Bas Ek Pal - Music Review

By: Joginder Tuteja, IndiaFM

Monday, August 07, 2006

Onir's My Brother Nikhil released last year and garnered immense critical acclaim all over. Though commercially the movie didn't do great business, it at least managed to announce the arrival of director Onir and a dependable actor in the form of Sanjay Suri who won hearts all over. Now the two come together again for Bas Ek Pal, a story about relationships told in urban setting that also stars Jimmy Shergill, Juhi Chawla and Urmila Matondkar in the lead. Vivek Phillip and Amitabh Verma, who were the composer and lyricist respectively in My Brother Nikhil, are repeated for Bas Ek Pal too. Mithoon is another music director roped in while Pritam and Sayeed Quadri are the guest composer and lyricist respectively.

K.K. and Sunidhi Chauhan get together for Hai Ishq Ye Kya Ek Khata that is instantly catchy and is set for the dance floors. But unlike numerous item songs that keep making appearance every now and then with ordinary lyrics, this one carries a lot of meaning with it and exudes a lot of energy. Though the beginning of the number has the same tune as 'Jal Jal Ke' [Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena], it has been set to a rock mode with the track taking a different course soon after. With a message of enjoying life in entirety, it comes with a lot of punch, courtesy Pritam's spirited western arrangements and superb rendition by ever-dependable K.K. Sunidhi Chauhan is good but for the song she plays second fiddle to K.K. who dominates the proceedings. A number with a chartbuster appeal!

Atif Aslam, who is making quite an impact in the Bollywood music scene after Woh Lamhe and Aadat, croons Tere Bin that belongs to a similar genre and creates a splash once again. Superbly composed by Mithoon with some excellent lyrics by Sayeed Quadri, Tere Bin is an all around guest song that deserves to be promoted all over the place due to its universal appeal. A song about separation with living life being exceedingly difficult without the company of your loved one, it has Atif bringing a lot of pain in his voice to create the desired effect. Eric Pillai's remix version comes next and if only it was a film by Bhatts, the song would have guaranteed a promotional music video. Also Emraan Hashmi would be regretting that he couldn't get a chance to sink his teeth into this track since it is simply tailor made for him!

Where has Vivek Phillip being all this while? This is the first thought that comes to you on hearing 'Zindagi Hosh Mein' that again has sad undertones conveyed through Amitabh Verma's lyrics but still turns out to be pretty entertaining due to a lively western musical arrangement. Composed as an Indi-pop number, it is sung by K.K. and Zubeen Garg and comes in an original and a remix version [as a Zubeen solo]. Unlike ton loads of remix versions that we are being exposed to in last few months, this one by Eric Pillai at least doesn't seem forced upon and rather entertains.

Title song Bas Ek Pal follows next that starts off on a rather subtle note with an effective build up of rhythm. Dominique Cerejo's croons the words Bas Ek Pal before K.K. takes over from her and sings to Mithoon's tune that is reminiscent to Pakistani pop! Yet another superb number to arrive that maintains a consistent mood of the album, Bas Ek Pal gives tough competition to 'Tere Bin' in terms of class and quality and turns out to be an exceedingly well composed track. A meaningful number with some interesting lyrics, Bas Ek Pal appears in a remix version too and is created for a DJ to lay his hands on. Yes, this is yet another track that has Emraan Hashmi written all over it! Who will be the lucky one to feature in the music video - Sanjay Suri or Jimmy Shergill? Or both?

Vivek Philip begins 'Ashq Bhi' with a small piece of guitar before K.K. and Sunidhi Chauhan start crooning this romantic number after a couple of heavy tracks. It is amazing to see the way K.K. keeps changing his voice for every song and sounds very much in love for this track based on Spanish music. It may not be your regular candy floss track that is set around the trees but a very contemporary number made for urban audience. The same team returns with 'Dheemey Dheemey' that in fact is a good follow-up to 'Ashq Bhi' since it too has a similar mood and belongs to the same romantic genre. A beautiful rock ballad that deserves to be played in up market eating joints over a candle light dinner, it is western in theme and should be liked by those who have been looking for something urban and different.

Bas Ek Pal is certainly not one of your conventional albums with 2 love songs, 2 item songs and 2 situational songs with a remix for each of the 6 tracks [whether it is wanted or unwanted]! Instead it is one of those very contemporary and urban albums that have the songs telling a story and present a set of tunes that are unique without trying too hard. If you have been craving for something new and want to hear something out-of-routine, play on 'Bas Ek Pal' that has some very good songs by Vivek Philip, Mithoon and Pritam. You would surely give it a hearing for many more moments that just one!