I bought the album at the beginning of the week and decided to listen to it repeatedly to get a good feel for the music. Viju Shah has never had a chance to do an out and out romantic album. In a way this is an experimental album for Viju. Each song on the album has his stamp on it, heavily synthesized and techno flavoured. However Viju seems to have chosen one instrument in each song which comes across as natural, and carries most of the track along the way. The musical melodies have taken a backseat to the percussion based synthesized beats, but the result is very pleasing. Anand Bakshi have done a good job with the lyrics to some of the songs, and are a welcome break from Sameerīs usual and predictable rambling presented to us in each and every cassette! And the talent singing for this soundtrack is very commendable, never before have we seen such a giant coming together of todayīs leading playback singers on one album. The album opens up with the very catchy title track, Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat. The track opens up with a very melodious bridge, but blends in smoothly to a techno infused ditty. The music for the track is excellent, infusing the right amount of techno and doses of the flute, which soars particularly in the second bridge of the song. Speaking of the bridges they are incorporated pieces of other songs from the album, the effect is very endearing. Lyrics are just about okay and build up the mood for the track, they are poetic in portions. Udit Narayan gives us yet another good rendition, nothing more said about him. Alka Yagnik does a decent job as well, but her high notes are a little screechy. A little bit more of the voice experimentation is in need for this lady, her renditions are getting monotonous and boring, she needs more challenging renditions. Never the less this song is set for a long run on the charts. Following this song is the albums first full fledged surprise, Apni Yaadon Ko a jazzy flavoured track which is sure to please everyone! The music is foot tapping, with the piano trills taking the track to another level. Add the catchy whistling sounds and you get a very ear pleasing song. Actually the whistling bridge is used a lot throughout the album and as a result it gets stuck in your head. Lyrics for this track are amazing, expressing the singers suppressed anger, they are poetically bitter but sung very sweetly. Shaanīs singing for this track is mind-blowing, by far his best hindi film playback rendition. Itīs great to see him come so far in such little time. His vocal range is quite surprising, he is definitely a singer who can shine no matter what. This song will be on a lot of lips due to itīs appeal. Itīs a serious song, suited for those who love serious stuff, but the beats are modernized giving it more appeal to the younger generation. Chand Ho is by far the most experimental track on this album. The hollow synthesized beats which open up the track give an extremely creepy feeling. But the sitar which flows freely throughout the track quickly breaks in to provide us with a hypnotizing trill which is present throughout the whole song. The background beats of tablaīs and synthesized percussion are reminiscent of Mushkil Bada from Gupt. The melody of the track takes a backseat to the percussion, but somehow the electric guitar and sitar break free lifting the track. The second bridge is particularly noticeable with the racy tabla beat and the sitar competing for our attention. The lyrics leave a lot to be desired, they are decent but we hear this mushy stuff all the time and there is much better written on this album. Sonu Nigam does a good job and carries the song, Alka does an okay job, but tends to grate on the nerves. Dono Taraf is perhaps the only disappointment on the album. It opens with very serene beats, quickly moving into some synthesized qawalli elements and mostly love duet material as the musical backdrop. The shooting techno beats at the beginning of the chorus and the guitar are futile attempts to uplift this otherwise boring song. The lyrics are decent, but nothing path breaking. Kavita Subramanium and Kumar Sanu do good jobs, but we have become automated to knowing that they are dependable. Rakesh Pandit is reduced to a mere background vocal, and is wasted. When the track ends you canīt shake the feeling that something is missing. The dark horse and my personal favourite on the album is Jab Tujhe Maine. This is the first track on the album which features Viju Shahīs favourtie Sadhna Sargam who does a good job in this song. Sadhna is one of the more under rated singers in the industry, it baffles me how she is always sidelined and never gets full credit for her work. Udit Narayan as usual does a good job, his expressive vocals are a treat to listen to. The lyrics aptly express the first love and are a very refreshing twist on the usual love song stuff. The music is low key but melodious. The guitar and violins underlie most of the track, but the really pleasing parts come in the form of the synthesized percussion in the chorus. It gives a congested feeling, but enhances the feel of the track. This one is a surefire winner! Tum Lakh Chupe Ho is by far the most melodious song on the album. If there is an instrument which carries each song on this album, it is completely missing here. Instead Hariharanīs amazing vocal talent is allowed to run freely and his rendition is flawless. His voice glides like silk in this song, he touches each note with the utmost ease. He is a revelation in this synthesized ghazal-like track. The opening of the track is the familiar theme song which blends in with some very natural and mood lifting music. The shift to the synthesized beats is done well with no flow disruptions. The female vocalist Janki bears a slight vocal resemblance to Sadhna Sargam but is regulated to a background singer. Hariharanīs vocals override the music and everything else in this song. Lyrics are very poetic, keeping with the ghazal type theme of the song. This one is a must for music lovers everywhere. The Pyaar Ishq aur Mohabbat Theme song is an awkward track. It seems that these theme songs are a must on every album these days with A R Rahman making them a fashion of sorts. This one follows the rules of the Gupt theme, Main Cheez Badi from Mohra and the Kambakt Mix from Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, that is a more spiced up version of the original song. The song starts abruptly with a mix of different melodies, this catches you off gaurd and confused. The transition to a techno theme is very awkward and has the makings of a comedy track. New synthesized beats are added at every turn the most pleasing being the short Tabla fusion. Lyrics are kept to a minimum, and Sadhna Sargam and Shaan hardly have time to shine with their vocal abilities as the music overrides any vocal efforts. The song is short and ends just as abruptly as it began leaving the listener confused and unsatisfied! Ending off the album we have our second serious song Main Bewafa, another gem. There is a combination of elements which form the background to this serious song. The electric guitar, the background chorus, Kumar Sanuīs hauntingly echoing vocals, and the fantastic lyrics come together to form a very powerful song. For Sanu this is his first award worthy track for the year, his voice is amazing and the effect given to it in the song is very good. The lyrics are extremely well written nothing surprising for this album. The piano and the flute in the verse add to the serious mood. A great way to end off the album. Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat is one of the more versatile album of the year. Carrying melodious, but very modernized songs, this album leaves everyone pleased. Viju Shah scores with each and every song except for Dono Taraf and the title theme track. This is his most experimental album and although he has used his synthesizer to the hilt (that is one aspect he really needs to change about his music), Viju has tried hard to incorporate some natural instruments (his favourite, the flute, being one of them) into his songs. To help him some of the industries most talented playback singers have lent their vocal capabilities giving some memorable renditions. Kumar Sanu, Shaan and Hariharan have done some great jobs on their songs. This year may not be too great for hindi films but the soundtracks coming out of late have been amazing and this one is likely to join the ranks of the years top five. The film is appropriatley titled Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat, you cannot help but fall in love with this album |
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Itīs a well known fact that come what may, Viju Shah will always save his best music for a
Rajiv Rai film. And Rajiv Rai films always have excellent music! And it seems that with
each album, Viju is giving Rajiv Rai better, more innovative melodies and chartbusters. Tridev saw the birth of the Oye Oye craze, Divya Bharti
was immortalized with Saat Samundar from Vishwatmaa,
Tu Cheez Badi from Mohra is a song that will be
remembered by anyone who lived in this era, and Gupt
gave us the unbeatable Mushkil Bada which was forced on the audience and we
gladly accepted it! Well Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat
gives us a variety of tracks, each individually enticing, and it is hard to tell which one
will be the ultimate chart topping melody for this film. Each song is pleasing in some way
or another, and all songs come together to give us an amazing soundtrack!