Year: 2006
Label: TIPS
Genre: Thriller
Director: Abbas-Mastan
Music Director: Himesh Reshammiya
Leading Cast:  Upen Patel, Akshaye Khanna, Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor

It seems Bollywood cannot get enough of Himesh Reshammiya these days. Even the great Subhash Ghai has used his talents for his upcoming suspense thriller.  With Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor as the young lead along with debutant Upen Patel and beauties like Tanushree Dutta, Isha Koppikar and Payal Rohatgi this film comes with great expectations.  Reshammiyya has used his signature style of combining Indian with Western music to deliver a fine score for the film.

1) Aashiqui Meri (Original and remix) [Himesh Reshammiya, Sunidhi Chauhan]

The film is a thriller and the opening number sets the stage for the suspense. Reshammiya the singer, who has been all the rage since Aashiq Banaya Apne sings this opening number.  A husky female voice keeps uttering the words “36 China Town” creating a visual of a crime ridden back alley. The sound of the strings bring a Chinese touch.  The formula of excellent orchestration with a great catchy rhythm, that has people all over the world dancing to his tunes, works in this number as well. Whether or not you like his nasal tone, his vocals are powerful.  The talented Sunidhi assists him and as usual does not disappoint.

DJ Akbar Sami completely redefines the song further on when he comes up with his racy version. ! He meshes electronic pings and beats with scratches. He also adds the required techno beats and club goers are sure to be delighted with the effect

2) 24X7 I Think Of You (Original and remix) [Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan]

Could you ever imagine a song with these words as lyrics? It takes some creativity and imagination on the part of Reshammiya  to come up with the score for this song and it actually ends up being a pretty cool number. Regular guitars and funky sounds.combined with the effortless vocals of the talented Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan brings a racy'n'peppy feel to the song. The remix is not brilliant but not bad.

3) Jab Kabhi (Original and two remixes - Akbar Sami and Suketu) [Alka Yagnik, Kunal Ganjawala]

Finally here are some lyrics we can listen to. It comes with two remixes. The original is a nice romantic number that reminds one of the hit Reshammiya creation from Kyon Ki. The song is a Kunal Ganjawala number all the way. Alka Yagnik as usual delivers a fine performance.

Akbar Sami's version of the song is just about 3 minutes long but that's good enough to create a good impression and keep you involved. Suketu's version is full length and is more of a rap-n-reggae version with a nice accompanying signature tune throughout.

4) Dil Tumhare Bina (Original and remix) [Himesh Reshammiya, Alka Yagnik, Sunidhi Chauhan]

Himesh the singer has the right voice to bring out the “Tanha” feeling which he tries to convey. The sound of the violin and the redition of ‘Ab Tanha Raha Na Jaya’  is wonderful. Suddenly though the song shifts gear and there is heavy duty beats with the sound of Rock Your Body which was not very enjoyable especially since there is too much of it. Despite this aberrartion the song has potential. Alka Yagnik sings the original and Sunidhi is featured in the remix which is a terrific effort by Akbar Sami. 

5) Badi Dilchaspi Hai (Original and remix) [Kay Kay, Arya]

This song has the right western arrangements with enough beats and rhythm to make it a catchy foot taping number. Kay Kay , perhaps one of the most consistent singers in Bollywood  today has delivered a fine performance . The song is quite hip and the use of acoustic guitar brings nice soft rock feel to the song. Akbar Sami infuses high techno beats with catchy electronic sounds to make this a dynamic remix!

The God of Bollywood music seems to be showering blessings on Himesh Reshammiya these days and most of his recent creations have been sure hits. 36 China Town with a couple of potential chartbuster will ensure that Reshammiya’s tide is riding high proving once again that when it comes to combining east and west Reshammiya is probably one of the best.

|