Husn - Love and Betrayal

By: Joginder Tuteja, IndiaFM
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Produced by Farrah Dibaa Sultan Ahmed, Husn - Love and Betrayal has been ready for quite some time but may eventually see a release this summer. Directed by debutant Imtiaz Ali, this love story cum thriller also marks the debut of male lead Yuvaraj Parashar who has Parmita Katkar, Nehtra Raghuraman and Sameer Dharmadhikari for company. Aadesh Srivastava and Sameer pair up for majority of numbers while Ismail Darbar and Nida Fazli are roped in for a single.

Album begins on a surprising note as Kunal Ganjawala and Alka Yagnik pair up for a melodious 'Teri Aankhon Se' that has a distinct Jatin-Lalit flavor to it. A song that is a good mix of melody and rhythm, it has a good Indian base with adequate western arrangements in the background to make it a peppy-n-enjoyable number. Both Kunal and Alka are quite competent here as they sing with their heart in the song without giving any indication that the song is for a film with a lesser known starcast. If this track would have been composed for a biggie, it may have been splashed all over so far! A good beginning!

Shaan arrives on the scene with a solo 'Manzil Manzil' that is the most publicized song of the album so far. Even when the film was being readied for release a few months back, 'Manzil Manzil' was the song that was heard and seen most. Now with the film finally arriving at theatres, the song is being promoted again all over again. The song seems to be the introduction number of the hero who declares to the world about his crusade to get the all the love and fun in the world. A mid/late 90s kind of number that sounds fine but has a feel of deja vu around it.

Aadesh Srivastava chooses to pick up the mike himself for 'Ya Ali Maula Ali' that starts on a similar note as 'Jab Jab Choodi Khanke Re' [Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega] only to take get into a style of its own. There are also A.R. Rehman influences in this sufi number that has its exquisite musical arrangements as its strong point. Aadesh modulates his voice in a big way to suit the song's style and comes up with a situational track that has a classy feel to it. One wonders at this point whether it was the title of the movie that had made one apprehensive about the film's music as it turns out to be reasonably well so far! There is a remix version of the song too but with hardly any difference or two!

Rajasthani/Gujarati flavor is apparent in 'Nachu Main Nachu', the first few seconds of which makes one remember 'Ghoomar Re' [Chup Chup Ke] that came just recently and had a similar setting. Sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Madhavi, the song has an ethnic flavor to it as the two girls sing along for a number that sounds like an item number with a folk flavor. It's the arrangements factor again that makes the tune take a slight edge over numerous other songs belonging to similar genre. Another fair number with a feel that is different from the ones preceding it!

When one reads the credits as Ismail Darbar and Nida Fazli for a number, one expects a song with a strong classical base to it. Surprisingly its an absolute about turn in case of 'Ladki Ka Ladki Se' that is a strange mix of Western and Indian music making it a tasteless 'bhelpuri'. With some of the most sub-standard lyrics ever written by Fazli saab, 'Ladki Ka' could well be the most uninspiring song ever by Ismail Darbar. Extremely poor number with equally screechy rendition by Vinod Rathod, it thankfully comes in the end but eventually spoils whatever impact that Aadesh Srivastava's songs preceding it had made.

Leave out 'Ladki Ka Ladki Se' and you have a reasonably decent album in the form of Husn - Love and Betrayal. None of the tracks may be chartbuster materials but as a part of the album, they do not disappoint. Still, the lack of any start value, film's title and lack of any buzz would largely make this effort by Aadesh go missing.