Sat Sri Akal   Producer: Mata Tripta Ji Charitable Trust, Chandigarh & Frankfinn Entertainment Company Pv Director: Kamal Sahni Starring: Kimi Verma, Manpreet Singh, Arun Bali, Dolly Minhas, Avtar Gill, Vivek Shauq, Manmeet Singh, Neelu Kohli, Nirmal Rishi, Pooja Tandon, Sonpreet Music: Ravinder Singh Lyrics: Babu Singh Mann, Japunjit Singh, Ravinder Singh Singers: Jagjit Singh, Sadhna Sargam, Feroz Khan, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik, Abhijeet, Krishna, Ravinder, Sunidhi Chauhan, Richa Sharma and Late Ishmeet Singh Audio On: Frankfinn Entertainment Company Pvt. Ltd.    Number of Songs: 12 Album Released on: 06 September 2008 Reviewed by: Amanda Sodhi  - Rating: 6.0 / 10   Let us know what you think about this review Posters

The first song in the CD is the title track, Sat Sri Akal (7:13), and it is rendered by none other than ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh. He renders this composition absolutely flawlessly. The pitch of the instruments is also very soft, to not distract from Jagjit Singh’s vocals. The use of a chorus, however, is distracting and the length of the composition over 7 minutes. A condensed version of this song without the chorus could have made it more enjoyable. The lyrics are drawn from the Jap Ji Sahib. Interestingly enough, Rahman also presented a composition based on verses from the Jap Ji Sahib in Rang De Basanti (Ik Onkar), which again was quite powerful.

Dithe Sabhe Thanv (4:49) is the second track in Sat Sri Akal and, of course, we are greeted by a chorus from time to time in this composition, as well. Nonetheless, Ishmeet Singh does a nice job of singing and his melodious and sweet vocals bear resemblance to Sonu Niigaam at times. The pace of the song, use of tablas, drums, violins, chimes and flute is also nice on the ears. It is learnt that this is the only playback composition rendered by (Late) Ishmeet in any movie.

Jagjit Singh is back again with Saheb Mera Meharvaan (9:10) and, as expected, he sings this shabad mellifluously. However, just like the first track, this song is a bit long—in fact over 9 minutes. And, the tempo of the shabad, the use of the flute and string instruments is quite predictable just as is the inclusion of the chorus.

Alka Yagnik sings Poota Mata Ki Aasees (6:22) and her mesmerizing voice has a calming effect, almost like a lullaby. Nonetheless, despite it being a shabad, it sounds somewhat filmy diverting one from the bandish of shabad compositions.

Agya Bhayee Akaal Ki (3:40), sung by Feroz Khan, is a surprise, however not too pleasant. The use of the trumpet, drums and cymbals makes the composition sound like a marching band gone wrong. In a bid to create some thing exclusive, the music director Ravinder Singh perhaps got a bit too carried away over-enthusiastically.

Raakh Leho (7:08) is a real treat. We get to hear the amazing and awe-inspiring Kavita Krishnamurthy Subramaniam! Even though this song is over 7 minutes long, it doesn’t matter at all, because Kavita sings this song so soulfully and beautifully. She sings the song with such concentration and seriousness that it is amazing. This is one of the best compositions in the CD.

Sadhna Sargam renders Sache Saheba (4:25) shabad with towering enthusiasm. Although this is quite different from rest of the tracks in the CD, there is not much special about the choice of instruments and melody in it.

Jagjit Singh is back for the third time, this time with Prabh Khando Rog (5:44). This song invokes emotions of seriousness and contemplation. The pace of the violins creates a sense of urgency and Jagjit Singh’s alaaps really grab your attention. One word to describe this shabad: Excellent.

Dithe Sabhe Thanv (4:48) brings together Alka Yagnik & Abhijeet. However, Ishmeet’s rendition of the same shabad is more enjoyable.

Ik Mik Ho Gaye (4:41) is a Punjabi romantic number which is too leisurely for its own good. Sunidhi Chauhan sings in an annoying falsetto, joined by Ravinder. Penned down by Babu Singh Mann, the lyrics for this particular song fail to express anything touching. Is it a better listen than the Punjabi song, Yaara Dildara Ve from Zindagi Khoobsurat Hai? I think not.

Finally, a dance number! Raunkan Shaunkan (4:45), rendered by Krishna, Ravinder and Sunidhi Chahuhan, although not that earth-shattering and as enjoyable as Bollywood Punjabi dance numbers such as Jee Karda from Singh Is Kinng, it is still worth listening to. It will hopefully make you want to go Balle-Balle.

Richa Sharma gets the last track in the CD: Dard Vichhoda (4:14). The composition is just average and lyrics are also average. Nothing more can be said about it.

Raakh Leho and Prabh Khando Rog are the two best compositions in the entire CD. Although the shabads in Sat Sri Akal are an endeavor to fuse and infuse scripture from the Guru Granth Sahib Ji with more modern sounds, the attempt proves to be only partially successful. In fact, the non-filmy shabad tracks by the Singh Bandhu duo are of superior quality. Inclusion of chorus in most of the songs, for instance, is unnecessary. Many of the shabads could be of shorter duration. The combination of instruments is somewhat predictable with little variety in the melodies.

I understand that the music director must have faced limitations in his approach to composing the shabads due to religious codes. With the non-shabad song compositions, nevertheless, Ravinder could have demonstrated more innovativeness. I’d still prefer listening to a Daler Mehndi CD, Singh Is Kinng, Nagadaa from Jab We Met than Raunkan Shaunkan from Sat Sri Akal, and listening to Uddjaa Kale Kawan from Gadar than Ik Mik Ho Gaye from Sat Sri Akal.

Nonetheless, the shabads should appeal to Sikhs and fans of singers such as Jagjit Singh, Alka Yagnik, Sadhna Sargam, Kavita Kirshnamurthy, and of course, fans of (Late) Ishmeet Singh. However, only time will answer whether it will appeal to the non-Sikhs and non-Punjabis across the world or not.