Bewafaa Music Review

   When you have a stellar starcast of Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Sushmita Sen, Kareena Kapoor, Manoj Bajpai, Shamita Shetty at your end, Dharmesh Darshan handling the direction reins, Sahara One and Boney Kapoor as the producers and the ever reliable Nadeem Shravan and Sameer taking care of the musical score, you can be rest assured that the project cannot go wrong! ' Bewafa ' is that project that has been in circulation since it's inception, notwithstanding it being an alleged remake of yesteryear's goldie ' Gumraah '. Scheduled to release this winter, it has an interesting catch line - 'When cultures meet', since the story travels all the way from Canada to India.

2004 has been an eventful year for Kareena Kapoor, where she had critically acclaimed performances in ' Chameli ' and ' Dev ', average box office results in ' Yuva ' and ' Fida ' while Hits in the shape of ' Aitraaz ' and ' Hulchul '. One waits to see if Dharmesh Darshan gives Kareena Kapoor her ' Raja Hindustani ' as he gave one to elder sis Karisma. Initial promos on the screen have been very exciting and have already created a stir. One has extremely high expectations from the musical score of ' Bewafaa ' that is pitted to be one of the best works of Nadeem Shravan so far. Let's hear on to see if the claims do carry enough weight!

Udit Narayan is in his natural charm once more in ' Ek Dilruba Hai ' that follows the path where Nadeem Shravan have always tasted success. Sameer's lyrics are sugar coated and the song makes for an extremely humable, immensely catchy and feel good mood. Listen to it once and you are sure to get hooked to it for the rest of the day. Shaan too croons a couple of lines of the same song as a short one-minute solo ' Pyaar Ki Raahein '.

Sonu Nigam comes up with a pop version of the same number as ' Ek Bewafa Hai ' that has an amazing orchestra again, which changes the entire mood of the song. Especially look out for the female vocal that gives excellent support to Sonu after every alternate line of his. The number has a thumping effect and is reminiscent of ' Ek Haseena Thi ' from ' Karz ' in terms of look and feel. This is definitely the best track of the album.

Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik come together for the ' Aksar Is Duniya Mein ' ( Dhadkan ) sound alike - ' Pyaar Ka Anjaam ', that is another very good song in succession after ' Ek Dilruba Hai '. And yes, one is assured after hearing to this that Sameer is at his best when he is writing for Dharmesh Darshan and Nadeem Shravan. A situational love song, it is quite melodious with an excellent rendering by both the lead singers. Musical arrangement is impressive as well and the song makes one look forward to the rest of the album.

A big surprise is in store for Lataji's fans who will get a rare chance of hearing her to a Nadeem Shravan composition. ' Kaise Piya Se ' is a happy song about a female waiting for her lover to come so that she can express her love to him. There are traces of ' Arrey Re Areey Ye Kya Hua ' from ' Dil To Paagal Hai ' both in terms of music and lyrics but that seems just a coincidence. There is more for the music lovers in the shape of the song's ' Instrumental '.

Melody continues in full flow with Abhijeet crooning to ' Ishq Chupta Nahi '. A love song that could also have been a ghazal, it is about - 'There is no use trying to hide love as I have been your admirer since ages'. A soothing number that could well be one of the best soft numbers of this year, it re-establishes the belief that Nadeem Shravan are the best when it comes to deep rooted melody.

One says 'What's that??' when one reads the next song on the CD cover as ' Kehta Hai Kabutar '. The song appears after 4 good melodies and there are serious doubts if it will spoil the wonderful effect the album had so far on the listeners! A fast paced item/situational number that seems to have been choreographed on Manoj Bajpai and Shamita Shetty (who play gray characters in the movie), it does come as a speed breaker in terms of flow of the album after some beautiful love songs. But Ashaji and Shaan do get in the skin of the characters and somehow manage to keep one engaged.

Lataji, Ashaji and now Ghulam Ali saab - Boney Kapoor, Dharmesh Darshan and TIPS definitely have a jackpot in store for them at the fag end of 2004! ' Yaad Yaad Yaad ' by Ghulam Ali saab is eight minutes of sheer bliss that deserves to be heard over and over again. Sameer is at his best as well and one wonders why is he routine at certain occasions? ' Yaad ' is rather long but does one mind that? Doesn't seem so! ' Drum Beat instrumental' marks the end of this rather impressive album that should do wonders for the producer Boney Kapoor who has been having rough times off late. A zippy western instrumental, it should sound mind blowing in a DTS/DOLBY equipped theatre.

' Bewafaa ' is what one would have really wanted before 2004 closes. A great mass appealing album that carries good class as well, it should be soon racing towards the one million sales figure. One won't be surprised if by early 2005, it becomes one of the fastest selling albums of last few months.

' Bewafa ' is a MUST buy for the melody lovers!