‘Tum Mile’ has only male singers but appeals nevertheless (IANS Music Review)

September 24th, 2009 By Joginder Tuteja Are we going to see a revolution of sorts in months to come as far as soundtracks of Bollywood films is considered? That's because if one looks at the recent album releases like TUM MILE and LONDON DREAMS, there is something in common- 'There is no female singer roped in to render even a single track'. Shocking, but indeed true! Surprisingly, both the films are hardcore musicals.

September 10th, 2009 Film: "Main Aurr Mrs Khanna"; Music Directors: Sajid-Wajid; Lyricists: Junaid Wasi, Suzanne D'Mello, Jalees Sherwani and Arun Bhairav; Singers: Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Suzanne D'Mello, Wajid, Sunidhi Chauhan, Raja Mushtaq, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Bappi Lahiri, Shaan and Neuman Pinto; Rating: ** 1/2 After "Wanted", composer duo Sajid-Wajid returns with the music of another Salman Khan starrer, "Main Aurr Mrs Khanna". The album cannot be considered a sure-shot hit but is decent in parts.

August 23rd, 2009 KOZHIKODE - They have been singing on trains and in other public places to make a living all this while, but now 17 families of street singers in Kerala will find themselves in the spotlight, showcasing their talent on TV. "VKC Street Light" is a new reality show with a difference - its 100 episodes will not have any competition or elimination.

August 22nd, 2009 Album: "Wake Up Sid"; Music Directors: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy; Lyricist: Javed Akhtar; Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Kavita Seth, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Clinton Cerejo and Uday Benegal; Rating: *** Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have done it again. The trio, known for their hit and melodious soundtracks in films like "Kal Ho Naa Ho" and "Taare Zameen Par", have composed another interesting music album in "Wake Up Sid", a Karan Johar film that stars Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma.

August 16th, 2009 Album: "Daddy Cool"; Music Directors: Raghav Sachar and Farhad-Sajid; Lyricists: Prashant Ingole, Aditya Dhar and Farhad-Sajid; Singers: Raghav Sachar, Paroma P. Dasgupta, Neha Bhaseen and Farhad; Rating: ** The music album of the film "Daddy Cool" just has three numbers.

August 13th, 2009 Film: "Fox"; Music Director: Monty Sharma; Lyricist: Sandeep Nath; Singers: Kunal Ganjawala, KK, Akriti Kakkar, Sunidhi Chauhan and Shreya Ghoshal; Rating: ** Composer Monty Sharma, who had created soulful numbers for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film "Saawariya", could not re-kindle the same magic with his latest offering "Fox". The film that stars Sunny Deol, Arjun Rampal and Udita Goswami among others has five tracks.

July 24th, 2009 Album: "Life Partner"; Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty; Lyricists: Javed Akhtar and Kumaar; Singers: Shaan, Antara Mitra, Debojit Dutta, Soham Chakrabarthy, Shreya Ghoshal, Mika Singh, Shakti Singh, Ajay Jhingran, Sunidhi Chauhan, Kirti Sagathia and Kunal Ganjawala; Rating: ** After composing foot tapping chartbusters for Abbas-Mustan's "Race", Pritam has composed music for the director duo's maiden production venture "Life Partner". But the soundtrack is not as impressive as his previous work such as "Jab We Met", "Life...In A Metro", "Dhoom 2" and "Gangster".

July 16th, 2009 MUMBAI - Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif, who is riding high on the success of her recent hit New York, may not be worried about her career graph, but is sure concerned about global warming. "Global warming is becoming a very serious issue.

July 9th, 2009 Album: "Kaminey"; Music Director: Vishal Bhardwaj; Lyricist: Gulzar; Singers: Sukhwinder Singh, Vishal Dadlani, Mohit Chauhan, Kunal Ganjawala, Sunidhi Chauhan, Rekha Bhardwaj, Suresh Wadkar, Kailash Kher and Vishal Bhardwaj; Rating: *** Filmmaker and composer Vishal Bhardwaj had set high standards for himself after the hit music of "Omkara" and he has fulfilled all expectations yet again with "Kaminey". Full of punch, experimental and hummable, the soundtrack of the film is a must hear.

June 24th, 2009 MUMBAI - Emraan Hashmi's "Tum Mile" is stuck not because of date problems, but due to the delayed rains here. Ironically, the romantic movie is about a couple stuck in the 2005 Mumbai deluge and the makers are waiting for the skies to open up.

June 19th, 2009 Film: "Short Kut - The Con Is On"; Music Directors: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy; Lyricist: Javed Akhtar; Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghosal, Javed Ali, Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik, Nikita Nigam, Kirti Sagathia and Hrishikesh Kamerkar; Ratings: **1/2 "Short Kut - The Con Is On" had everything going right for it - famous composers, best lyricist and talented singers like Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam going behind the mike. Yet the music of the film is not as interesting as one expected.

June 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Bollywood actress Soha Ali Khan's "new appeal" and "mature" looks helped her bag "Tum Mile", says Kunal Deshmukh. "I needed someone like Soha who has the looks that still have a new appeal despite being in the film industry, but could also bring in some maturity to her character.

June 17th, 2009 Film: "Jashnn"; Music Directors: Sharib Sabri-Toshi Sabri; Lyricists: Kumaar, Nouman Javaid and Nilesh Mishra; Singers: KK, Shreya Ghoshal, Nouman Javaid, Shaan, Toshi and Sharib; Rating: *** Music has always been the high point of films churned out by Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt's Vishesh Films. "Jashnn" too has some nice renditions, which make the soundtrack something to look forward to.

June 15th, 2009 Film: "Kambakkht Ishq"; Music Director: Annu Malek; Lyricists: RDB, Anvita Dutt Guptan and Sabbir Khan; Singers: RDB, Neeraj Shridhar, Alisha Chinai, KK, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shaan and Shreya Ghosal; Rating: **1/2 After a long time, music buffs will be able to savour the compositions of Annu Malek through the much-awaited film "Kambakkht Ishq". The music of the film, which stars Akhshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor and Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards, is good only in parts.

June 13th, 2009 Film: "Morning Walk"; Music Director: Jeet Ganguly; Lyricists: Sanjeev Tiwari, Dibyendu Mukherji and Nida Fazli; Singers: Ustad Rashid Khan, Shreya Ghosal, Joi Barua, Dibyendu Mukherji, Shaan and Nargis; Rating: **1/2 The music of "Morning Walk", a film that brings together veteran actors Anupam Kher and Sharmila Tagore after 25 years, is not impressive. The soundtrack is by debutant composer Jeet Ganguly, who was earlier associated with music director Pritam Chakraborty.