Music Review of "Laaga Chunari Mein Daag"

Hi! I hope you all have been listerned and downloaded the songs of "Laaga Chunari...." . I this this album is very worth of listern for the music by "Shantanu Moitra" . So please read the review here :

• The album opens with the track Hum To Aise Hain that talks about the beauty of the city of Banaras where the film is set and how two sisters (Rani Mukherjee and Konkona Sen Sharma) relate to their hometown. As the voice of the sisters, while Shreya Ghoshal sounds her sweet self, Sunidhi Chauhan’s vocals have an unusual sugar-coated feel to it – a pleasant change that she offers us occasionally from her regular item song singing. Swanand Kirkire is in his element when he writes some fresh and zesty lines on the Holy city and also croons a couple of lines with Pranab Biswas. The track acts as an introductory song to the film’s lead characters (the most standard setup used for the establishment of characters in the start of the film, ex: the very similar title sounding Hum To Bhai Jaise Hain from Yash Chopra’s Veer Zaara ).

• The second track Zara Gunguna Lein Chalo opens with some Spanish lines having an opera feel to it but soon gets into the conventional mode as the Hindi lines soak in. Babul Supriyo still has the Kumar Sanu hangover while Mahalaxmi Iyer goes in the Kavita Krishnamoorty mode. Shantanu Moitra attempts to blend some tap-dancing carnival notes to the desi tune. This is one of those numbers which might catch-up with you on repeated hearings.

• The movie derives its title from the memorable song ‘ Laaga Chunari Mein Daag ’ from Raj Kapoor’s 1963 film Dil Hi To Hai . While that’s nothing new, what’s novel is that the title track of the film is not a freshly worked song but is again a derivative from the same popular track without any change in the lyrics. The tune however is redone but does not lose the classical effect from the original. Manna Dey’s voice from the original is replaced by Shubha Mudgal’s (a perfect choice for classical rendition), who fluctuates her vocals to get the right classical shade. Actress Meeta Vashisht chips in, not for singing, but for mouthing a few lines intermittently in an understated tone. Interestingly this track is kind of a reunion for Shantanu Moitra and Shubha Mudgal who teamed up for the popular album ‘ Mann Ke Manjeere ’ in 2001 while Meeta Vashisht appeared in the video of the song.

• KK comes out of his Oo-aa-oo-o Oooo mode ( Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai, Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai ) with a rather husky rendition of Ek Teekhi Teekhi Si Ladki and Shreya Ghoshal gives him company. The song talks about the character of Kunal Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma and their affection towards each other. The track has a menthol-cool effect but doesn’t get out of the conventional domain for being a situational number. A hint of Hum To Aise Hain has been used in this track with a techno disc scratching effect which works well.

• One of the best and most underrated voices heard last year was that of Rekha Bharadwaj in Omkara’s ‘ Namak Ishk Ka ’. You get to hear that rare textured voice again in Ehi Thaiyaa Motiya – an undiluted mujra number. The musical arrangement with the use of tabla and sarangi sets a perfect ambience for a classical mujra number reminiscent of the royal performances of the past. The keen listener would even take notice of the continuous underlying use of ghungroo , faintly played in the background. But more than the sparse instrumentation its Rekha’s rustic voice that carries the song fascinatingly. The genre of the song is such that it might not find a flavour with today’s techno-savvy audience but that doesn’t take away its credit of being a classical masterpiece.

• The final track Kachchi Kailyan (My most favourite song) is basically a celebration dance number but also has a mix of folk, fusion, rapping and bhangra . Sonu Nigam, KK, Sunidhi Chauhan and Shreya Ghoshal – all go full-throated with their vivacious renditions. The pace and energy of the song is such that it’s instantly infectious and catches on with the listener pretty soon.

I hope you all enjoy the reviews. I will be quiet for a while (for my school trip) . But I will poster more intersting news and reviews and other things deals with Konkona !

Moreover the song promo of "Hum To Aise Hain" !