Shabd Music Review


 
  
 
 Shabd , produced by the father daughter team of Pritish Nandy/Rangita Nandy, and directed by Leena Yadav, promises to be yet another hot film, starring Sanjay Dutt, Aishwarya Rai and Zayed Khan. Aishwarya and Sanjay have worked together before in Hum Kissi Se Kum Nahin, but not opposite each other. The film has lyrics by Irshad Kamil and Vishal Dadlani, and is set to music by the duo of Vishal and Shekar. The promos currently featured on television make for good viewing, though there are rumors of some ‘hot' scenes in the film. The producers claim that Shabd is ‘The Year's Biggest Love Story' and the film's by-line ‘Passion brought them together/ Deception tore them apart' implies another love triangle (in the pipeline are already 2 films awaiting release— Vaada and Bewafaa , along similar lines) with lots of unfaithfulness thrown in. For Zayed , after Vaada , it looks like another ménage de trios. The album also carries credits for Keyboard programming (Abhijit Nalani and Amar Mohile) and Rhythm programming (Samrat Bharadwaj and Amar Mohile).

The album opens to Sholon Si , sung by Vishal Dadlani and Sunidhi Chauhan. In this fact racy number, with good beats, Vishal employs his vocal cords well, and succeeds in sounding harsh and coarse, reminding one of some of the songs sung in the past by R.D.Burman, in a guttural voice. Occasionally, the music drowns the words, but otherwise this song is a good one for making it to the dance floor. It's a song of passion and desire, and has a lot of good Salsa or Tap dance like beats. Musical accompaniments are good on the guitar and violin. Sunidhi uses her husky voice very well, to sound very sensuous. The song, along with its picturization, should set the screen on fire.

Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi Chauhan sing, Khoya Khoya tha duniya ke rahoon mein the next number, featuring Sanjay Dutt. The song starts with a monologue in Sanjay's voice, which continues throughout the song, asking basic questions like who are you, who am I, and goes on to describe the beloved. The song is basically a love duet, with Sonu and Sunidhi singing well in tandem. Arrangements are traditional. Sanjay ends the song with these words ‘ Tere samne jo bhi aayega, use tujse pyar ho hi jaayega' . Vishaal has written the song, and the free verses are by Irshad Kamil.

Bolo To again features Sanjay Dutt, while Sonu and Shreya Ghosal do the singing. The song is soft and slow, but filled with love and passion, where the lover asks his beloved, as to what is happening to him. Shreya's voice is very fresh and melodious. Sanjay Dutt's voice keeps advising and warning the lovers, to be aware of what they are doing, finally pushing them to go ahead. There are traces of ‘ Jaane Do Naa, Paas Aao Na ' from the film Saagar . Both the song and the free verses are by Irshad Kamil.

Chahaton Ka Silsila , by Kumar Sanu and Sunidhi Chauhan, is a medium paced song, and again is a love duet. It talks about the distance between the lovers becoming less, and of the lovers coming together. Kumar Sanu's rich baritone voice adds a lot of depth to the song, while Sunidhi shows her versatility by moving away from her item number voice, and singing the song plainly, full of love and devotion.

Mat Jaa, by Sukhwinder Singh , is written by Irshad Kamil, and accompanied on the Bass, Drums and Guitar by Siddharth and Warren Mendonca. This is a sad song, a song of distress and anguish, as the lover cries out to his beloved, not to leave him and go away. Though the Bass, Drums and Guitar are excellent, there are areas where they tend to drown the lyrics. Sukwinder is one of the singers who is blessed with a fantastic range, and can effortlessly sing at a high pitch. In this song too, he alternates smoothly between high and low pitches. The love torn heart is weeping, and Sukhwinder conveys this very well.

Vishaal and Sunidhi Chauhan again sing ‘Sholon Si /The Remix' sung to a different, much faster beat and music, with a lot of English chorus. Arrangements are good, and the song is a blend of Indian and Latin American music. Will definitely make the teenyboppers dance and gyrate, in clubs and discos around the country.

Chahaton Ka Silsila is repeated again, this time around in the voice of Udit Narayan. A very soft song, Udit's voice is caressing and smooth, and makes for pleasant hearing. Lyrics are by Irshad Kamil and the use of some phrases like ‘ Chun Ke rakhlo chahaton ke yeh lamhe, yun samalkar thaam lo pal, dekho woh kho raha hai ' make for good listening and warm the heart.

Mat Jaa/The Remix follows this song, in the voice of Sukhwinder Singh. It starts erotically, with a male in a husky voice saying the words ‘ I'm not going to let you go ', and the song is definitely a song of love and passion. The guitar is put to good effect throughout the song, and the remix is as good, if not better than the original slow number. The background voice adds a lot of sensuality to the song, which is otherwise a song of separation, of a lover's failure and frustration in love. The song ends with some good synchronized music.

The Theme Of Shabd is the last number on this album. A small piece, lasting about two and a half minutes, it is slow and melodious, and puts one in an introspective mood. Vishal and Shekar make good use of the flute, keyboard, and violins, to create a soothing symphony.

All in all, the album is pretty average, in which Sholon Si (original and Remix ) and the Mat Jaa Remix stand out, being racy, catchy numbers, and tend to play riot with your imagination. What must be happening on the screen, you wonder? Khoya Khoya, Bolo To and Chahaton Ka Silsila are decent romantic numbers, but something which one gets to hear in most Hindi films, and there is nothing outstanding in these songs.