Sangharsh

Reviewed by:  Anish Khanna
anish@indolink.com

Preity Zinta once told me that she was begging Mukesh Bhatt to record some very "sweet" songs for what she describes as the "delicate" love story aspect of her forthcoming film "Sangharsh". Although my mind has wondered ever since how the characters of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice can fall in love in this Bollywoodized re-make of "Silence of Lambs", the soundtrack for the film has been released. Preity - you may rest assured. Although Jatin-Lalit's music is nothing earth-shattering here, it is exactly what Ms. Zinta wanted - sweet.

The opening number is the album's crowning glory. "Dil Ka Qaraar" is simply great. The Punjabi flavor, Sonu Nigam's effortless singing, and the sweet, whispy voice of Shraddha Pandit (a member of J-L's family) escalate the number to brilliance. (Again, though - I wonder if Anthony Hopkins and Jody Foster would be able to dance to such a track? Hehehe..)

Shraddha Pandit is a welcome introduction to playback singing. Though not incredibly versatile or powerful, her voice is well-suited to the romantic numbers she's been asked to sing here. Her other duet with Sonu, "Hum Badi Door Chale Aaye", is a soothing ghazal with some of Sameer's better lyrics in recent times.

"Mujhe Raat Din" is Sonu's solo on the album. It is not a bad track by any means, but it certainly is not one of Jatin-Lalit's more memorable compositions. Sonu is Sonu, however, and he sings the song with his usual perfection.

One of the first songs Kumar Sanu has recorded since his battle with a bout of laryngeal trouble is "Naraaz Savera Hai". Mr. Sanu is as strong as ever here in this dark-toned ode to melancholy. Sometimes emotion seems to flow from his deep-throated baritone; this is one such occasion. And just in case you were left wanting for more, there is the more uplifting (lyrically more than musically) "Nazdeek Savera Hai". Welcome back, Sanu.

"Manzil Na Ho" brings together Remo Fernandes and Jaspinder Narula, the hit team of "Pyar To Hona Hi Tha". The song itself is catchy - though not excessively so. Jaspinder Narula never ceases to amaze me. The woman is equally comfortable with typical love songs, folk songs, Punjabi numbers, and more pop-ish songs like the one here. Her energy in "Manzil Na Ho" is almost comparable to (dare I say) Asha Bhonsle. This woman is definitely going places... Remo is very tolerable here (coming from me - that means A LOT). His Hindi diction has improved markedly, I must say, but I still prefer the duet version of this song to Remo's solo (who the heck felt the need to include the Jaspy-less version?).

All in all - "Sangharsh" is nice. I did expect a little more from a Tanuja Chandra project ("Sangharsh" is certainly no "Dushman"), but still - if Preity is to be believed (and I choose to believe her), the score seems to be in tune with the theme and tone of the film. Yes, listening to the album has made me even more weary of the love story between a psychotic killer and CBI officer, but hey - I'll put my apprehensions aside and just await the film's release.