Saawan-the love season

By: Joginder Tuteja, Courtesy: IndiaFM

Friday, March 17, 2006

There was a time when producer-director Saaawan Kumar was known for his dramatic films in the 70s and the 80s. He also gave Salman Khan a superhit film in the form of 'Sanam Bewafa' [1991] but post that he is still waiting for an elusive hit. There are tow reasons why his latest flick 'Saaawan - The Love Season' is special for him. Firstly because he reunites with Salman Khan after a decade and a half and secondly the movie's title and his name are common! The film also stars the same lead pair of his last film 'Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya', Kapil Jhaveri and Saloni Awasthi, with music by Aadesh Srivastava and lyrics by Saaawan Kumar himself. If one looks at the track record of films by Saaawan Kumar, most of them have boasted of decent music. One hopes that 'Saaawan - The Love Season' is no exception.

Remember songs from early and mid 90s that had Govinda, Akshay Kumar and the rest gyrating to fast pace songs in a campus setting? 'Punjabi Aankhonwali' is one such track that is in appreciation of a Punjabi girl's eyes. And if one hears closely, there is also a line that goes like "Ladki Ye Kudiyon Mein Hai Salman". Hero worship anyone? A time pass number, if nothing more, by Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan, one is surprised to see its placement at the very beginning of the album as it definitely doesn't belong to the kinds that mark an good opening! One gets a little apprehensive that whether there would be something better in store as we move along!

One of the favorite composer duos with Salman Khan, Sajid-Wajid get an opportunity to compose a qawalli 'Tu Mila De'. But

don't expect a riotous outing as this time around the qawalli has a sad theme and belongs to the 'dard-e-judaai' genre. Who else but Sonu Nigam would have been apt for singing such a track and he delivers completely. A catchy tune, it is a gift in platter for all Salman Khan fans who are sure to love his performance while the song is played on screen, especially in the B and C centers.

Kunal Ganjawala gets himself into the trap of 'O O Oyoo' from 'Bheege Honth Tere' [Murder] once again with 'Jo Maangi Khuda Se'. A sugar coated love song that moves at a leisurely pace and has romance written all over it especially with aid from Kunal's lovelorn rendition, it makes for a decent hearing and actually grows on you as you hear it a couple of times. Yet another above average song that helps in sustaining your interest in the rest of the album, it may actually help if the song is publicized soon for it to be noticed more.

After Kunal, even Jaspinder Narula comes up with a solo rendition of 'Jo Maangi Khuda Se'. Well, this time around you start liking it from the very first note of the song itself though there is a surprise in store with the way in which Aadesh Srivastava has worked around Jaspinder's voice and modulated it in a big way with the help of technology. Instead of high bass, her voice has a metallic feel to it that sounds completely different from what you have heard of her in last decade or so. Hear it to believe it!

Vasundhara Das, who is generally extremely selective about her work in Bollywood, croons 'Ready For Love' that belongs to the 80s disco category. A Hinglish number, it turns out to be extremely ordinary with equally ordinary lyrics. A song about a girl who says she is ready for love now (whatever that means!); it appears to be a stock tune that Aadesh may have created at least a decade and a half back. And no, even the nostalgia factor doesn't get you interested in the proceedings. This one belongs to 'skip this song' category! And imagine, we thought that Vasundhara Das was being selective all this while!

'Maine Pyaar Kiya Tumhe Reason Se, Bas Love Hi Hai Reason, Saaawan - The Love Season - Ok, so such lyrics are pardonable for just two reasons - Aadesh's soulful tune and good singing by both Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan. A love song, obviously, one wonders if the tune may have worked a little better if the lyrics were different from the current form. What is noticeable though about the song is the lead pair of the movie, Kapil and especially Saloni, who look good with each other in it.

Arabic tune marks the beginning of 'Mere Dil Ko Dil Ki Dhadkan Ko' and one understands that this is yet another song belonging to Middle-East. A situational song sung by Shreya Ghoshal, it instead seems tailor-made for Kavita Krishnamurthy. Yet another ordinary number that may have been heard in at least a couple of dozen versions in the past, it comes dangerously comes to 'Pyaar Do Pyaar Lo' [Jaanbaaz], especially when Shaan comes on the scene. Avoidable!

Ironically Saaawan Kumar's last film 'Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya' had much better music where he had reunited with Usha Khanna as a composer. A 'heard today, gone tomorrow' kind of album from all accounts, 'Saaawan - The Love Season' is surprisingly an average album for a Saaawan Kumar movie when one expected him to go full throttle in his comeback effort.