Reinventing the Cliche'. Review on Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi Songs

Have you ever been to one of those singing competitions where everyone was singing a Lata Mangeshkar or Mohammad Rafi and then came one chit of a girl who did a 'Yeh Raat mein jo mazaa hai' with full conviction? You knew she wouldn't get the award but you applauded anyways with the rest of the crowd just for the joie de vivre she exuded while on stage. Vaah...life ho to aisi! blows you away with its unbridled confidence in itself. Its an album with little soul but you will forgive everything only because it never pretends to be otherwise.

Because I listen to so little of the latest Music Releases, I have never heard much of Himesh Reshimayyas work. The last time I remember crooning his notes were from the movie Humraaz. I hear that he has had a hit album this year but am yet to get my ears on that one. But let's move on....

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Teri yaad yaad (Kay Kay, Jayesh Gandhi)

Sufi meets rap meets madonna in this frothy number. On my nth hearing, I hope to find some hidden philosophy or sadness in this one. With so many instruments and singers crying for attention, this task will not be immediately possible. Because the album lists only two singers, the female voice must have been my hallucination.

When Rafi and Lata sang ''Woh jab yaad aaye'' the empathy was instant. ''Teri Yaad Yaad'' is a grand public announcement of the pain within. Maybe it works for this generation. I can only dance to this song.

Pyaar mein tere (Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal)

What happens when you mix an Arabic father with a Sufi mother and cover the offspring in kurta-pajama? This number is as confused as that. You can call it ''Tu...uuuuu....meri mehbooba'' (from some earlier Nigam album) remixed. While I readily forgave Sonu Nigam's highly orgasmic intonations, the lyrics which go

Chashm-e-baddoor mere yaar

Ho gaya hai muje pyaar (Sic Sic Sic!)

will take some time to pardon.

Chahenge Tumhein (Udit Narayan, Shreya Ghoshal)

From here, Himesh Reshimayya enters familiar territory. This LP-esque number, despite shoddy lyrics, rises to the surface mainly because of some wonderful singing by the lead crooners. It is wonderful to see Ms. Ghoshal scale new heights with each album. I got to listen to a Tamil Number by this young crooner recently and boy! she is dynamite! I cannot follow a word of Tamil but was completely floored by this Ilayaraja composition.

Chahenge tumhein bas

Din Raat karenge

Koi aap jaisa (Madushree, Kunal Ganjawala, Jayesh Gandhi)

I am not sure how happening Rock-n-roll is the world over now, but it seems to be happening big time in Hindi Movies.This is the twin brother of Main Hoon Na's Tumhein jo maine dekha. What makes it different is the amazing Kunal Gunjawalla who freaks out and how! With Ms. Ghoshal and KUnal Ganjawalla leading the brat pack, there is hope for Hindi movie music, still.

Koi aap jaisa mil jaaye

To baat ban jaaye sanam

I told you the lyrics are as imaginative as Idly Sambar in a madrasi hotel.

Dil Ke maare (Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik)

I am clueless about why Himesh reserves this bland dish for two very accomplished singers. Imagine having to battle out lyrics like

Dil Ke maare hai

Warna tumhare paas nahin hote

They must be paying lyricists very bad these days.

Hanuman Chalisa (Shankar Mahadevan, Ajay)

It is a raining Hanuman Chalisa. While the ''Hanuman'' version was passable, Himesh's take really rocks! Tulasidas may not be a best seller but still, I cannot imagine why they had to push this piece de resistance to the very fag end of the album. Close your eyes and immerse yourself in this one. The singers leave no note untouched in this charged number. If you will buy this album for a song, this one has to be it.

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This is typical Hindi Film Music. In Vaah...life ho to aisi, Himesh reinvents the cliche so wonderfully that I forgive everything, especially the lyrics, which are downright pedestrian....except for the Hanuman Chalisa of course.