Music review of the movie “Kaminey”

Vishal Bharadwaj has become a name to reckon with in the Hindi film industry. He wears many hats, music director, composer, director, writer; his many talents are quite evident in his body of work.  Movies like Maachis, Maqbool, Blue Umbrella and Omkara have challenged some of the stereotypes in Bollywood and have made a place for themselves in the pantheon of movie lore.

Kaminey is his latest venture and is currently all the rage in India. The film stars a number of accomplished actors and stars Shahid Kapoor in a double role and Priyanka Chopra.Vishal is being compared to Quentin Tarantino in this gritty tale of mob and mayhem. Vishal collaborates with Gulzar, the lyricist continuing a long association. They have created magic in the past with memorable numbers like “ Chhod aaye hum who galiyan” in Maachis and “ Naina thag lenge” from Omkara.

Onto the songs of Kaminey:

“Dhan te Nan” has taken the airwaves back home by storm. This song gets you moving with a dramatic riff that slips into a groovy beat. Sukvinder Singh starts off with ease, but the real surprise is Vishal Dadlani who matches Sukvinder which is no easy feat. In fact, Vishal sounds the part as a goon dancing the night away compared to the more experienced voice of Sukhvinder.  This is a foot-tapping number and made for the dance-floors.

The lyrics are quite inane in my opinion but the song has all the makings of a chartbuster.

“ Fatak” is a deceptively folksy number performed by Kailash Kher and Sukhvinder Singh with gusto and verve. There is a whole rap overlay in the background. The song depicts the risks associated with AIDS and HIV in a completely original way. Gulzar gets credit for comparing AIDS to a bee that stings (infects) and promoting safe habits. WOW, WHAT A HARD_HITTING SONG!!“ yeh shaitan ka saaya hai” “ yeh ishq nahin asaan, AIDS ka khatra hai”. Hats off to this fantastic song with a message that is utterly entertaining and appealing. Hopefully, this will be used to educate the masses.

“ Kaminey” is the title song sung by the director/music director Vishal Bharadwaj himself. He has a very pleasing soft voice and sings a song of poignant self-examination and introspection of a man facing his own reality and finding himself wanting and inadequate. Again Gulzar shines with the lyrics “ Ek dil se dosti thi, yeh huzoor bhi kaminey”. Apparently Gulzar was challenged to write a song using the word Kaminey and does he succeed. A fantastic number!

Mohit Chauhan sings the song” Pehli baar Mohabbat” is a soft romantic ballad which is perfect for easy listening. It is a tender reflection on love’s moments and is well supported by a lovely score with lovely piano pieces that layer the vocal parts. For folks who may not remember Mohit, he used to sing for the band “ Silk Route”. A couple of his famous songs are : Tum se hi” from Jab we met and “ Khoon chala” from Rang de Basanti.

“ Raat ke dhai baje” is a earthy number picturised as a wedding song. Sung by Rekha Bharadwaj, Sunidhi Chauhan, Kunal Ganjawala and Suresh Wadkar. Rekha and Sunidhi sound so similar, it is hard to identify them all the time. This song has a lovely twist in the melody that changes the tone and feel of the song. It also has a rap overlay in spots, which really works and returns to the refrain Pehli baar Mohabbat that is a cool touch. A lovely unusual number.

There are the usual couple of remixes and a theme tune. Overall this is a great album with a variety of sounds, a couple of surefire hits and thoughtful lyrics. Vishal’s use of rap sections is quite unusual (compared to A R Rahman) but rather delightful. He also uses 2 voices with a lot of similarities in a number of songs and somehow pulls it off. I recommend you buy this album and enjoy the work of this talented team!

Meena Sundaram is a cardiologist and singer. She is performing with Mohan Subramaniam in “ Dil-e-Betaab” an evening of old timeless romantic Bollywood numbers as a fundraiser to benefit Learnquest academy of Music. Ticket price $10. There are 2 shows October 3^rd, 2009 and November 14, 2009 (8-11 PM) at 125 Prospect Street, Framingham MA. Jawed Wahid is presenting the shows. Please contact us at meenac.sundaram@verizon.net for more details.

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