Mid-2005 music report card

By Joginder Tuteja, June 30th, 2005 - 1430 hrs IST



First six months of 2005 brought a wide variety of music. While some got popular and ended up topping the charts, a few others worked with the elite and were appreciated in spite of not-so-flattering sales figures. Listed below are some of the best arrivals this year that made a mark.

1) Dus

Ironical as it may sound but the music album of ' Dus ' is right there at number 'Ek' position of the Top 10 list. A rollicking affair, it was destined to skyrocket at the top of the charts the day its title song ' Dus Bahane ' arrived on the screens. A stellar starcast of Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Zayed Khan and Shilpa Shetty ensured that it wouldn't take much time for both the movie and music to catch your attention. And if one thought that the MTVish ' Dus Bahaane ' on Chota B and Chota Khan were not a good enough reason to grab the album, then it was proved wrong by composer duo Vishal-Shekhar. Because soon followed the onslaught of ' Deedar De ' that has cast a spell throughout the country. Await rest of the tracks from the album to follow and you would be calling for a dance party soon!

2) Barsaat

While the entire nation is dancing to the tunes of ' Dus ', here come some timeless melodies by Nadeem Shravan who strike back once again with ' Barsaat ' after last year's musical release of ' Bewafaa '. Combo of Nadeem Shravan-Sameer-Suneel Darshan does it again after ' Andaaz ' and the music is already carrying highly encouraging reports. While the title song ' Barsaat Ke Din Aaye ' by Kumar Sanu has got him back to the limelight he so richly deserves, one just needs to watch out for all of Alka's 7 tracks in the album. Especially watch out for ' Chori Chori Ladi Akhiyaan', 'Aaja Aaja ' and ' Saajan Saajan ' that get the mood of mid-90s back. ' Barsaat ' audio is touted to be one of the biggest hits of 2005.

3) Lucky

Every frame in the movie's songs came alive with the timeless melodies by Adnan Sami in ' Lucky - No Time For Love '. Salman Khan's presence coupled with the (expected) aggressive promotion by T-Series ensured that the sales would take a thunderous start at the music stores. ' Sun Zara ' makes one skip the heart beats every time it is played, ' Aa Ke Bhar Lo ' had an ' Ae Dile Nadaan' (Razia Sultan) effect while ' Chori Chori Chupke Se ' could have made any girl fall in love with Salman Khan. ' Lucky Lips ' took Asha ji one more step further after she sang for 18 something Sneha Ullal. Adnan Sami's debut album as a Bollywood music composer resulted in huge sales on its release and if only the movie could have been as good, the sales would have maintained a steady progress even today.



4) Kaal

Karan Johar, the producer, proved the point once again that 'packaging maketh a perfect hit'! After tasting success with KKHH, K3G and KHNH – all of which primarily had melody as their backbone – he took a different route altogether by targeting yuppy campus crowds. First step in the right direction was roping in upcoming techno-music wizards Salim-Sulaiman, who got their first biggie assignment for an entire movie. And weren't they just amazing? Title song ' Kaal Dhamaal ' on SRK and Malaika Arora was the USP of the movie while ' Tauba Tauba ' multiplied John Abraham's fan following. ' Nassa Nassa ' by Anand Raj Anand was a good promotional item song that multiplied the craze for the movie manifold whereas brilliantly rendered ' Akhiyan Teriya Ve ' by Kailash Kher was sadly ignored. If ever there was an award for a racy album that started and finished in quick time without one realizing, it has to be ' Kaal '.

5) Zeher

Whenever 'Zeher' would be remembered, it would be for the super hit track ' Woh Lamhe Woh Yaadein '. While initially just the original slower version was a part of the movie, the arrival of a specially created remix video was an instant success all over. ' Agar Tum Mil Jaayo ' was another feather in the cap for young Shreya Ghoshal. After ' Jism', 'Murder' and ' Paap', 'Zeher' turned out to be another BIG hit for the Bhatts and established their credentials as the makers of medium budgets quickies that work more often than not!

6) Parineeta

Shantanu Moitra created a space for himself in mainstream Bollywood cinema with his compositions in ' Parineeta '. The music blended exceedingly well with the Bengali setting of the movie while debutante Vidya Balan's expressive face elevated the effects of the songs – especially ' Piyu Bole ' and ' Raat Hamari Toh '. Sunidhi Chauhan reversed the trend of older singers singing for young girls while rendering for Rekha in ' Kaisi Paheli Zindagi ' while Saif Ali Khan clearly enjoyed his toy-train ride in Sonu Nigam sung ' Kasto Mazaa '. A sweet and beautiful album, it also hailed the entry of talented lyricist Swanand Kirkire!

7) Chanda Ki Doli

Like Adnan Sami, Sonu Nigam too picked up the baton to be a music composer. The association with T-Series that started with ' Deewana ' and continued with ' Jaan ' and ' Yaad ' took a mature angle with ' Chanda Ki Doli '. A beautiful rhyme coupled with an impressive video, the title song is already quite popular. Now one is just waiting for the videos of other songs to follow soon that should give impetus to this album that carries a variety of songs. While ' Mujhe Tumse Milke', 'Tu' and ' Tumne Mohabbat Ki ' carry forward Sonu Nigam's trademark silky melodies, the song to watch out for is ' Chale Aayo '!

Paheli

M.M. Kreem knocked Bollywood doors for the umpteenth time with his melody soaked tracks in ' Paheli '. Gulzar's lyrics only added to the magic while Farah Khan's choreography and Ravi K. Chandran's cinematography made all the songs in the movie a lasting affair. Boasting of rich classical Indian flavor, most of the tracks in ' Paheli ' also excelled in strong visuals – especially ' Kangna Re', ‘Dheere Jalna', 'Minnat Kare' and ' Laaga Re '. ' Phir Raat Kati ' was the most 'commercial' song in the album but sadly appeared as an 'item' number in the movie's end credits. Also, a couple of songs that sounded so beautiful audio wise actually hampered the already lethargic pace of the movie. Nevertheless, ' Paheli ' still turns out to be one of the most honest albums of the year so far.

9) Aapka Abhijeet

Hindi music world welcomed 'Abhijeet Sawant' with open arms as he progressed his way in the 'Indian Idol' rounds. A dark horse to start off with, he soon galloped his way to the winning post with each passing week. The result – first ever 'Indian Idol' who got an opportunity to come up with a full fledged non-film album 'Aapka Abhijeet'. And he didn't disappoint at all. Today, Abhijeet is a household name with superhit ' Mohabbatein Lutaoonga ' and ' Lafzon Mein Keh Na Sakoon '. Other songs in the album have a soulful feel as well that makes 'Aapka Abhijeet' a decent hearing.

10) Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya

A 'masala-mix' for Salman Khan fans, MPKK has some quick-to-serve tunes by Himesh Reshammiya. Agreed that none of the songs are path breaking by any means, but then who is complaining when you could still dance to the tunes of ' Just Chill Chill', 'Laga Prem Rog', 'Sajan Tumse Pyar' and 'Dil Di Nazar' . Result - a kind of music score that would definitely go at least as far as the movie's stay at the box office.

Others on the list

Apart from above mentioned albums, there were some others as well that worked after the movie turned out to be a hit, notably being ' Bunty Aur Babli', 'Waqt' and ' Kyaa Kool Hai Hum '. While BAB had ' Dhadak Dhadak ' and ' Kajra Re ' as the prime contributors, both ' Waqt ' and ' KKHH ' had the right songs for the right situations that helped the album sales. ' No Entry ', that is again an assortment of situational 'masala' songs, could reach the charts as well due to picturisation of songs that are raunchy, funny and sensual alternatively.

Music of ' Mere Jeevan Saathi ' too has caught up at the right time with the movie finally looking towards a July release. ' Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye ' by Himesh Reshammiya had some decent tunes as well but sadly went unnoticed as the movie sank without a trace. 'B' – brigade of ' Black', 'Black Friday', 'Bose-The Forgotten Hero', 'Brides Wanted' and devotional compilation of ' Viruddh ' were some other offbeat albums that were appreciated by the classes.

One song wonders

Some of the albums that got noticed due to single good/popular tracks were:

1) ' Le Chale ' (My Brother Nikhil) - Shaan, KK, Sunidhi Chauhan
2) ' Tinka Tinka ' (Karam) - Alisha Chinoy
3) ' Mera Mann Bhanwra ' (Khamosh) - Sunidhi Chauhan
4) ' Baras Ja ' (Fareb) - Sunidhi Chauhan
5) ' Yeh Jo Saundhe ' (Men Not Allowed) - Shashwati Phukan, Roop Kumar Rathod, Vijay Prakash.


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Amongst the above mentioned list, 'Parineeta' is in a class of it's own and even being listed with most of these titles is an insult. This guy has got to be kidding for him to have listed Parineeta at No. 6

Sanju, it is not what sucks, or stinks it is what "SELLS"!

So these days ALL THAT SELLS IS GOLD!

He does not even mention..Bose..the Neta! because no one bought it! except me

Barsaat just came out 2-3 days ago and is already #2..Wow!!

This list is total garbage. As arsh already mentioned, where the hell is Netaji?

Heyyyyy, I bought it too. I don't mind paying for CD's of real original music, which is why I always buy ARR soundtracks. Sadly though, it's the only CD I bought this year... mp3s rock!

Aside from the occasional ARR album or the surprise minor gem like Parineeta, Hindi film music is a wasteland IMO

Arsh bhai, you are not alone, I bought one too.

I think, I bought almost all of those 10, except Aap ka abhijjet..that I wont.

Chand ki doli..it is really good album..I might?

MPKK..on repeated listening I was not able to CHILL DOWN to buy it!!

These are all different albums, but mostly dont have any qualitative integrity or excellence..except Parineeta and Paheli..rest is CHAL CHALAO affair!! You listen and you move on!