Apne

Finally, it's the title track 'Apne', that has been lingering on our minds ever since the promos of 'Apne' hit the TV channels. A pure raaga based composition, extremely sweet and melodious, with lyrics that are capable of moving anyone to tears. Sample this - "Beete guzre lamhon ki saari baatein tadpati hain, Dil ke surkh diwaron par bas yaadein hi rah jaati hain, Baaqi sab sapne hote hain, Apne to apne hote hain.' Sonu Nigam is absolutely mind-blowing, he sings with such absolute feeling and emotion, that he sounds almost real. All the above mentioned features make this number simply outstanding. In fact, it would not be an overstatement to say that Himesh does an Anu Malik of 'Border' ('Sandese Aate Hain'), such is the beauty of this extremely emotional number. Jayesh Gandhi comes in for the Punjabi part and he is fabulous. The brief number 'Tere Sang' is a part of this number and comes in the antara and is used well.

All in all, Himesh demonstrates yet again (after 'Benaras', 'Kyon Ki..' and 'Tere Naam') that he is an extremely talented composer, who is not just about Sufi/pop numbers. As an album, 'Apne' will go down as one of Himesh's better works that is both commercial as well as classy and the sales will pick up further (after the movie releases). Go for it, even if you are not a Himesh fan!

Rating : 7.5/10