Of star crossed lovers and moony nights... Review on Saawariya Songs

Moody, dreamy, romantic, exotic, opulent, coy, self-indulgent, other worldly.just the terms you would use to describe the music of Saawariya. Much in sync with the nature of the movie, or as it appears from the trailers, Saawariya's music is tuned in to the sensitivities of its director. Following in the finest traditions of the best showmen of India, Mr Bhansali presents a score that does justice to the scale of his vision and his most ardent fans. Every note, every beat has been worked upon to perfection in this album that is swathed in melody from its very first note. This is an album you would play in solitude, with or without your special one.

Now that the bouquets are perfectly in place, it's time to pick some thorns. What hugely dissapoints are the hugely unimaginative https://lyrics. Not entirely pedestrian, but nothing that will get in the wah-wahs either. Sameer dissappoints  big time. I have never been a big Sameer fan but was just hoping that Mr Bhansali would get this over-rated lyricist to pen something different for a change. Mr Nusrat Badr's and Sandeep Nath's average lyrics, in comparision, seem like Ghalib.  What Sameer has done is to cobble up the most cliched phrases and metaphors, the first and last resort of imagination starved writers in India. How you wish Mr Bhansali would try Gulzar for a change. The album becomes predictable as it inches on, the last few numbers harking back to Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas.

Because the mood of the album is pitched low, you

will not see this album playing at your nearest paan shop or disco.the reason why you should buy the album in the first place.

Monty, the arranger, supercedes Monty, the music director.

Album: Saawariya

Music Company: Sony

Music Director: Monty

Cost of the DVD: Rs 160

Saawariya -title song

Guitar refrains, energetic singing, and a wonderful chorus mark this lovely ballad. Mr Shail(Kaun?) is wonderfully competent with the microphone and his yodeling is a throwback to the inimitable Kishoreda. Not another copy but just a singer paying his tribute. Fair enough.

*Jab se tere naina

The strains of the sitar, the dholak, and Shaan'smellifluos rendition get together to narrate the plight of the star-crossed lover. At times dreamy, most times wishful and optimistic, this number seeps into your senses with each listening.

*Masha Allah

Love, longing, and passion come together in the dipped-in-honey vocals of Kunal Ganjawala. Shreya ghosal is relegated to the alaaps. In similar lines as the "Ek Ladki ko dekha" from 1942, a love story, Masha Allah is a song that expresses the first flush of love - the love that is blind to everything but the beauty of one's beloved.

*Thode Badmash ho tum(lyrics: Nusrat Badr, Music: Sanjay Leela Bhansali)

I wonder why Mr Bhansali is taking credit for this one when this is almost a Bairi Piya in disguise. That grouse apart, Shreya Ghosal weaves magic into every note, every strain in this ethereal composition. This is love in its most forgiving and in its most blessed moments. The sense of total surrender pervades every note, every beat. When Shreya wraps up with "mere bhagwaan ho tum", she leaves you thirsting for eternity.

*Yoon Shabnami(lyrics: Sandeep nath)

A throwback to Chaand chhupa baadal mein, the notes of Yoon Shabnami are bathed and caressed in Parthiv Gohil's voice. Without even trying, you are airlifted to starlit nights, mist, dew, and all. Sandeep Nath's lyrics are adequate.

*Daras bina nahin chain

Richa Sharma's husky vocals provide a welcome break, so much like Lambi Judaai provided the contrast in the immortal musical score for Hero. Dipped in pathos and sundried in pain, Richa leaves you wanting for more.

Sawar Gayi

Although the notes are reminiscent of Bairi Piya, Shreya Ghoshal tries very hard to dispel the deja-vu and suceeds because the song ends even before you realize it has begun. More sleepy than dreamy, Sawar gayi is bed-time listening.

*Jaan-e-jaan

Kunal Ganjawala and Shreyaendlessly stretch notes in a rise-and-fall composition. Unfortunately, the crests are too few and the troughs too many. The been-there heard-that feeling continues. When Kunal cries out, "Tum mere ho" in the end of the song, it is an assertion of helplessness than of any strong conviction.

*Pari

This soap-operatic composition, although wonderfully lifted up by Kunal, borrows a little from Yeh Kiski hai aahat but most of the time, is its original uninspiring self. More an ode to the night-time fairy than one who wants to sit up and dance.

*Chhabeela

Just when you were all set to wind up the album and go into deep slumber, Alka perks you up with this 70s-styled composition. Naughty and tongue-in-cheek, Chhabeela is about a lady waiting for her chhail chhabeela, rang rangeela, tang panjama, kurta dheelawala's entry into her life. You almost know by now that this is ditty marks the heroine's entry into Saawariya.

Overall Verdict:In a rating of five, Saawariya definitely deserves a four. It is an album that will leave you moony-faced and with a silly smile on your lips. Next time, Mr Bhansali, can you just be a little more experimental and provide us with some variety - or are we being too greedy?