elements manage to make the number quite foot-tapping.

The big flaw overall on this album is that a lot of the lyrics by Vishal and Raj Kaushal are weak. I understand that we can't have Javed Akhtar poetry flowing from the mouths of young characters going to a performing arts school, but when some lyrics make you cringe, this could be a problem.

I imagine, however, that once we see all of the beautiful new faces on screen, nobody will really be listening to the music or lyrics. Still, this is a valiant effort on the part of the new team of music directors, and they have produced an album that will probably go down well with the younger crowd.