Reviewed by: Mukul Deshpande
mukul@indolink.com

Mr. Romeo, the dubbed Hindi version of the Tamil film of the same name, stars Prabhu Deva (in his first double role), Shilpa Shetty (in her first Tamil film) and Madhoo. As he had done before in many Prabhu Deva films (such as Humse Hai Muqabla and Love Birds), A. R. Rahman has composed an assortment of fast-paced songs which the hero would love to boogie-woogie on.

The album starts off with "Romeo Teri Kismat", a catchy number where the hero is delighted to find his Juliet. A very spirited Hariharan tries to bring a lot of variety in the song. If and when you see the film, watch out for the brilliant Prabhu Deva repeat his extraordinary dancing feat from "Muqabla Muqabla" (Humse Hai Muqabla,).

"Paas Aaja Baalma" is a genuine rural song rendered by the ever so energetic Ila Arun. The song has a regional beat (nice use of the "dholak" here) but loses its momentum in the middle. Nevertheless, Ila Arun gives the song all she can, which is expected, simply because she rarely gets an entire song for herself. It's baffling, however, why Rahman chose such an irritating chorus ...

In "Kaun Hai Yeh Apsara", a host of unknown singers (comprising Noell James, Srinivas, Anto and Chandran) chants a couple of lines and leaves the rest to Rahman's musicians. Rahman may well have omitted the singers and renamed the song "The Jig of Mr. Romeo"!

The next song "Monalisa" is a middling tune that sounds below par thanks to some daft lyrics by P. K. Mishra. As usual, Sonu Nigam tries his best, and as usual, he fails. It's often difficult to figure out whether Sonu is actually crying or singing. Raquib Alam provides background classical vocals throughout the song.

"Machali Paani Bina" is enjoyable for no apparent reason. The music is average and the lyrics are not worth talking about. Kavita Krishnamurthy is very good but her talent is by no means stretched in this song. Maybe then it has something to do with the foot-tapping rhythm ...

The last song "Mil Hi Gaye" is a slow starter but ends up being the best song of the album. The trio - S. P. Balasubramaniam, Swarnalatha and Sadhna Sargam - sings well but plays second fiddle to Rahman's superb orchestration. This is the only song where Prabhu Deva won't have an opportunity to exhibit his proficiency in dancing.

In spite of the substandard lyrics, Mr. Romeo is a must-buy for all Rahman fans. A word of warning though: don't expect a Roja or a Bombay or a Rangeela or a Sapnay or a Daud or a Kabhi Na Kabhi or a ... (phew!)

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