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| 'LONDON
DREAMS' MUSIC REVIEW |
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Music :
Shankar
Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa |
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Lyrics :
Prasoon Joshi |
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Direction :
Vipul Shah |
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Producer :
Aashin
Shah |
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Leading Cast :
Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn, Asin Thottumkal, Om Puri, Brinda
Parekh, |
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Rannvijay Singha, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Manoj Pahwa |
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EXPECTATIONS
There are bound to be very good expectations from
London Dreams. After all, it is a film which has a
musical background to it, has composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
at the helm of affairs and brings them together with
Prasoon Joshi from whom one expects poetic lyrics.
Add to that, the fact that each of the earlier films
of Vipul Shah [Singh Is Kinng, Namaste London, Waqt
- Race Against Time and Aankhen] has boasted of
immensely successful music and one can't help but
expect London Dreams to present some chartbuster
tracks as well. |
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MUSIC
Now this one is a full on 'rock on' track in the
offering. Pun intended. After all 'Barson
Yaaron' completely and truly belongs to
the rock genre. With a stage setting to it, it has
some elaborate music arrangements that get the right
ambience on to make it a track which befits a big
screen presentation. Of course, in the first few
listening it seems to be just a carry forward from
Rock |
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On. However, as one listens to 'Barson Yaaron' a few
times over, you do realize that it has a setting to
it which is just so relevant to the theme of London
Dreams. With an unconventional pairing of Vishal
Dadlani and Roop Kumar Rathod behind the mike, 'Barson
Yaaron is also special as it ends with the rock
version of 'Hanuman Chalisa'. Definitely a first and
something which is bound to create frenzy in
theaters for Salman Khan fans.
'Man Ko Ati Bhavey'
follows next and your immediate reaction is - 'Now
what's that?' Then you allow yourself a complete
listening at least because you realize that
everything is possible in Salman Khan's world.
Reason being that 'Man Ko Ati Bhavey' has a true
'Bhojpuri' feel to it with Shankar Mahadevan too
going unabashed in his rustic rendition that never
once slips away from the song's mood, setting and
genre. The rhythm starts working for the listener
after a while and a couple of listening later; you
also start to grasp the lyrics. Just like 'Barson
Yaaron', this one too grows you on after a while and
once that happens, it is impossible not to find
yourself humming it around even when the music is
not playing. A sure shot chartbuster which finds a
deserving 'remix version' for itself!
It's time for some Punjabi music to make its way
into the album and this happens through 'Tapkey
Masti'. A point to be noted though is
that this one is not a conventional 'bhangra' track
that gets into a regular 'aahun aahun shaava shaava'
mode. Instead, it takes a slightly different route
and even though there is a slight rock background to
this one as well, 'Tapkey Masti' (which is also
heard in the 'remix version') continues to give the
feel of the rustic world that it belongs to. Singer
Feroz Khan too sticks to the song's genre and
delivers as required. |
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New entrant Mohan is given the responsibility of
singing the title song of London Dreams which is
interestingly titled 'Khanabadosh'.
He does quite well in this yet another
unconventional tune that brings back rock into the
album. If the initial parts of the song are good,
its 100 seconds down the line when 'Khanabadosh'
really comes on its own. There are multiple layers
along with various twists and turns in the song,
something that makes one listen |
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'Khanabadosh' quite carefully. Some truly
unconventional and difficult-to-hum-around lyrics only make
this song the kind that starts becoming more and more
familiar only after a few listening. That's the reason why
one doesn't quite mind the 'remix version' that arrives at
the latter stages of the album.
For those who were missing the kind of trademark
compositions that Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are known for, there is
'Khwab Jo'. A serene
track that gets into the dynamics of a 'khwab' and how,
when, why and where is it actually a 'khwab' and not a 'haqeeqat',
'Khwab Jo' by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shankar Mahadevan is
an out and out poetic track by Prasoon Joshi. One wonders
the kind of pain that Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy must have gone
through in order to spin a tune around the lyrics. A smooth
moving number that has a melodic base to it, 'Khwab Jo' sees
the fusion of Indian classical with soft rock that becomes
more and more apparent as one reaches the song's end.
The opening of 'Yaari Bina'
followed by the music that follows instantly reminds one of
'Hum Tumhe Chahte Hai' [Qurbaani] . However, the similarity
ends as quickly as it appeared for this 'qawalli' which
again reaches its peak 100 seconds down the line. Coming
together of Roop Kumar Rathod and Milind makes for another
unconventional outing behind the mike. A song that pays
homage to friendship and terms one's life as truly useless
without a friend on your side, 'Yaari Bina' appears
situational and the kind that would aid the dramatic outing
for the film's main leads. |
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Abhijeet Ghoshal gets a solo for himself in the form
of 'Jashn Hai Jeet Ka'.
A rock song with an Indian base to it, especially
when it comes to rendition by Abhijeet, 'Jashn Hai
Jeet Ka' appears to be a passionate outing for the
actor on whom the song would be picturised. A song
about moving ahead in life all by yourself sans any
support, 'Jashn Hai Jeet Ka' is quite 70s musically
though it is presented in a contemporary manner. One
waits to see how the song turns out to be on screen. |
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In the world of solo numbers, Zubeen Garg gets one for
himself too in the form of 'Shola
Shola'. Starting off on a relatively slower note,
it shows a slight jump one minute down the line. 'Shola
Shola' too reminds one of the music of the 70s, especially
with the coming together of chorus during the key words 'Shola
Shola'. However, it's the contemporary setting that helps
the song to a fair degree in terms of being presented to
today's youth. Just like 'Jashn Hai.... ' this one too falls
under the 'wait and watch' category.
OVERALL
First things first - The music of London Dreams requires not
one, not two, not three but at least five odd listening
before it starts growing on you. At first instance the music
seems to be going all over, especially due to the fact that
most of the tunes are plain unconventional and nothing that
one has heard in a mainstream Bollywood film before. By the
second instance one starts wondering if the expectations
were really worth it as you aspire for something more
comfortable and easy on ears in terms of recollection value.
By the third and the fourth instance, you actually start
warming up to some of the songs from the album and give them
a keen hear. And once you are into the album the fifth time
over, you realize that London Dreams does carry some good
stuff to make heads turn. The album won't necessarily take a
thunderous beginning at the music stands. However, the songs
are bound to find much better acceptance if the film
succeeds at the box office. |
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Rating: 3/5 |
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