Rehguzar

By: Joginder Tuteja, IndiaFM

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

There is a factor which is consistent about Jimmy Shergill's films - sensitive subjects! Time and often he works on films that do not really follow a conventional path and try to be something different. His good boy image comes handy too and though he is still waiting for an elusive box office success, his effort is always noticed. With Rehguzar -The Road to Destiny, he may be hoping that he finally strikes gold with this Kesar Kothari produced Faruq Masudi film. Saloni Aswani, who was first seen in Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya followed by more recently Saawan - The Love Season is Jimmy's female lead in the film. Aadesh Srivastava, who didn't really set the musical charts on fire with his last two scores for Chingari and Saawan - The Love Season would be looking for a better result with Nusrat Badr as the lyricist.

When Aadesh Srivastava and Alisha Chinoy unite for singing the opening track 'Habibi Habibi', there is every indication that it is an item number in the offering. This comes as a bit surprising because from a movie like Rehguzar that deals with a topical theme of people working in the Middle East, one expected a much sensitive beginning. As expected, the song has a Middle-East musical base and actually turns out to be reasonably enjoyable. Such has been an overflow of numbers with a Middle-East base in the recent times that there are apprehensions galore about these tracks but Aadesh Srivastava does it well to come up with a foot tapping number that has a catchy appeal and doesn't sound bad at all. Though the lyrics are quite conventional and do not really break any new ground, it's the voice of the singing pair of Aadesh and Alisha that maintain a good energy level throughout. Overall a fine beginning to the album!

On seeing Sukhwinder Singh's name for the title song Rehguzar that comes next, one feels that now could be the time for a sensitive outing. There is a good built up to before the song actually catches pace and the heavy beats accompany the lyrics 'Rabba Rabba Rehguzar'. The song is modestly paced along with a good rhythm and the western arrangements give an up market feel to the track. Sukhwinder Singh sings with a lot of heart in for this extremely well written song by Nusrat Badr that could make Gulzar saab proud. One of the best songs to have arrived this year that could also be a lounge favorite, it could alone be the reason to go for the album. Play it on while on a long drive!

The way 'Pyaar Bhara Khat' begins with a faint sound of flute in the background along with an 'alaap' in a male voice, you are sure that this is going to be a highly melodious track to come. Well, it actually is a sensitively handled song that is about the feeling of those who have just received a letter from their homes far away. It's amazing to see how the quality of Aadesh's music just gets better after every number as this track that has a 'ghazal' feel to it simply hooks you on to its melody. Great words by Nusrat Badr make 'Pyaar Bhara Khat' come pretty close to the feel of 'Chitthi Aayi Hai' [Naam] and 'Sandese Aate Hain' [Border]. This is a number that deserves to be heard in a repeat mode for catching its finer nuances.

It's time to get simplicity and innocence in words for the love song 'Woh Chand Pe Titli'. Though Udit Narayan is in his romantic self as always, its a master stroke to have Shreya Ghoshal as she does extremely well while singing in her sweet-n-saccharine style. The music flows like a cool breeze and fits in well with the mood of the rest of the album. A melodious track, it has A.R. Rehman influences when it comes to musical arrangements but nevertheless does well to hold on its own.

With none of the songs being disappointing at all, one keenly looks forward to hearing the remaining two songs in the album. First to come is 'Meri Bechainiyaan' by Shaan and Alka Yagnik which is as close as it gets to a typical Bollywood score. At last count, one must have heard at least 500 songs based on this tune that has the two lovers getting all passionate and excited in their love for each other. Now this is the kind of track that Ram Gopal Verma would have loved to make a parody of for his films where he is required to mock at the conventional song-n-dance routine! What a letdown after some really different numbers before this one! Rehguzar ends on a devotional note with Adnan Sami crooning 'Allah Hu' that has the singer doing a fine job as he sings along to a melodious tune.

Rehguzar has at least two numbers that are good enough reasons to play on the album - Title song and 'Pyaar Bhara Khat'. Remaining songs [with an exception of 'Meri Bechainiyaan'] also keep your interest alive while the album is played and that's good enough for a film that is coming from an altogether new crew. Though Aadesh was good in Chingari, he was surprisingly lackluster in Saawan - The Love Season. Now he comes back with a much better outcome in Rehguzar - The Road To Destiny.