Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo   Producer: Anil Sharma / Movie World Studios Director: Anil Sharma Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Divya Khosla, Sandali Sinha, Nagma, Aarti Chabria, Vivek Shauq, Kapil Sharma, Surendra Pal Singh, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Rajesh Vivek, Govind Namdeo, Danny and Ashutosh Rana Music: Anu Malik Lyrics: Sameer Singers: Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Sudesh Bhonsle, Sneha Pant, Anuradha Paudwal, Sonu Nigam, Kailash Kher, Karsan Sargathia, Jaspinder Narula, Sukhwinder Singh Audio On: T -Series    Number of Songs: 9 Album Released on: 18 September 2004 Reviewed by: Aakash Gandhi  - Rating: 6.0 / 10   Let us know what you think about this review Movie Review

Awaiting the music of

Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo, one canchr('8217')t help but remember the magnificent music that

Anu Malik had created in J.P. Duttachr('8217')s war epic trilogy

(Border, Refugee, and

LoC-Kargil). With ATHWS being set amidst the 1971 Indo-Pak war, Malik joins hands with Anil Sharma in his third patriotic film after Gadar and The Hero.

Anil Sharma, after working with Uttam Singh in both

Gadar and

The Hero, decides to sign Malik since he has proven that when it comes to war melodies, hechr('8217')s among the elite. With lyrical partner

Sameer set to pen the songs, letchr('8217')s see if Anil Sharma has made the right decisionchr('8230')

Malik starts the journey on a mediocre step. Humein Tumse Hua Hai Pyar has its very few moments. The only highlight it has is the vocal rendition, which is carried out by the repetitive due of

Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. Although repetitive, there is clear reason why, as these two give their best. Unfortunately, that isnchr('8217')t enough to bring this song out of the chr('8216')averagechr('8217') category. Apart from the

shehnai interlude and the piano introduction, Malik resorts to conventionalism, as does Sameer. Sameerchr('8217')s words are worth nothing at all, as they rarely ever are. Verdict: Pure average at best!

Disgust! I donchr('8217')t know what other word to use to describe this bhangra piece. It is really beginning to get ridiculous; as time progresses each director is requiring atleast one bhangra influenced song in their music album! Why? The reason escapes me as most of the time these pieces donchr('8217')t even fit into the screenplay of the film. Anyway, Malik tries to compose some kind of Punjabi influenced

bhangra track but falls flat on his face. Sudesh Bhonslechr('8217')s famous Bachchan voice begins to grind on your nerves as the seven minute long song progresses. The talent of

Kailash Kher and Sonu Nigam is completely wasted and the western infusion was completely out of place. Further, Malik doesnchr('8217')t give

Sneha Pant the slightest opportunity to shine. The best thing this song has is

Anuradha Paudwal, her voice is a gift to this song; unfortunately, I donchr('8217')t know what Malik was thinking when he asked her to render for this type of song, which requires the likes of possibly a Jaspinder Narula or even a Gayatri Iyer. Trying to support the song by the Vaisakhi Dhol throughout the entire piece only adds to the demise of this creatively limited number. The lyrics by Sameer arechr('8230')well, letchr('8217')s just say the song would have been better if there were no lyrics! Verdict: Letchr('8217')s just climb under a rockchr('8230')Yuck!

One breathes a sigh of relief while listening to Mujhe Pyar Do, as it takes a U-turn from the previous torturous track. This song is a love duet sung by Sonu Nigam and Anuradha Paudwal, and flows nicely. Although their duet together is above par, it isnchr('8217')t able to live up to their magical chemistry that was evident in

Choti Choti Raatein (Tum

Bin) and Kismat Se Tum (Pukar).

Karsan Sargathia does a fine job with the classical task handed to him. Anu Malik creates a soothing tune but with a bit of fine tuning could have made this one a more memorable track. With Sameerchr('8217')s lyrics being significantly better than the previous two, he finally lifts himself into mediocrity, which is a relieving sign. On whole, the track is averagechr('8230')at best a bit above the mark.

With Chali Aa Chali Aa I can happily introduce the first appealing piece of the album. The piece opens up on a great note, the sound of a mysterious singer resonating the words

Chali Aa. The reason I say chr('8220')mysteriouschr('8221') is because the singer was not acknowledged on the label. Itchr('8217')s quite a shame as that is probably the best part of the track. Nonetheless, Malik creates a quick-paced rhythm upon which Sonu and Alka play off of each otherschr('8217') voice impressively. With an electric guitar added in the vocal breaks, Malik does play with creativity a little here and thatchr('8217')s what improves the appeal of the track. The lyrics by Sameer are average. With a slightly catchy melody, some nice musical arrangements, and impressive renditions,

Chali Aa is a good track, and may be worth a few repeats.

Mere Sarpe Dupatta comes from the recent Dupatta school of lyrics. With all the

dupatta tracks releasing as of late, this one would have to rank right in the middle. The track opens nicely and Malik does a decent job with the musical arrangements throughout the song. Alka Yagnikchr('8217')s rendition is nothing revolutionary but she is at her usual best. Udit makes a grand entrance into the piece and does justice to his role. The surprise though would have to be

Jaspinder Narula. Only appearing for a very short time, I was pleasantly surprised to hear her croon the classical rendition with confidence, class, and quality! She is a fine singer no doubt, but she outdoes herself here. I applaud Malik for utilizing her to her potential. The lyrics for Sameer are average once again. Verdict: Decent

While listening to the title track Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo, one canchr('8217')t help but remember Malikchr('8217')s unforgettable contribution to

LoC-Kargil. Undoubtedly, this song is the best of the album by far! Malikchr('8217')s musical arrangements are first rate and he uses all his singers appropriately, including Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, and Kailash

Kher. Important to note, there were two other vocalists, one male and one female who lent their vocal

alaaps throughout the piece, which were extremely soothing; but once again those vocalist are nowhere to be found in the credits. After being discovered by Vishal-Shekharchr('8217')s

Allah Ke Bandhe, Kher has proven himself worthy of vocal stardom. Ever since, he has been heard in Shrivastavchr('8217')s

Rang Dheeni (Dev) and Rahmanchr('8217')s Yun Hi Chala Chala (Swades), both of which are exquisite pieces. There is a second part of the song as well, where Sameer writes some fresh verses for our ears. These are Sameerchr('8217')s best verses of the entire album, as he does an adequate job in arousing emotion and compassion toward the soldiers. Yet when compared to Javed Akhtarchr('8217')s work in LoC, Sameer doesnchr('8217')t even live up to comparison. Verdict: Great compositions.

Following is a devotion number by the name of Shivji Satya Hai. This one picks up where the previous track left off in terms of composition. Malik surprises with his utility of percussion. Malikchr('8217')s first rate music accompanies

Sukhwinder Singh and Sonu Nigam nicely. Sukhwinder takes over Kailash Kherchr('8217')s job in classical rendering and does a fine job. Sonu Nigam is definitely not at his best but reaches par. Sameer does a rather good job in writing to praise Lord Shiva. After Shrivastav praised Lord Ganesha in Dev and Rahman honored Lord Rama in Swades, itchr('8217')s Malikchr('8217')s turn to admire Lord Shiva in ATHWS. Yet, this composition is at the bottom when compared to the other two. Verdict: A good devotional song.

The album comes to a close with the sad Dil Rota Hai Baar Baar. If you canchr('8217')t guess who sung this piece then you havenchr('8217')t been listening to enough Hindi music. Yes, this one is once again rendered by the modern Rafi, Sonu Nigam. With all the sad songs credited to his name, this one has nothing to make it stand out. Malikchr('8217')s mundane composition coupled with Sameerchr('8217')s hackneyed lyrics create a bland piece to say the least. Verdict: Poor

With a few good tracks, a few average tracks, and a few sub-par tracks, ATHWSchr('8217')s music really canchr('8217')t help the film get off to that chr('8220')head-startchr('8221') that has become instrumental in the success of films these days. Nothing short of a magnum-opus, Sharmachr('8217')s epic will have to rely on its pre-hype and impressive star-cast, as its music is nothing out of the ordinary. After recent duds in the form of

Dobara, Fida, and Chehraa; Malik is starting to fall behind this year after having an impressive 2003

(Inteha, Saaya, and LoC-Kargil). What should be interesting to see is how Sharma decides to incorporate these rather lovey-dovey songs into his war-epic. Best of luck to the much anticipated crew of ATHWS.