Atif Aslam is not my fav singer. In fact I hate his singing in many songs. Post his Jal days that is. But there have been occasions that I had to grudgingly admit to liking his singing. Piya O Re Piya is one such. Strong flavours of past songs, especially of the Pritam kind, but the endearing quality of the song remains, and the contrast in Atif and Shreya’s styles makes for a nice combo here. Even the short, lighter-on-orchestration Sad version works, the lyricist Priya Panchal replacing Shreya and doing a wonderful job herself. The remix by DJ Suketu is listenable. The devout sound in Jeene De is fabulously done, the use of oud/saaz one of the highlights. Mohit Chauhan is perfect choice for vocals, though his presence coupled with parts of the arrangement does bring to mind songs like Pee Loon. The song gets a fresh makeover in the Coffee House Version.
In Pee Paa Sachin Jigar manage to present a techno Punjabi song without invoking the tedium frequently inherent with the genre of late, thanks to a quirky arrangement and a very exuberant Diljit Dosanjh on the vocals. The other folksy item number, Fann Ban Gayi, might have ended up a sub-par product if not for the interesting jazz-up job done by the composers and more importantly the singing by Sunidhi Chauhan. Her accent is especially killer here rendering the whacky lyrics, with Kailash Kher seconding quite nicely. This should make a hit video. Both the tracks have remixes done by VIP Records – the first one doesn’t work much, but the second is pretty imaginative with some sargam elements et al thrown in. Atif Aslam returns, joined by Monali Thakur and Priya Panchal for a second track, the last song – Tu Mohabbat Hai. The only song in the soundtrack that feels truly commonplace. And yes here the nasality of Atif did come back to annoy me! DJ Suketu’s Remix works as well as the original.
Not the best quality work from the composer duo, what with the borrowed elements and all, but an engaging product in the end.
Music Aloud Rating: 7/10
Top Recos: Piya O Re Piya, Jeene De, Fann Ban Gayi
this is my voice