Aan Music Review

Firoz A. Nadiadwala spells LAVISH! Everything from mega star cast to unbelievable sets to lavish locations to foreign artists to world class technicians to last but not the least - swanky sports cars! A dream producer to many a directors, Firoz Nadiadwala has been known to have spent fortunes on his last two mega-ventures - 'Hera Pheri' and 'Awara Pagal Deewana' - on the assets as mentioned above. After the success of comedy 'Hera Pheri' and comic book actioner 'Awara Pagal Deewana', Nadiadwala is back with an action drama 'Aan - Men At Work' - yet another addition to the cop movies that have been ruling the roost for an year now. Directed by Madhur Bhandarkar [Chandni Bar, Satta], 'Aan' is the same movie, which was launched in parallel to 'Khakee' and was supposed to have the same leading actors as Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. There were also rumors that the storyline of both the movies was supposedly similar. But as like all the rumors, this too was laid to rest with the passage of time. Also shotgun - Shatrughan Sinha was roped in when Big B dropped out. Rest of the mega star cast comprises of Nadiadwala favorites Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal [also seen in 'Hera Pheri' and 'Awara Pagal Deewana'], Jackie Shroff, Lara Dutta, Raveena Tandon, Irrfan Khan and Preeti Jhangiani. Anu Malik too is repeated after 'Hera Pheri' and 'Awara Pagal Deewana' while Sameer does the lyrics.

With an action theme like this, one expects a couple of love songs, item songs and situational songs each. But after watching the initial promos and listening to the entire album, one is surprised to come across 6 love songs and two item numbers. 'Dil Se Dilbar', the opening number, though extremely predictable and run of the mill, does turn out to be an okay listening after it is played a number of times. Prime reason being the song promos that are being aired a million times a day on all music channels. Sung by Kumar Sanu and Anuradha Paudwal, the song is let down by Sameer's lyrics which are plain mediocre and some very average choreography. Dance steps are least impressive and the chemistry between the lead pair of Akshay Kumar and Lara Dutta is simply missing. Camera is focused completely on the two swanky red cars on display and tries to compensate for this week song. Definitely not a song that will excite people to throng the theatres!

Next follows 'Jab Tak Rahega' which is not a 'Top 10' material but still better than the previous song mainly due to Abhijeet's singing. Anuradha Paudwal is routine again but Abhijeet's vocals make the number worth listening. Both Akshay and Lara look better together here but Sameer's lyrics disappoint again. Typical choreography doesn't help much and this love song settles down to an average category.

While one is waiting for some real action to begin, a la Nadiadwala style, soon arrives a sad song [so early in the album] 'Koi Pyaar Na Kare'. Mainly set to similar tune as 'Dil Se Dilbar', it is a sadder version but unlike other sad songs, it is not short but a full-fledged song by Sonu Nigam. A 'dard-e-dil' track of broken hearts, it preaches about not falling in love lest you get a 'pyaar mein dhokha', it is good to hear if heard outside the context of the movie. But one wonders what is it doing in a cop movie like this where there may not be much scope of 'pyaar-mohabbat' and 'rona-dhona'! And this happens not once but twice in the album when it arrives as a sad duet by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal!

One's patience is answered with the arrival of first of the item numbers of 'Aan' - 'Jugnu Ki Payal'. Filmgoers may remember that both 'Hera Pheri' and 'Awara Paagal Deewana' boasted of at least one full-fledged item number - 'Tun Tunak Tun' and 'Ya Habibi Zeenat' respectively. In the first of the item track here, 'Jugnu Ki Payal' is sung by Shaswati, the voice behind 'Loot Gaye' (Mumbai Matinee) and 90% of the hit remixes of recent times, including 'Kaanta Laga', 'Chadti Jawani' et al. With voice over from Zubin, Tejpal Kaur writes this track and though not exceptional, it elevates the mood to some height due to some wonderful song design by Akbar Sami and Jatin. Knowing the reputation of the producer, this one too is expected to be set on a lavish scale.

Next item track in a row is 'Nasha Nasha' which boasts of international dancers and some grand sets. A zippy number, it is sung exuberantly by Sunidhi Chauhan on Dev Kohli's lyrics. Again designed by Akbar Sami and Jatin, this may be one number which the movie makers may want to hold up the sleeves till just about the movie's release so as to cause an instant impact.

Graph of the album is taken further up with a surprisingly melodious number 'Hum Aapse' that reminds of the 60s era. Sung excellently by Sonu Nigam, he comes as close to Mohd. Rafi as it gets and doesn't let him down by any standards. A love song where Sonu Nigam pairs up with Alka Yagnik, it could have very well fit in a musical love story and it's to be seen whether it actually fits in Aan's narrative or not!

The album ends on a satisfactory note with 'Hamare Baad', which is again, a love song about 'Choose me to love you as I only can make you smile'! Yesteryear singer Shabbir Kumar sings along with Udit Narayan, Sarika Kapoor and Ujjwala and leaves a good impression.

After a few initial hiccups, 'Aan - Men At Work' does well to end on an above average note. Extensive publicity by the producers will anyways help the cause though you can't even discard the fact that there is not much demand of music when it come to an action movie. The songs do sound well when heard in isolation of the movie's theme and the promos of the item songs at the right time may just manage to do the trick.