out of

Producer: Tips Films
Director: Kundan Shah
Music: Rajesh Roshan
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri

Reviewed by: Sunder
sunder@indolink.com

By conventional wisdom, there could be a number of reasons to look forward to a good musical score in Kya Kehna. It is a movie produced by a music company, and music will obviously be a key factor hence. Director Kundan Shah's previous movie, though many years ago, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, boasted an impressive musical score by Jatin-Lalit that was marked by wonderful lyrics set to the situations in the movie. Music director Rajesh Roshan only recently delivered a winning score for Kaho Naa Pyar Hai, and along with lyricist Majrooh, has given us many wonderful scores going as far back as the most brilliant Doosra Aadmi for Yash Chopra in the 70s. Weighed against these expectations, the score of Kya Kehna falls way short - being an average score at best. How well this music fits in with the movie will be only reason music could be a highlight of the movie itself, else one feels that the songs may well be reason to give yourself a break when watching the movie. On the positive side, if one may say so, none of the songs in the albums are downright irritating or out of sorts. It is just that they are lost of the range of mediocre or average fare - that one just may miss them altogether.

Of the ten numbers in the album, the title song "Aey Dil Laya Hai Bahar (Kya Kehna)" which is also the only song that merits much credit is featured in three versions and an instrumental theme track. The three vocal versions are all duets by Kavita Krishnamurthy and Hariharan, and their voices suit the moods of the three versions to good effect. The lyrics by Majrooh, especially in this song, is commendable - and so is the tune by Rajesh Roshan. Hariharan's vocals in the softer "Dil Ka Koi Tukda" is particularly worth noting.

Alka Yagnik teams up with Sonu Nigam and Udit Narayan respectively for two duets "Jaaneman Jaane Jaan" and " Dekhiye Aji Jaaneman" that are good to the ears, though very reminiscent of many songs from the 70s and the 80s. The music and lyrics have an old-world feel, save for a little Punjabi influence that seems to the flavor of the times these days. One may not be able to pick a single song that sounded exactly like these songs, but the tunes sound familiar. Familiarity apart, these songs are about what the album is like, average - not brilliant but not bad at all. Alka then joins Kumar Sanu and Sonu Nigam in another mildly Punjabi flavored "O Soniye Dil Jaaniye" that would be described in much the same way as the other two duets just mentioned.

The flip side of the album (and so it is on the cassette), are three duets by Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu - "Ae Sanam Meri Bahon" "Pyaara Bhaiya Mera" and "In Kadmon Ke Neeche" which are little less average than the ones talked about earlier. These are the songs, which if not too relevant to the movie could make good popcorn breaks.

The lyrics in all the songs, but for the versions of the title song, sound like words you have heard in numerous other songs over many decades. Little in terms of novelty or brilliance, something one would expect from Majrooh. But due credit to the veteran poet that none of the songs lapse into any inanities or insanities that you hear so often in the name of lyrics. The same is true for Rajesh Roshan, pedestrian tunes like the crowd thronging the roads of Bombay along the densely crowded pathways. One could be happy that there aren't any underworldly elements in this album which violently disturb this pedestrian crowd, while the many versions of the title song tried alone and hard to stand out in the crowd.