Welcome

Article Updated 02 December, 2007 10:15:12 PM IST

Welcome

Producer Firoz Nadiadwala has always been known for his lavish, star-studded extravaganzas. The music under his banner has been more of the commercial kind rather than critic pleasing. But through aggressive publicity, innovative and exhaustive marketing, Nadiadwala has always succeeded in making his music popular. 'Hera Pheri', 'Phir Hera Pheri', 'Awara Pagal Deewana' and 'Fool N Final' are a few such examples. One just wonders what he will do, if one of these days he actually has high quality compositions at his disposal! Maybe keeping this in mind, he has hired the services of three hot 'n' happening music directors, Anand Raj Anand, Himesh Reshammiya and Sajid-Wajid. So let us check out if the above three are able to do what Anu Malik did with 'No Entry'.

The album is off to a cracker of a start with the 'masaledaar' (spicy), 'Uncha Lamba' rendered by the composer Anand Raj Anand. The highly versatile, jack of all trades (composer, singer and lyricist), Anand Raj Anand, after enthralling the listeners with his 'Billo Rani' ('Goal') is slowly realizing his own potential as a singer and so gives himself a chance to sing this nice, Punjabi based romantic track. The usual rap and the highly infectious rhythm, popular in David Dhawan movies, like 'Bade Miayan Chhote Miyan' commences the song. The song itself is no great shakes, but will certainly grow on listeners, specially after watching Akki and Katrina gyrating to its deadly rhythm in the promos. Anand has a nice, soft voice and does a good job with Kalpana, whose anglesized accent helps the cause. The Punjabi used in the lyrics is simple and thus this song should have a wide appeal.

When the next song, 'Tera Sarapa' commences, one is absolutely aghast so as to why a talented music director like Anand Raj Anand had to so blatantly rehash his own hit tune from 'Masti'. The song in question 'Dil De Diya Hai' . But our fears were unfounded because as the first two lines of the 'mukhda' fade and the super, rocking rhythm takes over, one is simply carried away. The song is converted into a superfast fun-filled, 'masti' dance number, which will surely be greeted with whistles ('seetis') by the front benchers and masses, what with Nana, Anil along with the sexy siren, Mallika Sherawat and not to forget the handsome Akki and beautiful Katrina dancing away to glory! The highlight is the part "Kiya kiya kya kiya kya kiya re sanam", which is absolutely electrifying. Anand Raj Anand rocks, more as a singer than a composer, and this time he has Shweta Pandit for company, and she matches him step-for- step.

After entertaining us with two 'fultoo' timepass numbers, Anand Raj Anand comes up with another one. 'Hoth Rasiley', and as the title suggests, it is another spicy, fast paced composition, with the 'antaras' in traditional 'mujra-cum-qawwali' format, a genre made popular by 'Kajra Re'. So who better than the genius Shankar Mahadevan to render this number? Shankar's vocals suit these types of songs (with a touch of folk to it) and he just puts in everything he can, along with Anand Raj Anand himself, who joins in the 'mukhda' and the chorus. The sugary sweet Shreya Goshal is good as always. In fact, the opening couplets (that borrow from Mir Taqi Mir's "Pankhudi Ek Gulab Ki Si Hai") by her are a pleasant surprise. Anand must be commended for the lovely amalgamation of Indian musical instruments like harmonium, 'tabla', 'ghunghroo' with Western ones like, synthesizer, guitar and drums. Together all these singers have a blast and are able to lift this otherwise average song.

Voila! Himesh is back. After wooing the audience with his superhit 'Aap Ka Surroor', its Himesh time once again, and his fans couldn't be more delighted. 'Insha Allah' is a situational, typical Himesh styled, fast paced track. It does appear quite hilarious in the promos, with Nana, Anil, Akshay and Firoz Khan creating ruckus with their mad-cap and wacky dance steps. But as a composition one expected more from Himesh than the usual stuff that he dishes out. Krishna screeching 'Insha Allah' at high decibles spoils the song further, though he fooled us all, as he sounded so much like Himesh himself! With talented singers like Shaan, Krishna and Akruti Kakkar at his disposal, this song is certainly a let down.

Next up is the undecipherable, 'Kola Laka Vellary'. Despite the weird title, our hopes soar high as this is another Himesh number. May be this time we will be treated to a Himesh special that we have been thirsting for such a long time! But our hopes are dashed once again. The song is very average, the pace very slow and gets monotonous and morose despite Himesh's special touches (some good mix of Western And Indian musical arrangements). It appears that 'Kola Laka Vellary' is just for phonetic synchrony and does absolutely no good to the track, which remains an ordinary composition. Still it is much better than 'Insha Allah'.

After two disappointing tracks by Himesh, it's the turn of Sajid-Wajid, fresh from the blockbuster success of their last film, 'Partner'. Like the title track of 'Partner', this track too carries the mood and flavour of the movie. The comedy element, which is the genre of the movie has been dealt with perfectly through this piece. The starting piece, a la Crazy Frog , is indeed funny and provides the perfect beginning. The tune of the composition is reggae, and this forms the backbone of the whole song. Massive orchestral arrangements like the brass band sounds, the trumpets, saxophone, (giving it a jazz feel) along with lovely use of drums, plates and percussion instruments, all combine together to make this a title song, that should be loved by one and all. All the singers, like Shaan, Soumya Raoh and Wajid himself put in their best. And knowing Firoz, one can rest assured that this song will be made into a lavish promotional video, featuring all the stars.

Just like the music of the previous Aneez Bazmee blockbuster, 'No Entry', which apparently had only one hit track, its title track, and a few decent numbers, the music of 'Welcome' too is a routine commercial fare. And despite the presence of three extremely talented composers, the album is a let down. But it will surely hit the charts as a result of aggressive publicity and above all due to Mr. Consistent, Akshay Kumar weaving his magic at the box-office. Though it will have a limited shelf life, but the commercially (not critically) viable music is already moving up the charts (especially 'Uncha Lamba') and will surely help the cause of the movie at the box-office.

Rating : 7/10

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