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Article Updated 31 March, 2008 11:10:00 PM IST
 
Music Review of Tashan
By Abid ©2008 Bollyvista.com
 
The credit for introducing the talented duo, Vishal-Shekhar to the Yash Raj camp should go to the young director, Siddharth Anand. V-S who were successful in providing a youthful freshness through their super hit music in both the films directed by Siddharth namely, Salaam Namastey and Tara Rum Pum are certainly one of the best musical finds in Bollywood for years. They, along with Himesh, Pritam and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are the top most music directors in the Indian film industry today. The year 2007 saw V-S composing some excellent musical scores for Shah Rukh Khan's Om Shanti Om and music was one of the factors in making the movie an "All Time Blockbuster", thereby escalating them into the top bracket. They have certainly arrived and with Yash Raj's next two ventures, Tashan and Bachna Ae Haseeno things could hot up even more for the talented duo. Now without wasting any more time, let us check out the audio album of one of the most awaited movies from the Yash Raj banner, Tashan.

The theatrical promo of Tashan in Yash Raj's Aaja Nachle gave the audience a taste of what to expect from V-S. The rocking background music, as each of the lead protagonists of the film, Akshay, Saif, Kareena and Anil appear, was simply scintillating and left the audience zapped. The album is off to a wonderful start with its very first number, 'Dil Haara'. Sukhwinder's excellent, robust vocals in semi-classical mould and the awesome signature tune followed by "Wo ho", that rocked the theatrical promo commences the rocking number. Well, begun is half the work done! However, V-S keep up the good work as the mukhda and the antara that follow are amazing too. The reason being, the simple flow of the melody, the Sufi touch to the song, the mesmerizing background, musical arrangements consisting of guitar, beads, plates and drums and last but certainly not the least, Sukhwinder's mind-blowing rendition. It would be unfair not to mention the lyricist here, as the Sufi based lyrics (by Piyush Mishra), which transcend all barriers and simply fill the heart with love and devotion, deserve a pat on the back. The climax of the song is awesome, as the song changes tracks from a soft, romantic number to a totally fast and furiously paced hard rock style (and with that changes Sukhwinder's singing style too) composition. Yes, V-S you have done it again! Excellent number!
Since the meaning of Tashan is style, the next set of dialogues by all the four main artists disclose their style statement.

1) The first of the four is Pooja Ka Tashan and it goes like this - "Sooraj ko andha kar doon. De doon chaand ko chashme. Ladki hoon. Par mujhe pasand nahin. Duniya ki koi rasme ....
The hoity-toity, care a damn, cool confidence of the heroine Pooja (Kareena Kapoor) is easily conveyed through these words.

2) Next up is Jimmy Ka Tashan, which starts like this - "Life is strange. People are stranger. Har sundar cheez mein hota hai kuchh danger ....
The romantic, lover boy image of the lead actor Jimmy (Saif Ali Khan) is highlighted as Saif introduces himself through some nice soft-spoken words.

3) Then we have Bachchan Pandey Ka Tashan and it goes like this - "Ramchandra kah gaye siya se. Aisa ek din aayega. Bhale bure ki jaanch bhi ek din. Credit card dilwayega ....
The action cum humorous image of the lead actor, Bachchan Pandey (played by Akshay Kumar) comes to the fore here.

4) The best is saved for the last - Bhaiyyaji Ka Tashan. Sample these dialogues "I am speaking English phully. Sahi galat ko maaro goli. I am wearing a suit tanatan, underwear ij phir bhi Indian. I am villain of old traditions. Thish my fear fellow ij my Tashan!" Yes, Anil steals the thunder right from under the noses of artists like Akshay, Saif and Kareena with his "tutti-frutti" English, a la Amitabh Bachchan (remember Anil plays an auto-rickshaw driver who makes it big). He is a villain who is playing to the gallery and it is evident with the way he says his dialogues. It will definitely be loved by the masses.

Next up is 'Chhaliya'. The start is somewhat like 'Chamma Chamma' from Santoshi's China Gate. Piyush Mehra renders the first two lines in a strange, intoxicated manner and then the queen bee of dance numbers, Sunidhi Chauhan takes centre stage. It is not a typical dance number, the reason for which is simple. This is a V-S composition and they never do anything that is typical. There are many twists and turns as the track changes from simple melodious number to a fast western feel. The highlight of the piece is the last part of the mukhda, "Na lada na lada, Tu ankh na lada," which picks up abundant pace from the slow start. The lyrics by Anvita Dutt Guptan are situational. Though "chhaliya" (meaning deceiver) is usually referred to males in Hindi films, the lead heroine Kareena is given the tag here.

Lovely, unadulterated harmonium melody forms the background of the song and sets pace for the total dhamaal, masti track, 'Dil Dance Maare'. Please do not be surprised by the title of the number. This is a purely situational track, which should serve as a tension reliever in this action-thriller. However, the lyricist's name does throw one off balance. Well, well, it's Vishal Dadlani himself. It's amazing that he can come up with simply unimaginable lyrics. "White white face dekhe, dilwa beating fast. Sasura chance mare. O very happy in my heart. Dil dance maare." It is a unique number as the arrangements are very modern, the tune purely traditional, the sort heard in nautankis and dance parties of fairs and melas (though English is not used to the extent, which is used here). All three lead singers are top class. Sukhwinder, Sunidhi and Udit convey the masti through some zabardast singing. All these factors combine to make a dance number that is sure to send the frontbenchers into a frenzy.

As if to calm our nerves, V-S have for us a superb, romantic number 'Falak Par'. Nice synthesized rhythm, lovely guitar strumming and superb background male vocals commence the lovely duet, a petal soft refreshing number that will be loved by the die-hard romantics. The once upon a time king of romantic numbers, Udit Narayan is back in full form for his first full-fledged number and giving him able support is the melodious, Mahalaxmi Iyer. Udit renders the high notes and Mahalaxmi the soft, slow mukhda to perfection, and their jugalbandi (joint singing) in the climax is the best part of the song. The flute piece and simple lyrics in Urdu by Kausar Munir deserve praise.


The last and one of the best songs of the album is the title song, 'Tashan Mein'. It is classified as the theme song, as the essence of the movie lies embedded here. It is once again a very complex kind of number, which is difficult to describe. The main gist of the song is Sufi-rock based. The Sufi touch is omnipresent, the arrangements pure rock. Many string instruments, hardcore rock touch through guitars and its variants and of course, the massive drumming and use of percussion instruments make this number par excellent! Vishal and Saleem succeed in giving the right kind of attitude and style through their emotive rendition. Hats off to V-S for the superb amalgamation of Sufi, qawwali, hard rock and folk. The song should be used as a promotional video and as role over credits, or merely in the background. The lyrics have naturally the Sufi touch and Piyush and Vishal combine to make them effective and in harmony with the movie.

All the songs in the album are in accord with the mood and the flavour of the movie and take a while to grow on the listeners. Music critics rate V-S along with Pritam and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, but here they can be compared to their ideal, A.R. Rahman, as they have done a truly honest job here. That's compliment enough for the talented duo. Definitely, this album is a sure shot winner. Even if it has taken quite a long time to be launched (as the movie releases on 25 April), Tashan is all set to rock the charts for quite sometime. A must buy for those who like their music to be off the beaten/predictable track!

Rating: 8/10

 
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