Wafaa

Producer: True Life Production

Director: Rakesh Sawant

Lyrics: Shahab Allahabadi, Payam Saeedi, Salim Raja

Music Director: Ravi Pawar, Sayed Ahmed

Actors: Rajesh Khanna, Sudesh Berry, Tinnu Anand, Saara Khan

Music on: Yellow and Red Music

Wafaa is a (to be released) thriller that stars former superstar Rajesh Khanna – yes, the old heartthrob is back starring as an older man who falls for a much younger woman in this film filled with lust, adultery, murder, mystery, intrigue and all that jazz……… There are some videos available online of the audio release of the film held in November 2008.

The album which has music is by a young duo, Ravi Pawar and Sayed Ahmed is a mixed bag and offers to the audience some very good and average music – some songs are in fact very pleasant and while some of the songs strike you as ordinary, there is no doubting that the young MDs have dished out more than just a couple of impressive numbers in the album.

Ravi Pawar has done a couple of films before Wafaa – he shared the credits for Tum Bin and was the MD for Oops that released about 3 years earlier. Sayed Ahmed, who seems to making his debut, is credited with the music of 2 tracks in the album – Tere Bagair and Bhula Sako To.

Wafaa - The title song is of middle eastern essence – the track is racy and night club/dance material – Kalpana (this singer from Assam is now making waves in the world of Bhojpuri music) is first rate and sings with verve and her voice is blessed with excellent range and expression– she is joined by an unaccredited male singer who is equally vivacious.  A song that grows on you after a couple of listens!

Tere Bagair – Kumar Sanu is back with this very graceful duet with Pronali that seems to be very popular with listeners already and takes you back to the eighties and is reminiscent of songs like dil hai ki maantha nahin and saajan and dil diwane that reigned over the charts then – Sanu as always is a tad nasal and Pronali sounds fresh and young and the song has the violin and percussion sections doing a very nice overlap over the vocals and in the interludes.  The song can be viewed in the film’s promos and is the quintessential ‘hero behind the piano’ party song………….

Muztarib – another song that is very Middle-Eastern in tune and lyrics– an average song in terms of rendition and tune - sung by Akrut and Mika Singh – fast paced and seems more hurried than foot tapping.   Easily forgettable and uninspiring!

Bhula Sako To – This gentle waltz is a real breath of fresh air and is very well sung by Udit Narayan, whose voice still sounds young and smooth.  The back-up vocals sound a little bland and lackluster and could have benefited with an infusion of life and sparkle– despite this the song is indeed a pleasure to listen to.

Tu Hi Shola – Despite Kailash Kher’s very skilled vocals, this song sometimes falls flat– the composition for the most part is classical with lots of aalap and swaras thrown in for good measure – very nice orchestral work is a plus for this song.

Husn Hai by Aftab and Hasim Sabri is qawaliish and sufiish– with ample doses of philosophy in the lyrics – a genre of song that seems to be popular in most movies today – very down to earth and straight forward interludes – the rendition of both male singers is robust with sufficient spontaneity and energy.

Raaste Roshan Huye – From the opening bars (which sounds straight out of the Arabian Nights) onwards, this song charms and captivates and is my pick of the album –– the melody is very catchy and Rahul Vaidya whose voice resembles both Sonu Nigam and Shaan, does a great job – complemented by Sunidhi Chauhan who carries off the song with her usual élan and elegance.  Nice song to unwind to………

Sargarmiyan – a song that presumably sets the stage for seduction – maybe a nightclub or bedroom setting – Jaya Piyush’s vocals are moderately sultry but not sizzling enough to push the song through.  Throughout the song there is this percussion accompaniment which is disconcerting rather than engaging – nevertheless, the dazzling sax interludes in the song make up for this!

Summing up, a couple of average, a couple of cool tracks in the album might make the album worth buying or at the least, listening to in some of the music websites.  I am not sure if the sleazy and steamy plot of the film or an aging Rajesh Khanna will help this album’s popularity or vice versa, but as always, the world of films and film music is so unpredictable as are the audience’s tastes!

Sudha (Lakshmi) Rao

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