Planet Bollywood
Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai
 
Producer: Manjeet Maan
Director: Manoj Punj
Starring: Gurdas Maan, Tabu, Ashish Vidyarthi and Rajit Kapoor
Music: Anand Raj Anand and Hemant Parashar
Lyrics: Dev Kholi, Nida Fazli, Suraj Sanim and Sham Balkar
Singers: Gurdas Maan, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Manpreet Akhtar, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sonu Nigam, Mohd. Aziz and Anand Raj
Audio On: Moviebox (U.K.)    Number of Songs: 7
Album Released on: 14 June 2002
Reviewed by: Narbir Gosal  - Rating: 4.0 / 10
 
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Movie Review
Public Rating Average: 5.07 / 10 (rated by 414 listeners)
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With music by Anand Raaj Anand, you never know what to expect. He is always inconsistent, sometimes giving us some very enjoyable numbers and sometimes giving us utter trash. Here he falls somewhere in between, some of the songs are listenable, while others are plain boring. As usual he doesn´t experiment and there is no path breaking work here. Instead Raj takes the rustic route and comes up with typical numbers for the album.

Distributed by Movie box, a label from England, it may be a little while before this audio reaches your local store. That doesn´t mean you should rush out to buy it, unless you´re a die-hard Gurdas Maan fan. Since Gurdas Maan has been cast in the film (opposite the versatile Tabu), he also gets a chance to belt out a few numbers on the soundtrack as well. Of his two solo´s, first up is the children’s song One-Two-Three-Four. This song will definitely beg for a fast-forward. The upbeat music tries desperately to grab your attention, but with all the little sound bytes and annoying computer generated music the result is more or less laughable. Maan doesn´t make it any better. At some points he does an okay job, but in other portions he tries hard to experiment with his vocals and the result is anything but good. His English pronunciation is atrocious, and gives his rendition a comedic touch. Lyrics are nothing special either; keeping the children´s theme in mind they fit the bill.

His other solo comes in the form of Ishq Kiya To Jaana, which has music by Hemant Parashar. Here Gurdas Maan is in his element, well at least in the opening pieces. However once the techno filled composition comes into play, the song slowly deteriorates. Actually the composition isn´t that bad at some points, but for the most part, it´s just plain annoying. Gurdas Maan doesn´t help either; he turns this film song into one of the horrible pop numbers he used to croon in the early 90´s. His vocals are passable, at times they sound all right, and at times they are drowned out by the dance beats. Lyrics are not even worth the mention.

Gurdas Maan teams up with Alka Yagnik on the soundtracks best and only good song, Yaara Dildara Ve. The song is a romantic duet with a lot of Punjabi influence. Whether it is the rustic composition or the romantic lyrics, the influence is unmistakable. The flute and Arabic guitar further highlight the background music. Alka Yagnik sings like a dream. The infectious way her and Gurdas sing the title of the song will make it even more appealing. Gurdas´ traditional vocals also add to the earthy feel of the song. Together they fit the love song perfectly.

The title track, Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai, sung by Udit Narayan is uplifting. Nicely written lyrics and Udit´s upbeat vocals make this one worth at least one listen. Anand Raaj Anand´s composition for the song is very typical. Instruments like the flute, tabla, violins and harmonium add to the ambiance of the song. Overall it will find some takers, but only after multiple listens.


The other male solo number on the album is titled Geet Dhun Sur Sargam, and is sung by the always dependable Sonu Nigam. Here Anand Raaj Anand gets a little experimental and looses his touch. The composition is fast paced and relies on a slight techno influence, but Anand throws in sitar, flute and tabla rifts to add the Indian touch. It could have worked had Anand put more effort into it. The main flaw is the congested instrumentalization. There are too many instruments in this song, at times it even blocks out Sonu´s voice. Nigam does a decent job, we´ve heard better from him before and lyrics are passable. The violin completely dominates Tum Gaye Gum Nahin, a sad song sung by the throaty Manpreet Akhtar. Her voice is on the same lines of Ila Arun, Shubha Mudgal and Sapna Avasthi, and are a nice addition to the otherwise lame song. While it adds some appeal to the song, Manpreet does get a little loud in some portions. Lyrics fit the gloomy mood of the song and are well written. The composition is very mediocre, failing to strike a chord with the listener. It sounds like a mishmash of the title track and Yaara Dildara Ve.

Choodiyan is a percussion based celebration song sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and assisted by Mohd. Aziz and Anand Raj. The song is suffocated again due to overuse of instruments. The composition is bland and offers nothing refreshing. Sunidhi sounds good and sultry but out of place. Her vocals are too seductive for the song; she should have moderated her voice to better fit the track. However she still gives a commendable rendition. Mohd. Aziz and Anand Raj make short appearances in the song. Their work is limited to a few lines and ultimately they leave no lasting impression. Lyrics aren´t really noteworthy.

Gurdas Maan may have jumped the gun when making this movie. There is no doubt the man has talent, we´ve seen it in Shaheed-E-Mohabhatt and Long Da Lashkara, but even those movies had some memorable songs. Here the soundtrack is very mediocre. Only the romantic Yaara Dildara Ve stands out amongst all the other numbers. Maan´s renditions are also off in his two solo numbers. However the fault does not completely lie with Gurdas Maan, Anand Raaj Anand needs to polish his composing skills. If he wants to last in the industry he better start composing some memorable songs. It´s not a good sign to be burning out this early in your career, especially when you have several big films on hand. While many don´t even know about this movie, rest assured it´s audio will not help its prospects.

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