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The composer of choice for this musical is the very under-rated Sandesh Shandilya. He went unnoticed for his great contributions in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and his new-aged composition in Rules - Pyar Ka Superhit Formula. Only until his latest musical revelation, in the form of Chameli, did he begin to attract some attention. In UKJMH, Sandesh Shandilya digresses a bit from the romantic genre in Chameli, and falls back on the youthfulness of his music, as in Rules…The lyricist of this album is Mehboob, who did justice in his latest work, Yuva. With the hype for this album being very high, as most Rajshri albums are, let’s see if their 50th soundtrack is able to woo the hearts of music lovers around the world… The album starts off on a great note with Shehzaadi. Sandesh Shandilya’s composition is top notch here. He is able to create that youthful/trendy feel and keep it flowing throughout the track. This one will definitely be accepted by the younger generation. His ability to mix that light rock feel with Kunal’s vocals is of high quality. Another aspect of the composition, which I enjoyed, was how he added some violin interludes, a couple to be exact, balancing out the western and eastern elements of the song. The vocalist in charge here is the current favorite of seemingly all music directors, Kunal Ganjawalla. It’s amazes me to see how high Kunal has climbed in the past 6 months. I personally have never witnessed any singer gain so much reputation in such a short amount of time. It’s reminiscent of Chitra’s comeback in 2003. Anyways, Kunal delivers another great performance. It should be remembered that Kunal had sung a track also titled Shehzaadi for A.R. Rahman in the film Lakeer. He was also featured in Shandilya’s Rules. His smooth voice only adds to the trendy touch of the number. In addition, Mehboob’s lyrics are passable. He writes on a guy, possibly at some party, trying to catch the attention of his “first-sight love.” It’ll be interesting to see how this one is picturized. Final Verdict: A very good composition by Sandesh Shandilya. The second track picks up right where the first left off. Shukriya is another song that will most likely appeal to the younger generation. In comparison, the composition of this is just a notch above that in Shehzaadi, mainly due to the difficulty of the composition. By difficulty I mean Shandilya’s need to compose a pure westernized number. He succeeds tremendously with the help of his electric guitar, which creates for a smooth rhythmic harmony throughout the backdrop of the song for both Kunal and new-found vocalist Runa to render on. Kunal sounds a bit like K.K. here and Runa is an out and out hard-core singer. Her voice is very husky and suits the song nicely. Their on-audio chemistry is a pleasure to hear. The lyrics once again are nothing to rave about, but Mehboob fits the bill here once again. Final Verdict: Another hot n’ happening composition by Sandesh Shandilya. The third song featured by Shandilya is Dost. Once again, this track will appeal to the younger generation. The song is on the meaning of friendship. Shandilya uses three instruments that really stand out here: the drums, the saxophone, and the spanish guitar. It’s great to hear Shandilya use the saxophone once again, as he created pure magic with it in the unbelievable track Jaane (Chameli). This song flows nicely and never really stretches any note. For the third song in a row, Kunal takes control of the male vocals and does a good job once again. As for the female vocals, Shandilya uses Sunidhi Chauhan, who sung all the songs in Shandilya’s most recent offering, Chameli. Unfortunately, they aren’t able to come together to create another chartbusting song but her rendition is of class, as always. The child chorus is a good addition to the song and helps build the youthful feel. Mehboob’s lyrics once agarin are just average. Final Verdict: An above average track that will appeal to the very young generation. The next song is titled Happy Birthday. Lasting about One minute and thirty seconds, this song is short and sweet. Shandilya’s composition is nice. He creates a folksy feel to it with the folk guitar and also creates a nice fast paced rhythm accompanied by the clapping of hands. The overall affect of this song is nice and most probably will be accepted by the masses here. Obviously, Mehboob can’t be given credit for the lyrics. Final Verdict: Short n’ Sweet. The next two tracks are a couple to amaze! Both versions of the title track, Uff…Kya Jaadoo Mohabbat Hai, carry a different feel to them. The first version, vocalized by Sunidhi Chauhan, showcases both, Sunidhi’s vocal prowess and Shandilya’s magnificent composition skills. Here, Shandilya is somewhat reminiscent of M.M. Kreem, as both have their way with orchestration. Here, Shandilya really creates an orchestral environment; incorporating such instruments as the harp, the guitar, the violin, the chimes, and many more to support Sunidhi’s heavenly vocals. Another aspect to how this song stands out is Mehboob’s lyrics. About halfway in the album Mehboob shows us what he’s all about. Listen to this piece; no review of it will be suffice to portray its effect. Final Verdict: Excellent orchestration by Shandilya, music at it’s best! The second version of the title piece is my favorite of the album because the songs backbone is the expressive piano, which happens to be my favorite instrument. Sunidhi renders for Shandilya once again and gives us as much emotion and feel as she did in the previous account. The French pianist, Richard Clayderman, plays the piano with such emotion that you feel as if the piano itself is rendering the song in a duet with Sunidhi. Her voice fits the texture of the piano perfectly and they come together to make such simple yet beautiful music. Shandilya does add the violin at times throughout the piece but restrains it in such a fashion that it does not interfere at all with the chemistry between Sunidhi’s voice and Richard’s piano. Final Verdict: The beauty of music lies in the simplicity of composition. Excellent piece! Tum Pe starts off on a great note with Sonu Nigam’s silky smooth voice captivating all your senses. But the true highlight of this song is how Shandilya takes a complete U-turn from Shukriya and composes a completely eastern influenced number. It’s very rare to see any composer rely solely on the tabla to carry the beat/harmony of the entire song. Shandilya does just this, but it has it’s share of ups and downs. The beat is fast paced and creates a nice platform for both vocalists to sing to, but with the song having a duration of over six minutes, the tabla is over used by Shandilya. Nevertheless, he deserves a pat on the back for creating such an eastern influenced song, not just by the tabla, but also by the pan flute and the violin. The female lead in this piece is Chitra, who sung almost all the songs in Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon. Although Chitra is not able to accompany Sonu as pleasantly as certain other singers, she does justice to her role in the song. Mehboob’s lyrics are not as high of class as they were in the title track, but still are above average. Final Verdict: Start’s off great…drags towards the end; Just above average. Jagmag is rendered by Vinod Rathod and Chitra, who really can’t help this song much. It seems as if we catch Shandilya sleeping on the job as he slips back into conventional mode here. Musically, he doesn’t really offer anything that we haven’t heard before, resulting in that heard-it-before feeling that listeners get once in a while with songs evocative of past compositions. Yet again, Mehboob is incapable of writing anything meaningful and gives us the run-off-the-mill lyrics. Final Verdict: Worth one listen but no more! The final song of the album is titled Dekhar Dil. This song picks up where the first three songs of the album left off, the youthful feel. This one will definitely appeal to the younger generation and may even appeal to the middle generation as it does have a very catchy melody and heavy vocals by K.K., Sunaidhi Chauhan, Runa, and Vinod Rathod. The two who shine in this piece are K.K. and Sunidhi, unfortunately they are not paired together. Luckily, Shandilya wakes up and pulls himself out of the rip tide of conventionality. For the first time we see Shandilya use some techno beats to add to the trendy feel, it works to his advantage. Mehboob’s lyrics, once again, fail to create an impact and reaches just the average level for the umpteenth time. Final Verdict: Good dance piece - Good composition. If you are a fan of Sandesh Shandilya, then you know that almost none of his albums are complete without a pure instrumental track. To wrap up UKJMH, Shandilya composes an unusual instrumental piece. Usually, especially for Shandilya, the instrumentals are of a slow paced rhythm and create a sense of relief or relaxation. This one is the complete opposite! Not saying that it’s a poorly composed piece, but this instrumental never let’s down and creates a sense of urgency. Logic would lead one to believe that this is a situational instrumental, but one can’t say this with any authority since there are not any lyrics to back it up. Nonetheless, Shandilya utilizes a plethora of instruments; including some synthesizers and electrically altered beats that catch the listener’s ear. This instrumental will not go down with the classes or the masses since it does not really carry any melody to it. Listen for yourself. Final Verdict: Very unusual. Overall, UKJMH has it’s share of good and it’s share of not so good. Nonetheless, UKJMH is a good album to have for all music lovers. Regardless, this album will be accepted due to its reputation as a Rajshri production. The marketing of the film will further ensure the high sales of the soundtrack as well. Hopefully musical audiences will begin to notice the potential that Sandesh Shadnilya endures. I would probably put him up with Vishal-Shekhar as two of the most under-rated composers of our time. Give this one a listen….trust me, it wont hurt! |
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Rajshri
Films, a name associated with films for the last century. Beginning with Sooraj
Barjatya’s debut,