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By
Joginder Tuteja, May 15, 2007 - 02:22 IST
 Shaad
Ali has always got it right, be it with his
storytelling or the music of his films. First 'Saathiya'
and then 'Bunty Aur Babli' more than prove that. If 'Saathiya'
has a classy feel to most of the soundtrack with
Rahman at the helm then 'Bunty Aur Babli' had masses
going in ruptures with the tunes by Shankar, Ehsaan
and Loy playing to the gallery.
Everything that is now associated with his film 'Jhoom
Barabar Jhoom' has only become bigger over the years.
Yash Raj Films is country's numero uno production
house, Amitabh Bachchan sits right at the top,
Abhishek Bachchan is hot property and Aditya Chopra's
smart product placement strategy has been working more
often than not!
Meanwhile Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy have a hat trick of
super successful soundtracks in the form of 'Kabhi
Alvida Naa Kehna', 'Don' and 'Salaam E Ishq'. With
Gulzar saab adding on the spice, 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'
promises to be one mouth watering dish. Well, how much
does one savior the dish again and revisits it time
and again!?
Move over Sudesh Bhonsle and take some rest Mr.
Bachchan, Shankar Mahadevan is here to take care of
the songs for you. He churns out a delightful 'Jhoom',
the title song of the film, which can be proclaimed as
a sure fire hit in the very first minute of hearing
it. Extremely catchy with an Indian base to it, 'Jhoom'
is such foot tapping that one almost tends to ignore
the poetry of the song and concentrates on only three
words - 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'.
 While
we have been hearing the chants of 'Jhoom Barabar
Khoom' and 'Damadam Mast Kalandar' in their sufi
versions so far, this could probably be the first time
ever that 'Jhoom Barabar Ever' has been given a
different mood altogether as the tracks bases itself
on Punjabi rhythm and style. Choreographed on Amitabh
Bachchan in his much talked about getup, 'Jhoom' is
going to be much talked about in months to come.
Another version of the song comes towards the end of
the album when KK, Sukhvinder Singh, Mahalaxmi Iyer &
Shankar Mahadevan get together to croon 'Jhoom Barabar
Jhoom'. A track that has as an out and out Punjabi 'mukhda'
and features all the four young protagonists of the
film, Abhishek, Bobby, Preeti and Lara, presumably
coming together for a stage show.
Thankfully, 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' refrains from taking
the 'remix' route and just has some zingy nuances
added to it to make it appear a little more youthful.
Also, there is an additional 'dhol' sound running
throughout the 7 minute track that keeps the dance
flavor on.
'JBJ', which stands for 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom', comes
next and only helps in taking fun to a different level
altogether. Except for the chant of 'Jhoom Barabar
Jhoom' which comes at places, rest of the song boasts
of a completely different tune though the basic feel
still retains its hardcore North Indian feel.
There is a distinct Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy touch to this
song which is dominated by Shankar Mahadevan in the
capacity of a singer while Zubeen follows. As for
Sunidhi Chauhan, she puts on a husky-n-carefree avtar
which makes one look for more of her in the song. A
racy track which has the term 'jhoom' coming at just
the right places in the background, 'JBJ' would be
looked forward to in a packed auditorium boasting of a
superior sound system.
 A
fun song in the offering, 'Ticket To Hollywood' is a
track that would be comprehended most when seen in the
film. In the meanwhile, what once can enjoy is a tune
that comes close to belong to the A.R. Rahman school
of music. In fact one can almost sense a Shaad Ali
influence here since it has got something about it
that streams from 'Saathiya' to 'Bunty Aur Babli' and
now 'Ticket To Hollywood'.
Even though the song's title is English, the song
maintains an Indian feel throughout with arrangements
to lyrics to the rendition style maintaining a 'desi'
flavor. Neeraj Shridhar does a good job yet again
while one expects a 'Kajra Re' from Alisha Chinai
every time she comes behind the mike now. She is fine
in her part though the situation of the song doesn't
allow her to go all out to create yet another 'Kajra
Re' or 'It's Rocking'.
With everything 'rocking' in the soundtrack so far,
one never expected the proceedings to go subtle, even
though one would have loved that to happen. To one's
pleasant surprise the unthinkable happens with the
arrival of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. For the lovers of
melody and soft music, 'Bol Na Halke Halke' is the
best thing to have happened to the album and changes
the graph of 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' to give it a
different dimension altogether.
A love song that could only have been composed for a
Chopra/Johar film, it almost seems patented in its
structure, especially so when Mahalaxmi Iyer casts a
spell with her rendition. One expected Rahat Fateh Ali
Khan to top the show with the way he goes about his
semi-classical rendition but Mahalaxmi proves to be a
worthy co-singer who makes 'Bol Na Halke Halke' a
complete song.
 Gulzar
saab, Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy create a track that not
just excels in melody but also has that catchy rhythm
coming in whenever the words 'Bol Na Halke Halke' is
crooned. This song could well surpass the popularity
of 'Chup Chup Ke' [Bunty Aur Babli].
How many chartbuster tracks can one single album boast
of? One looses the count with the arrival of 'Kiss of
Love' that has in it to turn out to be 'Crazy Kiya Re'
of 2007! After the title song 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' if
there is a track that qualifies as a chartbuster track
in the very first hearing, it is 'Kiss Of Love'.
Vishal Dadlani, who crooned 'Dhoom Again' for Pritam
in 'Dhoom 2' and a tangentially opposite 'Saaiyaan'
for his own 'Ta Ra Rum Pum', gets into his crazy best
with 'Kiss Of Love' where he does what he is best at -
go all out! And no, just like 'Ticket To Hollywood',
even this track sticks to its 'desi' mood throughout
and doesn't take an English route.
A fun track that has Vasundhara Das doing quite well
behind the mike in her husky best, 'Kiss Of Love'
boasts of a catchy rhythm and fast pace which makes it
a song to be played on at a high volume for a dance
floor and occasions of celebrations.
A worthy end to the album comes in the form of 'Jhoom
Jam' which actually stays true to its title as it
amalgamates the rhythm of each of the songs heard
before in a continued manner and connect them together
with 'dhol beats' that make it an entertaining 4
minute piece. Coupled with Yash Chopra brand of music
setting, 'Jhoom Jam' maintains an ethnicity throughout
that should make music lovers in India and abroad
freak out as it is played.
'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' is an album that has chartbuster
written on it on bold letters. There are some albums
that take time to register with music lovers. There
are some that require strong word of mouth to carry
them forward. There are some which are destined to be
popular in the very first listening. 'Jhoom Barabar
Jhoom' of course belongs to the last category.
Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy have yet another hit to their
name again.
Rating:- * * * 1/2
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