Kurbaan (Music) - A great soundtrack from Salim/Sulaiman

Movie - Kurbaan (Hindi)
Director - Rensil D'Silva
Producer - Karan Johar
Cast - Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, Dia Mirza, Kirron Kher, Om Puri
Music - Salim/Sulaiman
Lyrics - Prasoon Joshi
Cinematography - Hemant Chaturvedi
Singers - Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Salim Merchant, Sukhwinder Singh, Kailash Kher, Marianne D'Cruz, Shruthi Pathak, Vishal Dadlani
Story - Karan Johar, Rensil D'Silva
Screenplay - Rensil D'Silva
Dialogues - Anurag Kashyap, Niranjan Iyengar
Release Date - 20th November 2009




Kurbaan drew great responses when the posters first came out itself. It had the current hot jodi of Saif and Kareena in a very sensous pose with Saif bleeding from his chest, and the tagline, 'Some love stories have blood written on them'. It also draws expectation because it is produced by Karan Johar, and distributed by UTV Motion Pictures, both reputed producers themselves. The director is first timer Rensil D'Silva, who was also the writer of the cult classic, Rang De Basanti.  The cast also includes Vivek Oberoi acting in a promising film after a long long time. The music is by Salim Sulaiman who gave 2 great soundtracks last year (Fashion, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi) and are slowly turning into much sought after composers. The lyrics are by Prasoon Joshi who is currently on a high after winning the National Award for best lyricist for his work in Taare Zameen Par. But since it is a serious film based on terrorism, you are skeptical about the kind of music that the film will have. You know that the usual kind of music you get to hear in Karan Johar productions wont be there in this one. 


The album opens with 'Shukran Allah' by Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and Salim Merchant and you are hooked instanty. The chorus in the beginning by Salim Merchant reminds you of 'Subhan Allah' in Fanaa (which was suggested by Salim/Sulaiman themselves to Jatin-Lalit during the composing of that song). But the reason for this song being lovely is none other than Sonu Nigam. He is not featured regularly these days in film songs, but when he does, he leaves you under a spell. His silky voice does magic on the listeners of this beautiful composition. When Shreya Ghoshal joins him, the magnitude of the magic increases much more. But she sings only for a small part in this song. One wishes that he could hear more from her voice in this song. But since its Sonu who sings majority of the song, one doesnt complain as well. Prasoon Joshi is certainly the best lyric writer we have after Gulzar Saab and Javed Akhtar. He pens some beautiful lines also for the wonderfully romantic song. A beautiful song, sure to stay with you for a long long time. (4.5/5)


Kailash Kher and Sukhwinder Singh are an interesting combination. Last time they came together, a deadly track called 'Fatak' (Kaminey) came into being. Here, they sing 'Dua Hai' along with some English portions by Marianne D'Cruz. While Kailash brings the rusticity, Sukhwinder takes care of the energy. The composition is interesting with some nice beats and good use of the great vocals by both these wonderful singers. It has shades of sufi and qawwali styles as well. The 'Dua Hai' portion is very appealing and the song sounds like one that is played during a celebration. The English parts sound repetitive and could have been avoided. A good, groovy track with great vocals. (3/5)


'Ali Maula' by Salim Merchant is a spiritual track that could very well be the soul of the movie. Just like their own composition 'Maula Mere Le Le Meri Jaan' from Chak De! India, this one also has a haunting tune and has the Salim/Sulaiman signature all over it. The lyrics are quite heavy on Urdu, and may not be easy to comprehend for a layman. The track should work very well in the movie as it goes very much in sync with the theme of the movie. A brilliant composition of a great song, rendered perfectly by Salim Merchant. (4/5)


Shruthi Pathak who did an excellent job in 'Mar Jawaan' (Fashion) and 'Payaliya' (Dev.D) croons 'Rasiya'. The song is a completely sensual track about love-making. The song has an ethnic feel and also oozes sensuality. Shruthi Pathak does a wonderful job singing in a low husky voice and shifts the pitch of her voice perfectly. The lyrics by Prasoon Joshi are truly poetic and romantic at the same time. A situational track that would appear most probably during a love making scene of the lead pair in the movie. (4/5)


Next up is the theme track of the movie, 'Kurbaan Hua' by Vishal Dadlani. We all know that Vishal is the owner of a powerful voice which is utilized to full effect in this song. This track gets your immediate attention and before you know it, you are in love with this semi-rock track. Vishal goes all out and belts out the track in an electrifying manner. The lyrics also add a lot of value to this song. But the most appealing is certainly Vishal's delivery. He has already given some amazing tracks this year like 'Dhan Te Nan' (Kaminey) and 'You May Be' (Aladin). This track is yet another feather on his cap. This song can certainly find a place in the action scenes of the movie and also serve as the theme track which can be played at various points in the narrative. It is certainly the best track of the album, along with 'Shukran Allah'. (4.5/5)


Kurbaan is one of the best albums that have come out this year and certainly one of the best works of Salim/Sulaiman. It has a mix of romantic, sensuous, festive, spiritual and action packed songs, all of which work very well. The songs should become more popular once the movie gets released. As of now, 'Shukran Allah' and 'Kurbaan Hua' have already become very popular through the promos that are on air now. The album also has an okay-okay remix version of the track 'Ali Maula'. On the whole, Kurbaan has a very satisfying musical score. Looking forward to the movie now. 


Rating - 4/5

De Dana Dan (Music) - A very ordinary album from Pritam after a series of chartbusters..

Movie - De Dana Dan (Hindi)
Director - Priyadarshan
Producer - Ganesh Jain, Girish Jain, Ratan Jain
Cast - Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Katrina Kaif, Sameera Reddy, Johnny Lever, Chunkey Pandey, Neha Dhupia, Archana Puran Singh, Rajpal Yadav
Music - Pritam, RDB, Ad Boys
Lyrics - Sayeed Quadri, RDB, Manak-E, Selina, Ashish Pandit, Irshaad Kamil, Neeraj Sridhar and Sameer
Cinematography - K Ahambaram
Art Direction - Sabu Cyril
Singers - Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Suzanne D'Mello, RDB, Manak-E, Selina, Javed Ali, Banjyotsna, Mika Singh, Dominique Cerejo, Style Bhai, Sunidhi Chauhan, Ad Boys, Kunal Ganjawala, Kalpana Patwari
Background Score - Salim/Sulaiman
Release Date - 27th November 2009



Pritam has been giving back to back superhits this year. I've done reviews of two of his hit albums within the last month itself. De Dana Dan is yet another album from Pritam where he teams up with hitmaker Priyadarshan. They have had a successful combination and have given hit soundtracks like Garam Masala, Bhagam Bhag and Billu before. The movie is sure to be an out and out comedy which would need some foot-tapping songs to go with the proceedings. Pritam is also joined by guest composers like RDB and Ad Boys in this soundtrack.


The first track is 'Rishte Naate' written by Sayeed Quadri and performed by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Suzanne D'Mello. We expect the album to open with a chartbuster fast number, but the first track is a nice romantic track in the amazing sufi voice of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The song opens with random English lyrics by Suzanne D'Mello, something which has become a staple item on each and every romantic song these days. (Remember the English parts in Dont Say Alvida from MAMK?). From the time Rahat's voice comes in, the song becomes beautiful. You dont really mind the English lyrics after that, since you know that Rahat is singing the rest of the song. A melodious tune with some nice lines, sung well by Rahat, that is this song. The English lyrics come again towards the end of the song. If that wasnt there, this song would have been better. On the whole, its a very nice romantic song, pretty much like 'Tere Bin' in Bhagam Bhag, from the same team of Priyadarshan, Pritam and Akshay. (4/5)


'Paisa' begins with a new kind of voice going 'Kya baat hai, kya cheez hai paisa'. The song has music by RDB and is performed and written by Manak-E, Selina and RDB. The instrumental backing reminds you of Usher's 'Yeah!'. The high-pitched male vocals by Manak-E is pure Punjabi and has got that rustic feel, but it puts you off after a point. I didnt find this song appealing, though the video that is out on air now is generating a good buzz. I usually liked the combination of RDB and Akshay, whether it was 'Rafta Rafta' in Namastey London or the Snoop Dogg version of Singh Is Kinng, but this one let me down. And since I dont follow Punjabi very much, I couldnt understand the lyrics also properly. I seriously hope this song is there just as a promotional track for the movie. (1.5/5)


'Gale Lag Jaa' is a welcome relief after the high frequency vocals in 'Paisa'. It is written by Ashish Pandit and has vocals by Javed Ali and a new singer Banjyotsna. It is a typical Pritam composition of a slow romantic number. Pritam experiments with his guitar skills on this song too, right from the beginning of the song. Javed Ali's voice is soothing and Banjyotsna sounds a lot like Alisha Chinoi. The guitar interludes are the most impressive parts of this song. Priyadarshan is an Ustad at picturizing songs and I'm sure he'll do a great job with this one as well. On the whole, 'Gale Lag Jaa' is yet another good romantic number in the album. (3.5/5)


I dont know what is the meaning of the word, 'Baamulaiza', that too coming from a great writer like Irshaad Kamil, I found it weird. The song sounds like a party song by Vengaboys, but with vocals by Mika Singh. There is nothing worth remembering about the song and I'm quite sure that this song would easily be forgotten once the movie goes out of theatres. A very ordinary song in all respects. (2/5)


'Hotty Naughty' has lyrics by ace singer Neeraj Sridhar and vocals by Sunidhi Chauhan. You can guess that it is an item number by seeing the name of the track itself. And Surprise, Surprise!!, it IS an item number. It has all sorts of weird lyrics like 'You wanna feel me, touch me , hold me now. I'm hotty naughty babe in town'. You cant help but laugh at lyrics like this. Only a Salman Khan or a Govinda can make such lyrics sound cool in their songs. Sunidhi Chauhan is the obvious choice for item numbers and she does what she is supposed to do. A lot of random sounds come and go during the song. I guess the song features Neha Dhupia in the film, and the only thing appealing in this song is the expectation to see a hot Neha Dhupia on screen. It is surprising that Neeraj Sridhar has written a song for an album which doesnt even have a single song in his voice. (1.5/5)


There is a Version 2 of 'Gale Lag Jaa', with no major difference other than some extra beats. 


The title track of the movie, 'De Dana Dan' is surprisingly not by Pritam. It is by a group that call themselves Ad Boys. They have done the music and vocals. It has lyrics by Bollywood's favorite masala lyricist Sameer. It is a fun track which captures the fun and troublesome feel of the movie. You can feel all the fun and frolic that the movie promises in this track itself. The chorus part which goes 'De Dana Dan' is surely going to be played repeatedly in the movie in comic situations. It already sound very good in the trailers that are out now. It is far better than the other theme track of the movie, 'Paisa'. I'm eager to know how this song is placed in the movie. (3/5)


There are the mandatory remix songs again, and I'm not wasting any time on them and I suggest you do the same too. 


On the whole, De Dana Dan is a pretty ordinary fare with just 3 out of the 6 songs being good. The other 3 songs range from mediocre to bad. One expects some chartbusters from Pritam in such a film, but he has given only 2 good romantic songs which are worth listening to. The only good one out of the fast numbers, is done by guest composers Ad Boys. But since the film is going to be a non-stop comedy which moves at a rapid pace, the songs would just serve as speedbreakers. The movie brings back the superhit combination of Akshay, Suneil and Paresh and the superhit jodi of Akshay and Katrina. And since it is a Priyadarshan comedy, you can expect nothing less than loads of fun and laughter. If it had a better soundtrack, the impact would have been better though. 


Rating - 2.8/5