Sarhad Paar - Review

By: Joginder Tuteja, IndiaFM
Friday, March 09, 2007
Dated subject. Dated film. Dated starcast [with an exception of Sanjay Dutt]. Dated music. Zilch promotion.

With all such factors combined together, there are absolutely no hopes for the audience, either from the film or the music. Either that there could be some credentials in the final product that may surprise one. But even that would be a surprise for Sarhad Paar that is finally releasing today after a rather low key music release.

Well, get ready for a surprise since what composer Anand Raaj Anand and lyricist Dev Kohli come up with is a pleasant sounding album that mostly comprises of above average to good numbers.

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Anand Raaj Anand doubles up as a singer for 'Teriyaan Mohabbatan', a kind of number that is a Himesh Reshammiya specialty. With a mix of Indian and Western arrangement, this sad love song comes across as a pleasant hearing with ARA doing quite well while wearing the hat of both the composer and singer. If you have liked songs like 'Yaar Mangiyasi' [Kaante], 'Rabba' [Musafir] and 'Dil De Diya Hai' [Masti] , then chances are good that you would want to lend an ear to 'Teriyaan Mohabbatan' too. Now that's Surprise No. 1!

Guest pair of composer duo Sameer-Kanchan and lyricist Sheershak Anand come together for 'Nit Khair Manga', a number that has a trademark Punjabi flavor to it. But no, it is not one of those quintessential 'bhangra' numbers. Instead it is an easy-to-ear love song that may sound like a 70s number with a distinct village/folk flavor to it but it a melodious outing nevertheless.

In fact closer one hears the song, more it sounds like 'Yaar Mangiyasi' [Kaante] , a number that was also the reference point for 'Teriyaan Mohabbatan'. Smriti Minocha, a new singer, renders the number and has a voice similar to Shreya Ghoshal which pretty much gives an idea about the final outcome of the song.

It's time for an item number with the arrival of 'Ae Zindagi'. Primarily a Sunidhi Chauhan number with Wadali Brothers chipping in a little, 'Ae Zindagi' is set in Middle East flavor. A number that doesn't really make you sit up and listen to it closely, it also appears in an additional version with just Wadali Brothers at the helm of affairs. Though the rendition is good in both the versions, it is the dated and heard-before feeling that comes in the way. This is a kind of situational track which belongs to the fast-forward variety in the album.

Ok, so now here comes a number that one has to hear with an unbiased approach. Agreed that the song belongs to a beaten-to-death melody, it sounds as if you have heard it a 100 times before and the lyrics too are oft repeated - but then the final outcome of 'Sona Chandi' is not a bad hear at all.

A typical love duet by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik, it is for the nostalgia as it makes you remember the tunes of Anand Milind from the late 80s and early 90s era. Also, there is an ARA stamp to it that makes you give it a hearing considering the fact that it was composed years back and comes from the time when such numbers were considered a sure-shot success. No wonder, this is the only number in the album that also gets repeated.

A homecoming number, 'Mere Rabba' is the next to follow. Yet another number with a distinct North Indian flavor to it, 'Mere Rabba' is about a woman whose hubby has come back home and she is now dancing around with joy. A fast paced number with Jaspinder Narula sounding all excited as required by the genre of the number, it also has Poornima [who was quite popular in the mid-late 90s] chipping in a little with ARA himself making a brief appearance behind the mike. Not a bad hear at all again, 'Mere Rabba' makes one wonder if the prospects of the album had been different if only it would have released around 5 years back.

Poornima gets a solo for herself in the form of a 'shaadi-byaah' number 'Addha Sach'. A feel good number that instantly gets your feet tapping, it belongs to the 70s variety and still works quite well for itself. And no, it is not just the nostalgia factor of hearing a tune composed in the style of Laxmikant Pyaarelal. Instead even for contemporary times, ARA belts a tune that is melodious and comes across as a good celebration track.

If only the album was released in the times when it was composed, it would have been decently popular. Even on hearing them today, none of the times jar with most of them deserving to be at least given at least a few hearing. If you are fond of core Indian music with a flavor of North India, Sarhad Paar is not bad at all.