Songs and full credits at the end.
Gehra Ishq has a pleasant melody that makes the song work despite its familiarity, even after it ventures into the even more familiar filmy qawwali territory. Excellent accordion throughout by Mynah Marie; vocals are led by Shekhar Ravjiani with some fantastic support from Shadab Faridi and Farhan Sabri. Aankhein Milayenge Darr Se too features some quality singing from Mohan Kannan and Neha Bhasin but is unimpressive otherwise, lacking a particularly interesting tune or arrangement. Composer Vishal Khurana nails the inspirational sound in Jeete Hain Chal – the tune is quite poignant, and the orchestration grand as befits an anthemic piece. Kavita Seth does a fine job heading the vocals, with an equally effective chorus pitching in at just the right spots. Neerja’s best song though is the immensely heart-warming ode to the mother titled Aisa Kyun Maa. The melody is soulful as it gets, made even more so by Sunidhi Chauhan’s ace singing and the simple backdrop provided by the composer, consisting prominently of dulcimer (Tapas Roy), guitars (Kalyan Baruah, Manas Choudhary) and cello (Jacob R Charkey). Guessing that the track has a flashback sequence, given the additional child-like vocals (Natasha Tejura) and the laado that accompanies it every time.
Neerja. Composer Vishal Khurana delivers two winning tunes in what can be called his first mainstream project (the only other place I remember seeing his name in the past is this Coke TVC).
Music Aloud Rating: 7/10
Top Recos: Aisa Kyun Maa, Jeete Hain Chal, Gehra Ishq
Song – AISA KYUN MAA
MUSIC : VISHAL KHURANA
LYRICS : PRASOON JOSHI
SINGER : SUNIDHI CHAUHAN
ADDITIONAL VOCALS : NATASHA TEJURA
LIVE PERCUSSIONS : NIKHIL KOPARDE
MOUNTAIN DULCIMER : TAPAS ROY
CELLO : JACOB R. CHARKEY
ACOUSTIC GUITARS : KALYAN BARUAH
BASS GUITAR : MANAS CHOWDHARY
RECORDED BY : ASLAM KHAN & BENVIN FERNANDES @HEADROOM STUDIOS, MUMBAI
SUNIDHI’S VOCALS RECORDED BY : KITTU MYAKAL @SOUND IDEAZ STUDIOS, MUMBAI
MIXED BY : SHADAB RAYEEN @NEW EDGE
ASSISTANT ENGINEER : ABHISHEK SORTEY
SONG: JEETE HAIN CHAL
MUSIC : VISHAL KHURANA
LYRICS : PRASOON JOSHI
SINGER : KAVITA SETH
CHOIR : ARUN INGLE, ARCHANA GORE, PRAGATI MUKUND JOSHI, MAYURI M. PATWARDHAN, MANDAR APTE, R.N. IYER
KIDS’CHOIR : OUSHNIK MAJUMDAR, RASHI SALIL HARMALKAR, SAHIL R. VISHE, ATREYI BHATTACHARYYA, ARYAN AJI, SOMISHA ADAK
LIVE PERCUSSIONS : NIKHIL KOPARDE
BOUZOUKI & CHARANGO : TAPAS ROY
ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC GUITARS : NYZEL DLIMA
BASS GUITAR : MANAS CHOWDHARY
RECORDED BY : ASLAM KHAN & BENVIN FERNANDES @HEADROOM STUDIOS, MUMBAI
MIXED BY : SHADAB RAYEEN @NEW EDGE
ASSISTANT ENGINEER : ABHISHEK SORTEY
MASTERED BY : DONAL WHELAN, MASTERING WORLD-UK
Song: GEHRA ISHQ
MUSIC : VISHAL KHURANA
LYRICS : PRASOON JOSHI
SINGER : SHEKHAR RAVJIANI
ADDITIONAL VOCALS : SHADAB FARIDI, FARHAN SABRI
PERCUSSIONS : NIKHIL KOPARDE
TABLA & DHOLAK : MOHAMMED SHADAB
ACCORDION : MYNAH MARIE
CELLO : P. S. RAMACHANDRAN
ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC GUITARS : SANJAY DIVECHA
BASS GUITAR : SHELDON D’SILVA
RECORDED BY : NEVILLE DUBASH @PLUGINN STUDIOS, MUMBAI
ASSISTANT RECORDING ENGINEER : AVDESH JHA
SHEKHAR’S VOCALS RECORDED BY : DEAN PICARDO @VISHAL-SHEKHAR STUDIOS, MUMBAI
MIXED BY : SHADAB RAYEEN @NEW EDGE
ASSISTANT ENGINEER : ABHISHEK SORTEY
MASTERED BY : DONAL WHELAN, MASTERING WORLD-UK
Song: AANKHEIN MILAAYENGE DARR SE
MUSIC : VISHAL KHURANA
LYRICS : PRASOON JOSHI
SINGER: K MOHAN
RAP PERFORMED BY : NEHA BHASIN
ADDITIONAL VOCALS: SHARANYA NATARAJN, PRANITA NAIR PANDURANGI, ROHINI BASU, KARAN VERMA, NIKHIL SHETTY, SHANNON DONALD, THOMSON ANDREWS, CRYSTAL SEQUIRA, RYAN DIAS
RHYTHM ARRANGER: NIKHIL KOPARDE
PERCUSSIONS: NIKHIL KOPARDE, SAMEER MAHAVIR, NIKHIL PANHALKAR
ACOUSTIC AND ELECTRIC GUITARS: SIDDHANTH MADHVANI
BASS GUITAR : SHELDON D’SILVA
RECORDED BY : NEVILLE DUBASH @PLUGINN STUDIOS, MUMBAI
ASSISTANT RECORDING ENGINEER : AVDESH JHA
MIXED BY : SHADAB RAYEEN @NEW EDGE
ASSISTANT ENGINEER : ABHISHEK SORTEY
MASTERED BY : DONAL WHELAN, MASTERING WORLD-UK
