(This article is sponsored by Sounds of India)

Choreographer Farah Khan and Shahrukh have been buddies for years now and SRK keeping an old promise to star in Farah’s debut directorial venture has given his heart and soul in a moving performance in Main Hoon Na.

Khan also pairs SRK with Sushmita Sen, the smoldering ex Miss Universe. The SRK-Sush starrer Main Hoon Na is expected to hit the big screen sometime in April and also stars Boman Irani, Naseeruddin Shah, Kabir Bedi, Zayed Khan, Amrita Rao and Suniel Shetty.

Music director Anu Malik was reportedly asked by Farah Khan to stay close to the style of the late great RD Burman and to a certain extent, in MHN, Malik has brought back some of the old world charm that permeated all of Rahul da’s compositions. Javed Akhtar’s lyrics are a treat to listen to.

Musically, MHN breaks no new grounds, it’s business as usual, the tunes, accompaniments all do have a faint whiff of déjà vu, but the overall package pleases nonetheless.

Sonu has never sounded as sweet crooning Kiska Hai ye tumko intezaar, main hoon na…giving his special best when voicing a playful SRK. Shreya Gosal is flawless as usual singing along with Sonu. The same song gets the sad treatment when Abhijeet sings it later in the album, mourning (one could safely guess) the loss of his beloved, swimming and wallowing in a sea of self-pity! The lyrics are a big give away there…Khoya hai paakey jisne pyaar main hoon na….

Another welcome trend is the return of the once ubiquitous Quawwali in new Bollywood productions. Maqbool had Ru ba ru, Meenaxi, Noor un ula now Tumse milkar dilka jo haal in Main Hoon Na. Sabri brothers join Sonu and a pop/rap/Dj gang to pep the quawwali further.

Tumhe jo maine dekah (Abhijeet and Shreya), fast opaced track with a Latin undertone and is fun to listen to.
Chale Jaise Hawaaein with KK and Vasundhara fail to impress at first sampling but get better with repeated play. And this reviewer quite enjoyed Anu Malik and Sunidhi’s upbeat number Gori gori in the old rock 'n' roll style.

Final verdict? This album deserves to be heard.

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