Planet Bollywood
Anamika
 
Producer: Bhanwar Lal Sharma
Director: Anant Mahadevan
Starring: Dino Morea, Minissha Lamba, Koena Mitra, Aarti Chhabria, Achint Kaur, Prithvi Zutshi, Gulshan Grover
Music: Anu Malik
Lyrics: Sameer
Singers: Anu Malik, Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Krishna
Audio On: Venus    Number of Songs: 8
Album Released on: 18 April 2008
Reviewed by: Atta Khan  - Rating: 3.0 / 10
More Reviews and Analysis by PB Critics:
    • Analysis by Gianysh Toolsee - Rating: 4.0 / 10
 
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Public Rating Average: 5.11 / 10 (rated by 410 listeners)
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How many of you music fans have been disappointed with the year so far?....Apart from Jodhaa Akbar (which should have been a 2007 release anyway!) and a few others (specifically U Me Aur Hum, 1-2-3 and more recently Jannat) there has been nothing to write home about, in fact in many cases the standard of music has been pretty shoddy to say the least. Pritam has taken a lot of flack but other big names have equally disappointed; take Vishal-Shekhar (Tashan) or Rajesh Roshan (Krazzy 4) and more recently Anand Raj Anand (Jimmy) and even the normally dependable Khailash Kher (Pranali).

Now Anant Mahadevan's thriller, the much delayed Anamika, brings back an old favourite in Anu Malik and with it expectations from fans and starved music followers alike. Remember we have not heard from Anu jee since 2006 and what a wonderful return he made back then; Jaaneman and Umrao Jaan were two of the best soundtracks of that year....Anamika is the first of many to come in 2008 from one of bollywood's true enigmas but has the long wait been worthwhile?

It has to be said the soundtrack kicks off in pretty mundane fashion with Saath which is a lazy effort by the composer. Everything from the arrangements to the singing, you get a sense of dĆ©jĆ  vuā€¦.Yes itā€™s peppy but what precisely is a dance number doing in a thriller? Anu Malik sings this one himself alongside a brief cameo by Sunidhi Chauhan but neither ought to have bothered because the horrible lyrics by Sameer put the final nail in the coffin! Letā€™s quickly move onā€¦

(Note Saath Remix is a minor improvement over the original).


Shagufta Dil definitely has an ā€˜Anu Malikā€™ ring to it, that melody is undoubtedly pleasant but one must query its origins because it certainly doesnā€™t sound fresh! Another peppy dance track, this one exhibits a Latin / Spanish flavour in the second half and that is some relief because at 7 mins in length, the song is far too long to hold your attention! Unfortunately Shaanā€™s singing does not carry the necessary impact here, he sounds uninspired by the music and the lyrics and who can blame him? Passable at best!

Shagufta Dil Remix by Jatin Sharma is more upbeat than the original but nothing special.

And if truth be told, we may as well stop there because the rest of the soundtrack is about as pointless and uninteresting as I have heard in a long time! Aashiqui (sung by Shaan) is Anuā€™s poor attempt at a love song but will most likely test your patienceā€¦.Aayo Re (sung by Sunidhi Chauhan) is equally forgettable for sounding incredibly unoriginal and Laage Laage (sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Krishna) is on the verge of embarrassing the composer! And to rub salt into the wounds Anu gives us a remix version of Aayo Reā€¦are we supposed to be grateful for that?

Anamika follows the current trend of bollywood music that is devoid of quality on practically all fronts and it's more disappointing for this reviewer as it marks the return of Anu Malik, someone who could have turned the tide for us music fans. Unfortunately his music does not convey any theme befitting that of the movieā€¦However one should not rule out the composer just yet as he has a number of other projects in 2008 which could show his true potential again (including Woodstock Villa and Love Story 2048). Until then if you feel starved of quality music you can always try some of the fabulous sounds from solo composers such as "Raghu Dixit" (his new abum is one of the must listens of the year!) and "Fuzon; The Journey"- collectively these artists are outdoing their bollywood counterparts. Anamika on the other hand is the sort of soundtrack that makes you want to shout ā€œCome back Pritam / Himesh, all is forgiven!ā€ And that can't be a good thing!

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