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 2007 had been an extremely productive year for Vishal-Shekahr (Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., Ta Ra Rum Pum, Cash, and Om Shanti Om). They've been in the pits with Cash, and they've been at the very tops with Om Shanti Om. Add to it their ruckus super-hit in Sajanaji Vaari Vaari (Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.) and the records set with OSO, and VS have tasted it all in the past one year.
Let's focus on OSO. They have been on a tremendous high the past 6 months, after the gargantuan release of Om Shanti Om's music. Not only was it one of V-S best works, with critical acclaim, it also broke all sorts of sales records, with more CDs being sold than any other film in 2007. The only down-side to hitting a grand-slam (if there ever was one), is that you raise the bar of expectations that much higher for yourself when you come to bat next. Some may thrive off of the motivation, while others may crumble beneath its weight. Let's see how Vishal Dadlani & Shekhar Ravjiani handle themselves in this very fragile position with another high-profile project - the soundtrack of Yash Raj Film's TASHAN... Upon Dil Haara's entrance, you can tell that the composers intend to continue their wave of new and edgy sounds, as they infuse house grooves with rock essentials and drum n' bass elements. The song excels quite nicely in the backgrounds, where V-S find a comforting middle-ground between their two extreme styles: Techno/Club and Traditional/Light-Pop. It is the melody that falters; which is a surprise since V-S pride themselves in delivering hook-lines galore and quality melodic riffs that linger on your lips without end. The vocal and melodic foregrounds can't quite compete with the up to par arrangements, resulting in an unbalanced song. Sukhwinder Singh's rendition and Piyush Mishra's lyrics are both solid. P.S. The track could have done away with the awkward vocal grunts (for the lack of a better term) by what sounds to be Vishal himself - it doesn't add to the creative integrity. The unbalanced trend carries over into the Sunidhi Chauhan rendered Chhaliya. The number opens on an appeasing note with hip-hop flavors in the arrangements and some creative new virtual sounds fluttering above. A V-S favorite, Sunidhi brings her powerful rendition to the plate and plays the melody with ease. Unfortunately, for those who thought that the above number was a one-off instance of a lacking melody (myself included in that group) will be stunned to experience yet another hollow composition in terms of melody. The main lines are filled with filmi clichés, while the stanzas press on your nerves to tap the "skip" button. It's all the more confusing after you realize that VS are coming off one of their more melodious soundtracks to date in Om Shanti Om.
As soon as I read the track listings on the back cover of Tashan's CD, I knew for some reason that Falak Tak would prove to be the soundtrack's pride and joy. And my finesse musical instincts succeed in proving right yet again... Mahalaxmi Iyer, another V-S favorite, always seems to deliver melody-filled, quality music with Vishal-Shekhar, whether it be "Jab Kabhi" (Jhankaar Beats), "Le Chale" (Popcorn Khaao...Mast Ho Jao!), "Koi Aisa Alam" (Karam), "Tu Jahan" (Salaam Namaste), or "Kuch Tho Ho Raha Hai" and "Tum Kaho Tho" (Shaadi Ka Laddu). This time she teams up with Udit Narayan to give us a pure romantic number straight from the heart. The progressive beats coupled with traditional northern flavors of dholkis are a gigantic breath of fresh air from the breakdowns we've been hearing all night prior to Falak Tak. Rarely heard lyricist, Kausar Munir, fills the breeze with a beautiful fragrance of love and purity. Verdict: Vishal-Shekhar show us a small jhalak of what they are truly capable of in Falak Tak. Tashan Mein closes Tashan's soundtrack on a truly wicked note. Hinging on the sounds of rock, Tashan Mein highlights a pair of sensationally sufi vocals by Saleem and Vishal Dadlani himself. Vishal proves himself to be a tremendous singer with immense versatility, giving us a glimpse into his sufi abilities for the very first time. Saleem's vocals are a bit lighter in texture, but reflect Vishal's style very effectively. And could it be? Yes, the harmonium makes its unprecedented third appearance for Vishal-Shekhar! If I sound unusually excited about this, it's because I'm always appeased when composers decide to venture past their instrumental boundaries and toy with new AUTHENTIC sounds (not synth/programmed/virtual sounds). Mix in an electric melody and Tashan Mein, along with Falak Tak, are able to salvage an album that could have quite possibly gone down as one of V-S's worst! The album's producers inexplicably throw in four "tracks" (I use this term very loosely), each roughly :15 seconds in length with a brief dialogue by the film's cast (Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Anil Kapoor, and Akshay Kumar). There is NO SOUND other than their voices, so why bother adding it to the SOUNDtrack? Makes you scratch your head...
Coming off of one of their most melodious efforts and without doubt their most commercially successful venture to date in Om Shanti Om, VS take a 180 degree U-turn to produce an album that has very little melodic appeal at all. Tashan's music however can still hold its head above waters thanks to the title track and Falak Tak. Whether or not the public will spring for another Yash Raj CD is still to be determined, but this clearly is not the start that YRF was hoping for.
Aakash Gandhi is Managing Editor and Senior Writer of Planetbollywood.com. He also freelances for the Asian Variety Show at avstv.com.
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Dil Dance Maare to the rescue...I'm sorry, but no. Hardly will you ever hear VS use extended doses of harmonium in their music, but the harmonium makes a repeat appearance in Dil Dance Maare after it featured in the opening number. It's quite obvious that VS are trying to project some sort of an aural amalgamation here, with the infusion of groove n' club programming with dhols and harmonium. The result isn't anything to write home about. The vocal trio of Sukhi, Udit Narayan, and Sunidhi Chauhan are all a pleasure to listen to, especially Sukhwinder and Sunidhi with their purposefully thick folk accents. Melodically, VS make it a hat-trick of abysmal proportions. It seems as if the melodic juices have just completely flowed out of these guys post Om Shanti Om. Vishal's lyrics are quite hilarious (as they usually are when you try and mix English and Hindi in a comical sense), but he deserves credit nonetheless for fitting the on-screen situation. Verdict: I never thought I'd say the following phrase: Yet ANOTHER incomplete song by Vishal-Shekhar.
The progression of this album only re-confirms my belief that Vishal-Shekhar are much better suited to compose soulful/romantic songs than they are at club/techno numbers. The haphazard attempts made in the opening three tracks goes to show that a solid melody is the single-most important factor in determining how well a song will be received commercially and critically; and nobody knows that more than the two gentleman in question.