Om Jai Jagadish   Producer: Vashu Bhagnani Director: Anupam Kher Starring: Waheeda Rehman, Anil Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Mahima Choudhary, Urmila Matondkar, Tara Sharma, Parmeet Sethi, Raju Kher, Annu Kapoor, Lilette Dubey Music: Annu Malik Lyrics: Sameer Singers: Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Shaan, K.K., Abhijeet, Alka Yagnik, Kavita Subramanium, Hema Sardesai Audio On: Saregama    Number of Songs: 9 Album Released on: 21 May 2002 Reviewed by: Rakesh Budhu  - Rating: 3.0 / 10   Let us know what you think about this review Movie Review

The first collaborative work between a fresh director and talented (used loosely in this situation) music director is somewhat anticipated. The excellently reputed output of a music director and hit producer is also anticipated. On all accounts, Om Jai Jagadish takes bad music to a new low. With songs like “Happy Days are here again” and “This is our Love Story”, Om Jai Jagadish takes the prize for this year’s worst soundtrack for a big film by all accounts, leading its competitors by miles!

Were the singers in “Happy Days are here again” and “This is our love story” less interested in singing, the songs would have been quite intolerable. For now they are just plan and simple bad. Of the voices that stand out as wasted there is Kavita Subramanium. How one wishes she sung with the ecstasy that is exhibited in Ismail Darbar’s Devdas. Anu Maliik should take note. It’s even worst that he has used two of Bollywood’s most prolific singers, Abhijeet and Shaan to support her in this stupid song. In the case of

Happy Days, Sonu Nigam, Alka and Udit are insulted. Sadly, they have been wasted in such cases before.

One is confused as to why Sameer has chosen to pen such crazily idiotic English songs. Were it the case that the protagonists were abroad singing the song, with some type of need to sing in English to show that they have lost any type of culture they may have had like most NRI’s do once they cross that border (oh cliché!), (one can’t blame us for feeling this way), then perhaps we would be able to forgive it (but wait, this is

Anupam Kher’s depiction of Indian culture).

And just when you felt it couldn’t get more dare I say, ‘whack’, or un-original, here comes the two versions of the title track. The most salvageable tunes of the soundtrack and what happens? Anu Maliik lifts the tune from Aa Ab Laut Chalen (in the line ‘Tera Aasre’) and the original Aarti “Om Jai Jagadish Hare”, which was featured in Purab Aur Paschim. Abhijeet, Hariharan, Kay Kay, Alka Yagnik & Chorus try to help the song as much as they can. Of course, we’re sure Sameer didn’t think twice before agreeing to take the lines from other sources.

The instant “Chori Chori” begins one wants to make it stop playing! One should be happy that we have that option. Alka tries to save this one with her sensuous singing but is not that the same song we’ve heard in Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahein (and a whole bunch of other Sameer soundtracks). Stolen saxophone back drops don’t help the too slow beat. Boring!

“Pyar Ka Matlab” tries to rise above the normal tune but the fact that Udit and Alka sound like they are crying or trying to reach high notes fallibly ruins the attempt. The song turns out way too normal and definitely exhibits that been there heard that stamp.

And, just when you thought reaching high notes were finished with, in comes the tormented Kay Kay for “Jeena Kya” a disturbing song. The song starts off a little reminiscent of some of his tunes from Aks, with some experimentation that fails to carry the song off because of the loud chorus.

“Shaadi” is another bad song, sung by Hema Sardesai and Shaan. Hema Sardesai is enough reason not to listen to the song.

The theme track is another regular instrumental track, which makes the similarity in Aa Ab Laut Chalen quite more evident.

For a film with as big a star cast as last year’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Anu Maliik shows why his aspirations for working with directors like Yash Chopra and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are far-fetched. It’s a pity that from the previews, the film seems to have that magic touch, but for such a talented man like Anupam Kher, this horrible soundtrack takes all the sparkle away from what seemed like a bright project.