Bluffmaster Music Review

  
Now this is truly an international assemble for a mainstream hardcore commercial masala movie. With UK band Trickbaby coming together with other musicians like Arash, Aneela Mirza, Sameeruddin with our very own Vishal Shekhar, this 13 track 'Bluffmaster' appears to be one rocking party ahead. Shot as quickie, 'Bluffmaster' is a Ramesh Sippy production with Rohan Sippy seated on the director's chair. Starcast of the movie is the most interesting part as it brings together Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra for the first time along with Nana Patekar, Riteish Deshmukh and Boman Irani. Truly unusual! Now let's check out the music to see if there is anything unusual about it!

All this while, the news around the music of Bluffmaster was that it would only comprise of remixed versions of yesteryear chartbusters and no original compositions. Well, that's not the case as out of 13 tracks, there are only 4 tracks which are from old Hindi movies while a couple more have some brief samples from the oldies.

Mehmood's evergreen 'Sabse Bada Rupaiyya' is remixed by Trickbaby while keeping the original voice intact. The way this 3 decade old song has been remixed with additional vocals of Chetna and Saira Hussain gives it a groovy feel. An additional rhythm with foot tapping beats makes the song enjoyable. The song is currently on air and after a few hearings grows on you and makes you hum it along all the way.

'Say Na Say Na' is an instant HIT from the word GO as it has a distinct UK Bhangra-pop feel to it. A celebration song with lots of 'dhol', what impresses from the very beginning is Aneela's voice that sounds out amongst the crowd and has an identity of its own. An Aneela, Robert and Arash number, the song is one of its kinds due to the overall pitch that the song takes. Aneela has deep vocals and she comes up with an effective rendition while singing 'Say Na' at a low pitch. Its promotion should begin right away.

Interested in hearing a remix for a number half a century old? Then plug on to 'Tadbir Se Bigdi Hui Taqdeer - Destiny Mix' that begins with Abhishek Bachchan talking about the nuances of his profession only to be followed by Geeta Dutt's golden melody from Baazi presented in a modern avtaar by Sameeruddin. Listen to the beats and you would clearly see the clear difference between the run of the mill remixes that appear as a part of Top 10, 20, 50 albums and this version that has, yet again, a groovy feel to it.

After number of actors trying their hands at singing, it is now the turn of Abhishek Bachchan to follow suit with rendition of a full fledged song 'Right Here Right Now'. A song that is primarily in Hindi with some bits here and there in English, it is an original composition by Vishal Shekhar with Sunidhi Chauhan giving company to Bachchan. A smooth sailing number that is neither too slow nor fast, it is middle of the road that makes you just dance along smoothly with your partner in arms. A rhythmic number that also appears as a 'remix', it has Abhishek Bachchan doing a good job with a balanced performance while Sunidhi Chauhan is, as always, reliable!

After an original 'Right Here Right Now' comes a song from the Trickbaby album 'Hanging Around' that has lyrics that go like 'Parde Ke Peeche - 9 Parts Of Desire'. A situational track set completely in a Western mode; it is of the kind that would be more understandable when seen in the context of the movie. It also comes as 'Parde Ke Peeche' that has Hindi lyrics by Jaideep Sahni. Completely unconventional for a regular commercial Bollywood movie, it would be interesting to see how and where is this piece included as a part of the movie. 'The Gateway Theme' that follows next is a short musical piece by Sameeruddin and makes a good impression. It reminds one of the kind of love moments that are captured in Hollywood movies with the help of soothing melodies.

'Bure Bure/Boro Boro' sung in Persian by the Sweden based Iranian singer Arash is a fast paced catchy track with good usage of 'Bhangra' beats in the background. Arash already had a hit with this in Europe. Jaideep Sahni is credited for the Hindi lyrics but one can hardly find any Hindi lyrics throughout the track.

After some 'unusual' tracks comes the remix version of the title track of 'Do Aur Do Paanch' that has been remixed by Sameeruddin. The track has just the first two lines of the original song making an appearance here and there, with rest of the track being ONE LONG musical piece. It is only towards the very end of the track that at least the opening of the original song comes in entirety. A passable track that may appeal only to those who are die-hard fans of remixes!

It becomes a bit of too much when someone tries to plug in the cover versions of 'Eena Meena Deeka'[Aasha] in 'Shayad Meri Shaadi Ka Khayal' [Souten]. Titled 'Indi-Yarn', it is in fact one BIG yawn composed (?) by Trickbaby. Weakest track of the album, it is a big letdown as it neither entertains nor makes you care about giving it a hearing second time around. The makers of 'Bluffmaster' would have to be very creative if they manage to fit this into the narrative of the movie.

Next track to follow is 'Neela', again by Trickbaby, and is yet another extended musical piece that may find a flavor in the lounges. Bluffmaster theme 'Come Fishing' come towards the end and just like some crossover movies has small little dialogue pieces incorporated as a part of the short musical track. There is some wit and humor thrown in this 3 minute track that could be used for promotional purpose but that's about it.

One gets a feeling after hearing 'Bluffmaster' that it tries too hard to be 'different'. Things can be indeed interesting when being 'different' but still they need to be in commercial realms to be picked up in dozens by the moviegoers. For those who love hearing Western pop, the music of 'Bluffmaster' is identifiable due to its distinct appeal. But hardcore Bollywood followers or for this matter even Indi-pop lovers still have some time to go before they are in a position to absorb the feel of 'Bluffmaster'. In nutshell, it is too risky a musical score for a mainstream Bollywood movie score to make a killing at the music stands.