Killer

By: Joginder Tuteja, IndiaFM
Friday, June 23, 2006
One factor that strikes about the album of The Killer is Bhatt brothers moving from SAREGAMA HMV label to T-Series with The Killer. Whether it was Murder, Tumsa Nahi Dekha, Zeher, Kalyug or most recently Gangster, the music of each of these films where Vishesh Films - HMV have combined has always resulted in a bumper success. In comparison the solitary instance in recent times when Vishesh Films joined hands with T-Series i.e. Meera's debut Bollywood film Nazar, the result was sub-standard, to put it mildly! Keeping this fact in mind, one is a little apprehensive about the film's music though relief comes in the form of Emraan Hashmi's presence, Nisha Kothari's claims about each of the songs being a gem, film's publicity claiming composer duo Sajid-Wajid bringing in a new sound [while also being responsible for the remixes] and lyricist Jalees Sherwani's overall good track record!

Sadly, all this doesn't really convert into a memorable album!

The way KK goes about beginning 'Teri Yaadon Mein', you know that it's a sign for Emraan Hashmi to arrive. A song that instantly reminds of the kind of music Nikhil Vinay have composed for Sonu Nigam in his non-film tracks, 'Teri Yaadon Mein' takes one down the memory lane as the successful combination of T-Series and Nikhil Vinay is brought to the fore once again. Simple musical arrangements with a rocking effect, it has KK doing a great job once again, this time in a high pitch as he renders a track about a man's search for his love! Still, in spite of a theme like this, there is not a single dull moment in the track that rocks from the word GO with Shreya Ghoshal pitching in momentarily and doing a good job once again as she brings in a little western twist to her voice. The club feel is prevalent in the song's remix that starts on a funky note and continues in an extended mix mode before KK gets an opportunity to be heard once more! Yes, this version works well too and one may choose to pick between the original and the remix depending upon the mood!

A European chorus [Is it Spanish?] is heard at the beginning of 'O Sanam' that has KK and Shreya Ghoshal pairing up once again. Its the rhythm of a whistle sound that distinguishes the song apart from various other melodious numbers that keep hitting the music channels. If one hears the song closely, realization strikes that the tune is somewhat reminiscent of the T-Series-Anuradha Paudwal numbers that one heard in the early-mid 90s, though the results are much more contemporary and urban this time around. KK is mellower here while Shreya Ghoshal is sweet again in the voice of a girl whom one could take home! Nisha Kothari in fact succeeds in doing that as she sheds her bombshell image to don a sari and still looks stunning as ever! A second good song in succession that also comes in a KK solo version. A good going for the album so far!

Alisha Chinoy singing 'Abhi Toh Main Jawan Hoon'? Ahem, interesting! That's all one can exclaim before playing on the track that begins on an ethnic note with a sound of tabla and ghunghroo. Knowing the fact that the film has Nisha Kothari playing a bar dancer, one tends to believe that this naughty number has been picturized on her. The sound of 'Abhi To Main Jawan Hoon' is same as the age old rhythm heard in the namesake number and though Alisha Chinoy sings it with a kind of spunk she is associated with it, the number doesn't really do much over and above the famous bar girl numbers heard and seen in Mahesh Manjrekar's films [Vaastav, Kurukshetra, Hathyar]! An average tune for an item number, the only interesting factor about the song is to see how Nisha Kothari gyrates to this one!?

After a Spanish influence, its time to head Middle East with 'Hibbaki'! This in fact goes with the situation as the film is set in Dubai. The song is a Middle East/Western fusion as the racy rhythm of 'Hibbaki' makes it good enough to keep the rapid pace of the film's narrative going. Suzzane sings the song with support from Earl and Hamza who add on the rhythm and overall they manage to come up with a time pass, if not memorable number. An item/situational song, 'Hibbaki' is also heard in a remix version that is just the right fit for a dance floor outing. Rocking from the very beat with heavy bass accompanying the tune, the remix version could be a track that could be used to spice up the talkie promos with it playing in the background!

Musical arrangements belonging to 'kabeela' genre are heard at the beginning of 'Yaar Piya' that has an assortment of different music instruments coming together to create a desired effect. Sunidhi Chauhan goes around crooning this yet another item/situational dance number picturized on Nisha Kothari and if it was not for Vishesh Films, it would have been plain and simply dismissed as just one of those ordinary numbers in ordinary films that come and go. The music belongs to the 80s and it is not hard to imagine the likes of Kimi Katkar, Farha, Mandakini and the likes dancing to this item song! The weakest of the lot, 'Yaar Piya' is as conventional as it gets and just doesn't leave a good taste in the mouth while bringing the album to an end.

The Killer started on a winning note with 'Teri Yaadon Mein', 'O Sanam' and to a little extent 'Hibbaki' but lost its way rapidly with songs like 'Abhi To Main Jawaan Hoon' and 'Yaar Piya' that just do not push the envelope at all. Sajid Wajid may have attempted to strike back with The Killer but the situational feel of the film doesn't really get them a right stage to demonstrate their actual capabilities. The composer duo have the potential to do much better than giving music for an album that has 60% of its songs set as a bar dance numbers!

Law of averages finally catch up the Bhatts who have been having a dream run with their musical success so far. Hear The Killer for its first 40% [Teri Yaadon Mein', 'O Sanam'] and move on to the next CD in your music system!