Sirf Tum

Reviewed by Mandeep Bahra
mandeep@indolink.com

Nadeem-Shravan have revamped their music lately: gone are the old fashioned sounding bongos and over-emphasized strings; heavy, electronic
beats now rule the N-S roost. A very effective use of this new style was witnessed recently in the brilliant "Otashi Anata" from AA AB LAUT
CHALEN. This new revamped style continues with SIRF TUM.

The title track is not instantly appealing, but the exquisite composition soon wins you over. The song is more like a western ballad than an 'indian song' and Anuradha Paudwal and Hariharan provide vocals to match.

"Dilbar" is another noteworthy number for its fusion of indian and western percussion to create a foot-tapping rhythm. The tune is easy to pick up and Alka Yagnik just provides us with another reason to hit the rewind button.

With two relatively innovative numbers whetting our appetites, "Pehli Pehli Baar Mohabbat Ki Hai" comes as a disappointment to our musical palates. We've heard this kind of song several times before with the standard 'love-song' lyrics. The large and loud string section re-appears and Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik are unable to steer the song away from monotony city!

Udit Narayan's "Panchhi Soor Mein Gaate Hain" is okay, although I can't understand why a grown man would sing about such things! This song sounds like it would be better suited to Udit's annoying son, Aditya!

Ameen Sabri and Fareed Sabri team up for a qawwali (surprise surprise!), "Ek Mulaqat Zaruri Hai Sanam". The song will probably go down well with fans of this genre but there is nothing exceptional about this rather lengthy number.

"Uparwala Apne Saath Hai" has Kumar Sanu telling us that everything is in the hands of God so don't worry, or be frightened, etc. I'm not sure I agree with Sameer's simplistic lyric, absolving us of responsibility for the way our lives turn out and blaming it all on God! However, there is no escaping Nadeem-Shravan's infectious tune.

Finally, the obligatory Punjabi-style number makes an appearance in the form of "Dekho Zara Kaise Balkhake Chali" by Gurdas Maan. I've always been perplexed by this man's enormous fan-following. His singing is perpetually off-key, yet he has somehow amassed a multitude of supporters! Maybe its because of the energy and spirit he infuses into his songs, both of which are present in abundance in this number - Melody be damned!

SIRF TUM has some average to very good numbers, but the success of the soundtrack will probably depend on how well the film does.This is
supposedly a remake of a Hollywood movie - these sometimes work (DIL HAI KE MAANTA NAHIN and PYAAR TO HONA HI THA being prime examples). However, with a star cast of Sanjay Kapoor, Priya Gill and Sushmita Sen, none of whom have made any major impact in the industry, the odds don't look good!