MOVIE REVIEW: COMMANDO 2 THE BLACK MONEY TRAIL

In a nutshell: Scale and ambition cannot make up for a langurous screenplay.

The Dileep Ghosh directed Commando (2013), that marked Vidyut Jammwal’s debut as a leading man, did not have a great plot to boast of but watching the film turned out to be a fairly entertaining experience because of some brilliantly choreographed and performed action sequences and several clapworthy dialogues. Almost four years later, the producer and the actor are back with a sequel. The sequel has been directed by Deven Bhojani a renowned actor who also has several television show (‘Sarabhai VS. Sarabhai’, ‘Pukar’) to his credit as a director. Despite ‘Commando’ turning out to be a sleeper hit, one did not see or hear much of Jammwal.  He did a cameo in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s ‘Bullet Raja’, played the antagonist in a Tamil film and was one of the two leading men in the stuck-in-the-cans ‘Yaara’. While his fans might have missed seeing the actor on the screen, the good thing is that he has not been over-exposed and there is a curiosity to see the kind of action he pulls off and the performance he delivers this time.

Karanvir Singh Dogra (Vidyut Jammwal) is a commando who, now, is a part of a special cell of the crime fighting unit of the Indian Government. Karan is determined to nab Vicky Chadda (Vansh Bhardwaj), a man who has helped the rich in the country launder their black money to foreign countries.  Karan is aware of several top Government officials and other powerful people’s involvement with Vicky. He makes sure that he is one of the few officers, who as a team, are sent to bring Vicky to India. After reaching Malaysia, they meet a wheelchair bound Vicky and his wife Maria (Esha Gupta). Vicky tells the team that he has been falsely accused of laundering black money out of the country. 

The plot of the film has no connection to its predecessor. It is a standalone film in which Vidyut is again donning the avatar of a commando. In fact, even though he plays a commando in both the films there is no resemblance in the two characters. The hero of this film comes across as much more expressive, and slick than the first part. Here, the character is etched out better. The action is as good, if not better than the first part. However, unlike the first part, which had a decent storyline and the action sequences seemed to be emerging out of the plot, the action, in this film, seemed to be forced at several times. The main culprit is the screenplay which tries to incorporate too many elements in it without justifying most of them. The film boasts of several twists and turns which exhaust you after a while.  A film can have one or a thousand twists in store for the viewers but each and every surprising turn in the story should be justified properly. Most of the twists in the screenplay, especially the ones in the second half, seem silly. 

Black money has always been a topic of discussion in the country and with the demonetisation policy implemented recently, the film could have made a strong impression because of its topical subject. But, the script is filled with glaring loopholes that are hard to ignore. It piques your interest at several points but the plot simmers down eventually. Commando had a simple story which complimented the action sequences and kept one engrossed in the film. This film had too many convolutions that the script did not ask for. The writers (Ritesh Shah and Suresh Nair) seem to have done a fair amount of research on the subject but the screenplay has too many implausible events that are impossible to ignore. Director Deven Bhojani lends scale and some weight to the average screenplay with his skilful direction. Despite the languorous plot, the film has the slickness one associates with action thrillers. The background score (Prasad Sathe) is strictly functional; the ‘Commando Commando’ chants are very annoying. 

Vidyut Jammwal, as expected, is great with action sequences but he also delivers as an actor. There are several scenes in the film which require him to demonstrate his skills as an actor and he does not disappoint. Adah Sharma’s over-the-top Hyderabadi accent gets on your nerves at times but she is endearing as a performer. Esha Gupta gets a meaty role to play and she sinks her teeth into it. Freddy Daruwala does well as ACP Bakhtawar.  Shefali Shah leaves a mark in a brief role. 

Commando 2 has been mounted on a bigger scale and is more ambitious than its predecessor but suffers from a tortuous plot that pretends to be smarter than it really is.  

Rating: 2.5/5

 

JOLLY LLB 2 MOVIE REVIEW

 In a nutshell: It’s February and one of the best Hindi films of the year has already arrived.

Jolly LLB (2013) was, perhaps, one of the first Hindi films that could boast of depicting the Indian judicial system and the legal proceedings that unfold in a courtroom in a very authentic way. Unlike the kind of exaggerated drama and dialoguebaazi, one is used to witness in Hindi films featuring courtroom scenes, the Subhash Kapoor directed film portrayed courts and the judiciary system in a very real and yet entertaining manner. The film also turned to be the much underrated Arshad Warsi’s first hit as a solo hero. While one is happy to see a sequel of the film arriving four years after it released, one is also a little disappointed to see Arshad Warsi being replaced as a the lead actor.  Now, one is not question the credibility of Akshay Kumar as an actor but it would have been nice to see Warsi reprising a character which he did complete justice to in the original.

Jagdishwar Mishra aka Jolly (Akshay Kumar) is a small time lawyer who works under the tutelage of Rizvi (Ram Gopal Bajaj), one of the most respected lawyers in the town. While Jolly is always on the lookout for a case, Naqvi treats him like a handmaiden and makes him do jobs ranging from serving him paan to helping his wife with cooking kebabs for the guests. To make ends meet, Jolly goes to the extent of reciting answers to students in schools and helping them pass in their examinations.  Jolly’s dream is to have a chamber of his own where he could practise as a lawyer from. Jolly, who has already paid eight lakhs, needs to pay two lakhs more to get a chamber to his name. Hina (Sayani Gupta) has been trying to persuade Rizvi into taking a case for her but Rizvi does not even meet her. Jolly lies to Hina that Rizvi has finally agreed to fight her case. An overjoyed Hina immediately agrees to pay the two lakhs that Jolly asks of her. Jolly gets a chamber and celebrates her success with pomp and show. However, his happiness is short-lived as an untoward incident makes him realise his blunder. He vows toset things right and fight to get Hina and her father-in-law justice for the wrongdoings of the system.

In ‘Jolly LLB’, writer-director Subhash Kapoor maintained a fine balance between satirical humour and hard hitting dramatic scenes. Here, he does that with even more dexterity. Apart from peppering certain scenes with the requisite amount of humour, he makes sure that the seriousness of the case Jolly is working on comes across well. The film has the beats of a thriller and constantly makes you wonder what happens next. There are times when you feel that the film or rather the case has reached its culmination but the narrative unfolds very smartly, opening a pandora box of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. The final showdown between Jolly and the main culprit which also results in one getting to hear some terrific dialogues, ends the film on a emotionally charged note. Subhash Kapoor successfully raises the bar of the franchise by several notches and delivers his best film till date.  The writer and the director in him, both, are to be equally credited for this compelling film. The dialogues are much better than the ones in the original (which also had some memorable dialogues). The songs act as a major liability as apart from being far from memorable, they slow down the pace of the film. 

Despite the film sticking to realism and authenticity for most of its part, there are certain portions in which you are forced to put your thinking caps down and cut the director some slack for taking creative liberties. A court of law does not approve of polygraphy test or narco-analysis. However, it is show to be allowed in the film. You also feel a little boggled as Jolly gets a convict all the way from Srinagar to Lucknow to testify in the court. You might ignore these glitches while watching the film as these sequences have been executed well.

If, like this writer, you were disappointed with Arshad Warsi’s ouster from the franchise, it might take a few minutes to get used to seeing the new Jolly but rest assured, you will warm upto Akshay Kumar’s Jolly soon enough as the actor delivers one of the best performances of his career.  Also, his turn as the devoted husband is bound to bring a smile to your face. Huma Qureshi gets limited scope as Jolly’s wife but her character turns out to be memorable as Kapoor presents her as a smart, independent woman who speaks her mind. Thereare subtle ways in which the couple is projected as progressive. Pushpa has not changed her maiden surmname post marriage and Jolly has no qualms about cooking for her wife and chioild or serving alcohol to her wife.  Annu Kapoor never comes up with a performance that is less than extraordinary but it is not very often that we see the actor playing substantial roles. In this film, he gets role worth his talent and he, as one would expect, delivers a memorable performance. Sourabh Shukla reprises his role from the first part and here, his character has a few more quirks that makes it more interesting. Kumud Mishra looks sufficiently vile as the senior police officer. Sayani Gupta gets a very different role to play from the kind she played in her earlier films (‘Margarita With A Straw’, ‘Fan’) and leaves a mark in a brief role. Manav Kaul, too, is highly effective in a cameo. 

Very few sequels turn out to be better than their predecessor and Jolly LLB 2 is definitely one of them. Both the drama and the humour is several notches higher than the first film in the installment.  The film has the essence of the original film but tells a new story with much more effectiveness.

Rating: 4/5

                                  HIGH ON 'HIGHWAY'

'Implosive Silence' , the music piece that was played at various junctures in the film, plays on my mind as I write this....

The end credits started rolling at 1:37 p.m.  My hands were shivering, I was breathing heavily. 

Clearly, Imtiaz Ali's latest film had done something to me. What? I don't know. It's been a few hours since I watched 'Highway' but I am yet to figure that out. Actually, I don't want to know what this feeling is. Just like the female protagonist of the film who discovers a new world, is confused but one thing she knows for sure-she is getting to see a world which is refreshingly different from the world that she has been living till now. The world which, on the surface seems to provide her all the security, comfort that she needs but as one looks deeper into it, one finds it to be as shallow as it gets.

Imtiaz Ali is one my most favourite Hindi film directors but his last two films (as a director) , Love Aaj Kal and Rockstar, though boasted of some terrific dialogues, moments et al left me somewhat underwhelmed. I found the screenplay of both the movies, more particularly that of Love Aaj Kal to be incoherent but being a fan of the two movies (Socha Na Tha, Jab We Met) he directed, the films that he was associated with as a writer (Ahista Ahista, Cocktail) and having seen and liked some his work on television, I keenly looked forward to Highway.

Having seen the 45 min episodic Highway ( under the umbrella show Rishtey) that Imtiaz Ali had made almost fifteen years ago, I had a basic idea of the plot but I was surprised to see that most of the original script was retained in the movie. Most of the scenes in the first half ( in terms of writing ) were familiar to me but that's where the treatment came into the picture that truly distinguished it from the TV film/episodic. While the TV episodic was reasonably well made, the financial constraints, the restricted time frame and various other factors made it look like a rushed up job. One can't really blame the filmmaker there. One thing that stood out in the TV version was the fact that it boasted of terrific performances by the lead pair Aditya Shrivastava and Kartika Devi Rane. While I had huge respect for Randeep as an actor I did not think too highly of Alia's acting capabilities. Add to the fact, that she was going to reprise a character that was originally played by Kartika Devi Rane ( last seen in the 2008 film Hulla ), who happened to be my most favourite actress at one point ( I'm still a huge fan; remember 'Captain Vyom', 'Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye', 'Kangan' ? ). The scenes that are similar to the TV version are as follows : (P.S Have tried to keep it as spoiler free as possible)

•     The first one is the obvious- Veera being kidnapped by Mahaveer and his gang members while her fiancé looks onhelplessly, blaming her for the same.

•     Veera suddenly disappearing from the truck; the dialogue that follows
•     Veera making a startling revelation about something that happened to her as a child
•     Veera hiding inside the truck at the toll gate
•     Mahaveer setting Veera free but she refuses to go

 Imtiaz is one of the most respected filmmakers in our country today and given the fact that he had the complete freedom to bring forth the story that was lurking within him for years, exactly the way he wanted to, I knew that film version was going to be far more superior than the TV version.

 Highway depicts the journey of two individuals, coming from two completely different strata of the society, each of them bearing the scars inflicted upon them by the same society they lived in all their lives and how they understand each other's pain, the pain which brings them together.

While the TV version was primarily centred on Veera's character, the filmmaker gives fair ( if not equal) importance to the male protagonist in the film version. Though the characters played by Aditya and Randeep are pretty much similar, Aditya was named Vijay in the TV version while Randeep here is called Mahaveer Bhati. While Vijay had no back story, viewers are given an insight into Mahaveer's childhood so as to explain or rather justify his present. Randeep's character, undoubtedly, is far more layered than Aditya's character. As I pointed earlier, the overall treatment of the subject matter is very different from that of the TV version. The quality of the screenplay, for one,  is several notches higher. The TV version had a somewhat convenient, unconvincing ending while this one has a heart breaking but brilliant ending. Must say, the penultimate fifteen minutes are the highpoint of the film.

A.R Rahman have always carried this reputation of delivering music that is true to the movie's theme and Highway will be remembered as one of the foremost films to validate this fact. While 'Rockstar' had music which stayed true to the film's theme yet had mass appeal, 'Highway' has music that, though soulful, will find it tough to climb the popularity charts, even if the movie does well. The minimal background score works well for the film what with the most dramatic scene in the film plays without any background music. Anil Mehta, the veteran cinematographer who has lent his expertise to some of the most iconic films over the years, does some of his best work here. Be it editing, sound design...the film is a technically superior product.

One almost runs out of adjectives describing Alia Bhatt's performance. She delivers a performance that one expects from a seasoned performer. Her nuanced performance lends multiple layers to Veera, doing complete justice to Imtiaz's vision.. Just one film old and she gets the role of a lifetime! Randeep, as always, is terrific but how one wishes his characterization, though fairly well defined, were as layered as that of Veera's. The supporting cast, each one of them, was very good. The actor playing Randeep Hooda's associate, the one who accompanies both the lead characters in their entire road journey, deserves special mention.

Highway turned out be one of the most important cinema watching experiences in my life. I felt a sense of liberation within me. The film depicts what this cruel world does to its people-the circumstances that force an innocent child to become a hardened criminal, the society which silences a nine year old and makes her feel like being the culprit when she, in fact, the victim of sexual abuse.

 It's a film which will linger in my memory for ever. I don't know whether this film will be loved, hated, remembered, forgotten....all I know is that watching this film has turned out to be one of the most defining events of my life.

Movie Review- COMMANDO - A ONE MAN ARMY

I arrive at a single screen theatre at 8:40 a.m. I see a long queue of people waiting for their turn. I am shocked. Okay, I did expect the film to take a fair opening but never expected a film, which stars no A-lister, to open to an almost packed house (that too, morning show) . Some people star coming out of the queue as they, seeing the number of people queuing up, gauge that they are most unlikely to get a ticket and hence, decide not to waste any more time. I do the same deciding to go to the only multiplex in the city hoping to get tickets there. I stop by a petrol pump and just as I am rummaging through my bag to find my wallet, while sitting on the bike, my right leg accidentally touches the burning hot silencer of the bike which in turn leaves a gash on my leg tearing my skin apart. For a moment, I think of going back home but the movie bug within me refuses to let me do so. Finally, after some water and band aid, I rush towards my destination. The box office, at the multiplex, is anything but crowded. I heave a sigh of relief. After buying a ticket, I rush to the fourth floor of the mall where the theatre is situated. Getting inside Screen No. 3, I see an occupancy of 50-60 %. Not great but not bad either. The movie starts at 9:20 a.m.

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The opening reels show Captain Karan Vir Dobra (Vidyut Jamwal) being interrogated and tortured by Chinese Military Officials - a far cry from what we saw of him in the promos in which he takes on a dozen of goons single handedly.The Indian Army, under pressure from unscrupulous politicians, erase Karan's army record as they beleive that The Chinese Government will not beleive any proof that they show of Karan belonging to the Indian Army. After spending a year in jail, Karan manages to escape. As Karan crosses the Himachal-Punjab border, he runs into Simrit Kaur ( Pooja Chopra) who is being chased by the baddie Amrit Singh's ( Jaideep Ahlawat) henchmen. From here onwards, Vidyut flaunts his exceptional action skills in a series of action sequences that occur at regular intervals. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the script ( Ritesh Shah ), though good, leaves a lot to be desired. In this case, a well thought out idea fails to translate into a coherent script. For instance, the chase continues for too long. Moreover, Karan's track is sidelined in favour of Simrit's. For instance, there is no interaction of Karan with the politician or with the Chinese Government even as the film comes to an end. How does he or for that matter General Akhilesh Sinha ( Darshan Jariwala) help him prove his innocence to the Chinese Government?

'Commando' rests on the strong shoulders of  Vidyut Jamwal who makes a successful transition from a 'villain' to a 'hero'. The Hindi Cinema audience had never seen an action hero like him before. He is brilliant and absolutely perfect in the jaw dropping action sequences and delivers in the acting department too. He may have not been blessed with conventional 'hero' looks but can go a long distance depending on the kind of roles he chooses-the ones that would suit him. The fact that he is a good dancer ( the glimpses of which one saw in 'Lut Jawan' ) would work to his advantage. After a minuscule role in 'Heroine' and a couple of films down south, Pooja Chopra makes a very confident full fledged debut in Hindi Cinema with this film. She looks ravishing throughout the film and delivers a performance which shines in a film dominated my male actors. While one may argue that her character (Simrit Gaur ) has shades of Geet ( the character that Kareena Kapoor played in 'Jab We Met' ), Pooja breathes life into this character who though bubbly, talkative and vivacious, exhibits undeterred courage and boldness. Jaideep Ahlawat (as AK 74/Amrit Kanwal), playing a menacing villain who keeps the system 'in his pocket', delivers the best performance of the film. Whether he is removing his shades to show his 'pupil-less' eyes or cracking up SMS jokes, he is terrific in each and every frame of the movie. Darshan Jariwala (as General Akhilesh Sinha ) does not have much to do but being the great actor actor that he is, he lights up every scene he appears in. 

Dilip Ghosh, who has directed several ad dilms in the past, makes an assured debut  as a feature film director. A better script would do justice to his directorial abilities. Commando' largely benefits from Sejal Shah (DOP) and action director Franz Sphilhaus. The camerawork is outstanding to say the least. This is easily one of her best work. Franz Sphilhaus clearly raises the bar and raises it very high for the Indian action directors as he has choreographed the best action sequences one has ever seen in a Hindi film. The dialogues are the kind that would entice one to clap and whistle-brilliant! Music [ Mannan Shah ] is strictly average. The placements of the songs, except for 'Lena Dena' could not have been worse. The 'item number' [Mungda],especially, works as a speed breaker and is tuneless. The picturisation of 'Saawan Bairi' is brilliant though. The background score [ Prasad Sashte ] is effective. The editing [ Amitabh Shukla ] is crisp.

'Commando' is a film that needs to be watched for the absolutely brilliant action sequences that leaves one spellbound. One had never witnessed such raw and edgy action before. Sure, Vipul Amrutlal Shah's earlier production 'Force' did offer such action but only in bits and pieces. 'Commando' takes the Action genre, in Hindi films, to an altogether different level.

Almost two years ago, producer Vashu Bhagnani, known for adopting unique promotional strategies for his films, declared that the music of his then upcoming film 'F.A.L.T.U' would not see a physical release (CDs/Cassettes) for itself. While some raised eyebrows at this statement, others lauded his decision to do so as they felt it would curb down the rate of music piracy. That's another thing that Mr. Bhagnani did release the Music CDs exclusively at a leading music retail chain (Planet M) sometime later.

        Piracy is a virus that has infected the Indian Film Industry in a rather big way in the last decade or so. I remember I was in second standard when a neighbour, few years older to me, who also was a close friend, had brought a CD which had many as 90+ songs at Rs.30 . I was shocked as I knew that Audio CDs come nowhere less than Rs. 100. The only Audio CD we had had then was that of 'Devdas' (Universal Music) which was priced at Rs. 75 (introductory price is what the CD Jacket screamed out). I preferred buying cassettes which used to cost between Rs.55-60. As I grew up, I learnt about piracy. Today, when piracy, in the Indian market, at its peak; when pirated CDs/VCDs/DVDs are being sold at the price of candies, how many people would actually feel 'morally correct' to buy original CDs/VCDs/DVDs at exorbitant prices. No, I am not someone who supports piracy. I detest it. But, at the same time, I wish to pose a question to the producers/music companies-'How many people can afford to buy or would be willing to shell out 100+ bucks to buy CDs/VCDs/DVDs?' These days more and more producers are releasing the music of their films exclusively on the internet,(case in point being Race 2, Jayanta Bhai Ki Luv Story) hoping to put across the music of their films by making the listener pay for it, in other words, to curb Piracy. I wonder HOW? Internet is the hub of piracy today. Films, music...everything gets uploaded on illegal/illegitimate websites making internet users to download the same from them absolutely free of cost. Of course, there are legal sites to download music/ films from, but the number of people visiting the illegal websites are far greater in number. Even if the producers release their music exclusively on the legal websites, within no time the same are available for download on illegal websites. Songs are recorded in 16 bits and are released on the Audio CDs as such. However, songs releasing in Mp3 format over the internet are far from such clarity. Thus, the listeners do not get to hear the songs in the highest order of quality. These days, most music companies release Audio CDs and Mp3 CDs (in which they pack in a bunch of bonus tracks, tracks from other films apart from that particular film at cheaper prices) almost simultaneously or a few weeks after the Audio CD has released. The ‘MP3’ CD’s (though original) sound quality is not half as great as the Audio CD, thus the price is lower than that of the latter.

        A major reason behind the rise of piracy is the higher pricing of original Music CDs. Most of the music companies sell Audio CDs at Rs. 150+. Of course, the price tends to be lower for lesser known films or films which the music company has lesser confidence in. Yash Raj Films went a step further by releasing the Audio of their film Dhoom 2 (2006) on DVDs(apart from CDs and Cassettes).The price was almost equal to a movie DVD (Rs.299).The aim was to offer the listeners sound quality of the highest order. The high priced DVDs did not find many takers. T-Series, in 2009, started selling music on USB Drives. The first film to have its music launched on USB Drive was ‘Blue’.’Main Aur Mrs. Khanna’, ’All The Best’, ’London Dreams’ followed. That meant if one bought five albums, then one would have a collection of five USB Drives. These ‘Audio Drives’ were priced at Rs.600+. No wonder, this idea failed too. A decade ago, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas had made news for its music rights sold to Universal at an unheard sum of Rs. 12.5 crore. It is hard to imagine any music company paying that much amount to any producer these days as it would be impossible to recover such a huge amount through physical or even digital sales. ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai’ was the highest selling film soundtrack of the year 2000. It had sold approximately 80,00,000 units. A decade later ‘Dabangg’ stands out be the biggest selling soundtrack of the year (2010) and it sells just about 2,00,000 units. One can easily gauge the growth of piracy through this data. The only measure that can be taken in this regard is that prices of the Audio CDs (cassettes, anyways, have ceased to exist) should be lowered down. Eight years ago, Tips had priced the Audio CDs of Boney Kapoor’s ‘Bewafaa’ same as the cassettes, that is, Rs. 55. This was a very wise decision taken by the company and I am sure it bore fruits. Government needs to take strict measures against piracy. One often hears news of raids taking place in metros. However in small towns, you will come across music shops where you will not find a single original CD. There are hundreds of illegal websites thriving on the internet. These should be closed down. An artist works very hard to together a piece of art. Likewise, a musician, composer, lyricist, singer etc. works hard to put together an album or even just a song. It should not be made to ‘download’ free of cost. Their hard work should be bought and appreciated with one’s hard earned money.

Music Review-COCKTAIL

Of late,Eros has adopted this rather interesting strategy for the music of their films.First,they release the music two-three weeks after the song promos have been on air.And they don't release the music on all platforms altogether.First, they release the music on the digital platform,and days later they release the Audio Cds.Case in point being 'Teri Meri Kahaani', the music of which released on 17th last month (only on the internet and other digital outlets) while the music cds arrived around a fortnight later on 1st of June.

I'm not too sure whether the Audio CDs of 'Cocktail' has released or not as I could not find it on any online shopping website and hence,had to download the songs from 'Flyte' (Flipkart.com's digital mp3 download outlet).I played on the music with good expectations as I quite liked the two songs ('Tumhi Ho Bandhu','Daaru Desi') that have been on air before the audio release.

The album begins,expectedly, with 'Tum Hi Ho Bandhu' sung by Kavita Seth and Neeraj Sridhar.Kavita gets to sing most of the song while Neeraj comes behind the mike to render the hook line 'Tumhi Ho Bandhu.....''.Interestingly, Kavita's portions are very Indian in style while Neeraj's portions follow a western sound.It's interesting to hear two strinkingly different singers coming together for a song like this.Kavita does a brilliant job and it's good to see her croon a song for a film after a really long time.Neeraj does well too,however his voice sounds slightly hoarse in this one . Irshad Kamil's lyrics are brilliant, to say the least. Overall,a good song which has already made a good place for itself on the popularity chart.

The second song 'Daaru Desi' had also become very popular before the music release and it is ,indeed, a pleasure to hear the entire track now when the music has released. The song has been written by guest lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya, who is, arguably, the best person to write songs which have a bit of quirkiness to them.Benny Dayal and Shalmali Kholgade (of 'Pareshaan'-Ishaqzaade fame) sing this song and brings further freshness to this song with their youthful vocals. Shalmali sounds strikingly different from the what she sounded in "Pareshaan'. Pritam's composition reminds one of Vishal Shekhar's style. A song that holds appeal for the urban centre mainly.

I was quite excited on seeing Miss Pooja (her real name being Gurinder Kaur Kainth) being credited as one of the singers for 'Second Hand Jawaani', the reason being that she has been a prominent singer on the Punjabi music scene for years now and I have been a huge fan of her.Joining her on this song are Neha Kakkar and Nakash Aziz. The song ,though far from being bad, hardly matches the standards set by the earlier two songs of the album. Irshad Kamil's lyrics are pretty interesting but Pritam's music plays spoilsport here. The song, presumably picturised on Deepika Padukone doesn't have much weight and would largely depend on the way it is picturised. I would recommend listening to any of Miss Pooja's numerous pop hits. You are likely to enjoy more.

Things go further downhill with 'Tere Naam Japdi Phiran' which follows the same mode as 'Second Hand Jawaani' .A fusion of Bhangra and Western melody that is unlikely to find a following with fans of either genre. The tune reminds one of thousands of Bhangra tracks that one has heard in the past and offers absolutely zero novelty. Javed, Nikhil D'Souza and Shefali Alvares do well on the singing front. Irshad's lyrics are average.

The next track,'Jugni' is an amalgation of Punjabi Folk and western arrangements. This time, one has to give it to Pritam for coming up with an interesting tune. Irshad shows his flair for writing Punjabi lyrics yet again. Arif Lohar ,who somewhat sounds like Labh Janua,and Harshdeep Kaur do complete justice to this song by singing in the right mood and bringing on the very authentic accent.

The one song that irritated me the most in this album was ‘Lutna’. It is the fourth song in the album that has Punjabi folk fused with western sound. One wonders how these songs would fit in the narrative of a film which is very urbane and contemporary in nature. ‘Lutna’ ,in my opinion is the weakest song in the album. What irritates more is the generous (read overdose) use of western arrangements and techno beats for a song which could have benefited from some traditional musical instruments playing the background .I guess Pritam was too desperate to give the song a modern touch. I’m not going to play this one again! And yes, the song comes in two versions. Whatever!

Thankfully, the album ends on a pleasing note with ‘Yaariyan’ ,sung by Mohan Kanan (lead singer of the popular band Agnee) and Shilpa Rao. Mohan has earlier impressed in film songs like ‘Khanabadosh’ (London Dreams),’Saaye Saaye’ (I Am) and ‘Shor’ (Shor In The City) and does a brilliant job here as well. In fact,the song sounds like many such soulful numbers composed by ‘Agnee’. Shilpa accompanies Mohan and both sound great together. The song marks the return of the urban flavour in the soundtrack which seemed to have been dominated by half baked Punjabi-Western fusion tracks. The song also appears in another version sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Arijit Singh. A good hear again.

Overall, the music of ‘Cocktail’ is a mixed bag with four very good to good tracks (Tum Hi Ho Bandhu, Desi Daaru, Jugni ,Yaariyan ) and three average to below average tracks (Second Hand Jawaani ,Tera Naam Japdi Phiran, Lutna). I remember hearing the song 'Angreji Beat' in the first promo of the film but could not find it in the album.A friend of mine had that song and he informed that the song has earlier been released on an album by this Punjabi rapper called Yo Yo Honey Singh. Wonder if they would release it again on the Cocktail music CD.I remember, years ago ,Pritam had said in an interview ,”Rock Ballad is more of my style.I’m not a Tabla-Dholak person’’). I guess, with his rising popularity and demand among filmmakers, he had come to out of his comfort zone to be a ‘Tabla Dholak person’ that he never really aspired to be and deliver such songs in films like Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, Dil Bole Hadippa!,Mausam etc. Sometimes, he did it convincingly and at times, his efforts were just not upto the mark. For this album too, he delivers with contemporary songs like ‘Tum Hi Ho Bandhu’,’Daaru Desi,’Yaariyan’ and in ‘Jugni’ as well but his other songs doesn’t quite reach there.

Music review-ISHAQZAADE

There was a time when Yash Raj Films used to release the music of their films the same day as they used to release the promo of the movie.In fact,they used to go for minimal promotion when it came to promoting the music of their films.But,after the dismal failure of many of their films like Laaga Chunari Mein Daag,Aaja Nachle and Tashan,they dropped their usual standoffish-ness and carried out a massive promotional campaign for all their films starting from 'Bachna Ae Haseeno'. These days, they release the music of most of their films after putting in some days of heavy duty promotion. Same has been the case with 'Ishaqzaade', the music of which has released around four weeks after the first promo had hit the web.The composer of the film Amit Trivedi has more often than not made music which has catered to the class audience mainly but with promos and posters of 'Ishaqzaade' hinting it of being quite a 'masala' film in the offing,one wonders as to what Amit would have done.Also,the lyricist Kausar Munir,ijn his four year old Bollywood career, has only two songs(Falak Tak-Tashan,Title track of Anjaana Anjaani) to his credit.So,without further ado, let's check out, what this soundtrack by Amit Trivedi and Kausar Munir has for us.

The first song, 'Ishaqzaade Ishaqzaade',is one of the two title tracks(the other one being Aafaton Ke Parinday').The song tries to mix western sound with Indian melody with the end result being hardly exciting as one has heard many such songs in the recent past composed by the likes of Pritam and Vishal Shekhar.The song is far from being bad but disappoints as the opening track of a soundtrack,which one had good expectations from.However,one has to make a special mention of the honey soaked lyrics written by Kausar Munir.The vocals,by Javed Ali and Shreya Ghoshal, do not disappoint either.

The second track in the album is called 'Chokra Jawan',written by guest lyricist Habib Faisal (who also happens to be the director of the film).As one can guess from the title of the song, it is an 'item' number(not again!).But wait! this one is very different from the many of those loud item numbers that are present in almost every other film that is being made these days. There is subtleness to this song, without any heavy beats. While Sunidhi Chauhan has sung hundreds of item numbers in the past, it is refreshing to hear Vishal Dadlani's voice in the song. The lyrics are interesting too. The problem lies in the fact that the song takes some time to grow upon you and the kind of people who like listening to a 'Munni Badnaam Hui' or 'Sheila Ki Jawani', may not warm up to it.

Finally there comes an out and out winner in the form of the third track in the album 'Pareshan'.Sung by newcomer Shalmali Kholgade, the song has in it to become a chart topper (in the big cities mainly),if promoted well. The song has Amit Trivedi's stamp all over it and Kausar Munir does an excellent job with the lyrics. The song constantly shifts between lounge and soft rock, lending a very unique sound to it. Shalmali Kholgade’s voice is pleasant but then she joins the likes of new vocalists like Aditi Singh Sharma, Hamsika Iyer, Anusha Mani, all of whose voice sounds the more or less (no offence meant).Listen to the songs rendered by these ladies and you will know what I mean. Would be hard to distinguish as to who has sung which song. She does a great job nonetheless. The song later appears in a remixed version which sounds great as well.

The next track 'Jhallah Wallah',sung by Shreya Ghoshal, is a situational number, presumably picturised on Parineeti Chopra.The song has a hint of naughtiness in it and is basically Mujra meets Bollywood meets Techno.Kausar Munir must have tried to hard write some quirky lines for this song and though, he succeeds in parts, one dearly misses Amitabh Bhattacharya here. Amit does a decent job with this number which is expected to go down well with the narrative. However, it's the remixed version of this song, which is bound to cheer you up to a good extent, what with the additional beats and backing vocals pumping some good amount of energy into it.

Finally arrives the last track on the album titled 'Aafaton Ke Parinday' .Actually, I was a bit confused after listening to the entire track. The reason being that there are two singers credited on the CD cover for this song, namely, Suraj Jagan and Divya Kumar.While one could easily recognize Suraj Jagan's voice singing the higher notes of the song(Haalalon Mein....Ishaqzaade Ishaqzaade),I was not entirely convinced that the lower notes were sung by Jagan himself.After a bit of research, I found out that the other voice was of Divya Kumar(yes,Divya Kumar is a male voice and not a female one) Divya Kumar gives a good account of himself as he gets to sing most of the song, while the more experienced Suraj Jagan has been relegated to the backseat by having given the task of singing only the higher notes.Divya Kumar,with his rustic vocals,sounds a bit like Sukhwinder Singh but nevertheless has a very interesting voice that one would like to hear more of in the future. Amit tries to combine his western sensibilities with some India flavour and serves us a delicious Bhel Puri.Kausar Munir is brilliant yet again.

Overall, Ishaqzaade is an album that works in parts only, Even then, the songs that work would find a patronage among the city audiences first and in the interiors later. The soundtrack, like most of Trivedi's soundtracks, would take a good time to grow upon listeners.

Rating-2.5/5