Years
back
Ismail
Darbar
had
stormed
into
the
Bollywood
music
scene
with
Hum
Dil
De
Chuke
Sanam.
The
blockbuster
album
was
followed
by
Devdas
which
was
successful
as
well
and
just
when
it
seemed
that
Darbar
had
really
arrived,
duds
like
Tera
Jadoo
Chal
Gaya,
Shakti
-
The
Power,
Deewangee
and
Baaz
diluted
the
impact
Now
years
after
being
heard
last
as
a
composer
and
mainly
seen
as
a
talent
show
judge,
Darbar
returns
with
his
score
for
Mehbooba.
Well,
even
this
too
is
not
a
comeback
in
true
terms
since
Afzal
Khan
directed
Mehbooba
(starring
Sanjay
Dutt,
Ajay
Devgan
and
Manisha
Koirala)
is
a
film
which
has
been
a
decade
long
in
the
making
and
is
now
finally
seeing
the
light
of
the
day.
However,
contrary
to
what
one
would
believed
before
playing
on
the
album,
the
music
of
Mehbooba
pleasantly
surprises,
even
though
from
sheer
nostalgia
factor.
What
one
hears
is
a
sound
that
is
so
close
to
the
style
of
Laxmikant
Pyaarelal
that
one
tends
to
start
drawing
comparisons
for
each
of
the
8
songs
that
fills
this
album.
In
the
soundtrack
of
Mehbooba,
what
impresses
most
is
the
sheer
grandeur
in
terms
of
arrangements
and
orchestra
which
promises
something
big
on
the
silver
screen.
The
songs
may
not
have
the
kind
of
club
sound
with
rhythm
galore,
something
which
dominates
the
soundtracks
today,
but
does
carry
an
old
world
nostalgic
quotient
which
brings
Laxmikant
Pyaarelal
closer
home.
Whether
it
is
'Khwabo
Ki
Rani
Hai',
'Dilruba
Teri
Aankhe
Palkhe',
'Yaar
Tera
Shukriya
Pyar
Tera
Shukriya',
'Babuji
Bahut
Dukhta
Hai'
or
'Kuch
Kar
Lo
Kuch'
-
each
of
these
songs
has
a
distinct
LP
touch
to
it!
Mehbooba
is
grand,
no
doubt
about
that.
Also,
there
is
no
doubt
about
the
fact
that
if
released
8-10
years
back,
it
would
have
been
a
certain
hit.
Also,
another
interesting
factor
is
the
lyrics
by
Late
Anand
Bakshi
saab,
which
makes
Mehbooba
as
perhaps
lyricist's
last
work.
Well,
Bakshi
saab
would
have
been
happy
if
the
album
would
have
released
when
he
was
alive
since
Ismail
Darbar
doesn't
let
him
down!
Story first published: Monday, June 16, 2008, 14:22 [IST]