Insan   Producer: Keshu Director: K. Subhaash Starring: Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Rahul Dev, Tusshar, Lara Dutta, Esha Deol, Koena Mitra Music: Himesh Reshammiya Lyrics: Sameer Singers: Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Sunidhi Chauhan, Kunal Gunjawala, Shaan Audio On: T-Series    Number of Songs: 9 Album Released on: December 2003 Reviewed by: Rakesh Budhu  - Rating: 5.5 / 10   Let us know what you think about this review Movie Review

Talk about beating a dead horse over and over again. Producer Keshu’s “Insan” reunites the male portion of his last production “Khakee” (minus Amitabh Bachchan, of course) in less than a year. But what’s worse is that the producer has seen it fit to rush the film to cinema halls with little to no promotion and just save their hopes from then. Hence, it’s no surprise that the music by Himesh Reshammiya is no great shakes, not that the three or four weeks they released the soundtrack before the film would have done much either. The music here is a simple fusion of previous compositions and everything typical.

Despite getting the feel that musical composer Himesh Reshammiya, who is doing more than his share of soundtracks, seems less inspired with this soundtrack, you hear the lyrics and think that the situation may have been worse for Sameer. “Rabba” is used repeatedly, “Chunri” (one he’s used with the composer repeatedly as well), is belted out once more and the pyars are in abundance and there’s a song titled “Rain Rain” (you almost expect a Go Away… Go Away in there).

“Rabba Mere Rabba”, featuring three times on the soundtrack as an instrumental, duet and solo by Alka Yagnik, is typical. The orchestration is absolutely nothing new or interesting. Vocalizations by Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan are also unsurprisingly insipid. Of course, there may not be anything dangerously wrong with the song either, but it’s not one you’d likely hit the repeat button on, ever.

The major (and in some areas only) song used in promos is the “Chunri” song, sung by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. For all practical purposes it’s effective. It catches the listener and makes them want to listen to it a few times. I’m sure it may even be nice to watch. However, I’m not sure there is anything else left for it after that.

Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik’s duet, however, holds a little more hope than the others. The song begins differently and is definitely a bit more appealing than the others. “Khwahish” is a pleasant romantic tune with Alka singing better than she does in the other songs. Sonu is also side by side matching her. For a romantic song it is on the better side than others here.

Sunidhi Chauhan and Kunal Gunjawala croon “Is Tarah Deewane”. The song has a ‘Rangeela’ feel to it but that is certainly not in respect to quality. The basic backdrop is similar to the "Theme of Rangeela". Overall the singing is lacking, particularly from Sunidhi. She has certainly sung a few smoother songs than this one. Furthermore the song is just another regular among regulars making it more forgettable.

Reshammiya has become well known for making swiftly paced semi-item numbers with English lyrics. For this reason we have “Rain Rain”, sung by Chauhan again. The basic musical premise is an infusion of what Reshammiya composes well, ala “Nikamma”, “Bardaasht”, “Mohabbat Hai Mirchi”, and so on and so fourth, and while Chauhan does sound a bit better than she does in “Is Tarah Deewane”, the lyrics don’t do much for making the song chart buster material despite its cabaret beat. Ironically, at one point while listening to the song, you wonder, where is Shaan? Well wonder no more; later on in the soundtrack he appears to join Sunidhi in an encore. Shaan offers nothing distinct from Sunidhi’s solo version making it also forgettable.

Insan seems like a rushed product, film wise and music wise. Hence, expectations are low and that could even be minimized further to actually describe the level of attraction the music actually holds. Barring a semi decent composition which is bound to be forgotten amidst the other bland ones, there is little to offer here. Soundtracks like these simply need no elaboration: give it a pass and you won’t be missing a thing.