By:
Joginder
Tuteja,
IndiaFM
Tuesday,
November
27,
2007
Akshay
Kumar
has
reached
a
stage
where
currently
Shahrukh
Khan
is.
No
matter
who
is
his
leading
lady,
no
matter
which
production
house
he
works
with,
no
matter
what
the
film's
genre
is,
no
matter
who
directs
the
film
and
no
matter
who
composes
for
his
films
-
the
fact
remains
that
he
is
audience's
darling
and
would
hit
gold
in
each
of
his
films.
His
great
run
in
last
few
years
is
a
testimony
to
that!
This
is
the
reason
why
even
with
names
like
Anees
Bazmee
(No
Entry),
Firoz
Nadiadwala
(Hera
Pheri,
Phir
Hera
Pheri),
Anil
Kapoor,
Firoz
Khan,
Nana
Patekar,
Katrina
Kaif
and
Mallika
Sherawat
involved,
Welcome
would
go
down
as
an
Akshay
Kumar
release.
With
multiple
composers
like
Anand
Raaj
Anand,
Himesh
Reshammiya
and
Sajid-Wajid
involved,
it
only
promises
to
be
an
added
advantage.
However,
in
case
of
Welcome,
it
turns
out
to
be
a
major
disadvantage
as
the
music
turns
out
to
be
way
below
the
mark.
The
start
of
the
album
is
good.
Bring
out
the
trumpets
and
lay
down
the
red
carpet
-
the
celebrations
have
begun
and
party
is
on
with
the
arrival
of
title
song
Welcome.
The
music
has
a
distinct
David
Dhawan
touch
to
it
with
the
title
song
of
Partner
(composed
by
Sajid-Wajid
again)
coming
closest.
Composed
as
a
Western
track
with
a
distinct
party
feel
to
it,
Welcome
is
a
high
on
orchestra
number
which
has
Wajid
giving
a
voiceover
and
Shaan
and
Soumya
Raoh
pairing
up
to
croon
the
major
part
of
the
song.
Even
though
the
intermediate
portions
of
the
number
aren't
any
great
shakes
as
they
turn
out
to
be
a
routine
fare,
the
music
woven
around
the
opening
lines
if
a
killer
and
ensures
that
there
is
no
dull
moment.
It's
fast
becoming
a
trend
(a
healthy
one
though)
to
see
one
composer
crooning
for
a
fellow
composer.
Vishal
Dadlani
has
been
doing
it
for
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy,
Anand
Raaj
Anand
has
done
it
for
Pritam,
Shankar
Mahadevan
has
done
this
for
Vishal-Shekhar
and
others
and
now
he
has
done
it
again
for
Anand
Raaj
Anand
for
the
number
'Hoth
Rasiley'.
Surprisingly,
the
song
turns
out
to
be
very
ordinary
as
it
is
excess
of
sound
and
fury
which
kills
the
impact.
The
tune
takes
numerous
twists
and
turns
and
a
minute
into
the
song,
one
tends
to
loose
interest
into
the
proceedings.
Shankar
comes
along
with
Anand
Raaj
Anand
and
Shreya
Ghoshal
to
croon
this
celebration
number
with
an
extremely
loud
Punjabi
celebration
setting
to
it.
The
only
thing
which
can
save
the
number
from
being
a
total
disappointment
is
it's
picturisation/choreography
which
may
be
done
in
a
comic
setting.
With
Anand
Raaj
Anand
playing
the
dual
role
of
a
composer
as
well
as
a
singer
for
this
song
with
Shweta
Pandit
joining
in,
'Tera
Sarafa' again
belongs
completely
to
the
David
Dhawan
school
of
music.
Nothing
surprising
here
since
Anees
Bazmee
has
been
a
script/screenplay
writer
for
numerous
Dhawan
movies
in
the
past.
Coming
back
to
the
song,
'Tera
Sarafa'
again
follows
an
unapologetic
'masti-dhamaal'
mode
with
a
focus
mainly
on
getting
foot
tapping
beats
and
keeping
the
heat
on
for
fast
paced
proceedings.
The
USP
of
the
song
is
Anil
Kapoor
and
Nana
Patekar
shaking
a
leg
with
Mallika
Sherawat,
though
one
wonders
if
the
song
would
have
gone
any
further
distance
if
not
for
this
unique
pairing!
Ultimately
'Tera
Sarafa'
is
the
kind
which
is
heard
today,
enjoyed
mainly
due
to
choreography
and
forgotten
the
moment
film
is
off
the
screens!
Oops,
now
what's
that!?
By
the
time
an
elaborate
30
second
saxophone
piece
is
through
and
one
settles
down
to
hear
something
soothing,
the
90s
style
arrangements
start
scaring
a
listener.
If
this
is
not
enough,
what
follows
next
truly
catches
you
by
surprise
as
Himesh
Reshammiya
(doubling
up
as
a
composer
and
singer)
croons
the
word
'Insha
Allah'
in
the
highest
possible
pitch!
Heavy
arrangements,
as
has
been
the
hallmark
of
the
album
so
far,
doesn't
spare
a
listener
here
as
well
even
as
Shaan
and
Akruti
Kakkar
come
together
with
Krishna
to
croon
some
of
the
most
ordinary/pedestrian
lyrics
from
a
music
album
of
2007.
Just
hear
this
one
-
'Ab
Jism
o
Jaan
Mein,
Dil
Ke
Jahaan
Mein,
Hai
Tera
Welcome,
Aa
Bhi
Jaa'!
Aided
by
'dhol'
beats,
'Insha
Allah'
turns
out
to
be
a
routine
'masala'
number
which
work
more
visually
(that
too
due
to
Akshay's
presence)
than
audio-wise!
'Kola
Laka
Vellari'
-
Now
this
is
yet
another
number
where
one
exclaims
-
Oops,
now
what's
that!?
Frankly,
one
can't
actually
comprehend
what
exactly
'Kola
Laka
Vellari'
stands
for.
In
fact
even
Google
doesn't!
The
only
good
thing
about
this
song
is
that
Himesh
Reshammiya
is
far
subdued
while
crooning
this
one.
A
moderately
paced
song,
the
song
has
a
mix
of
Western
and
Indian
arrangements
though
in
a
trademark
Reshammiya
setting
that
made
him
a
household
name
in
last
couple
of
years.
A
love
song
with
sad
undertones
to
it,
'Kola
Laka
Vellari'
is
barely
decent
but
that's
about
it.
Anand
Raaj
Anand
returns
after
a
couple
of
tunes
by
Himesh
Reshammiya
and
creates
'Uncha
Lamba',
the
opening
tune
of
which
lifts
has
it's
references
in
'Makhna'
[Bade
Miyan
Chote
Miyan].
A
number
which
could
well
find
references
in
number
of
Punjabi-fusion-folk
tracks,
'Uncha
Lamba'
has
predominant
Western
arrangements
which
go
well
with
the
current
on-screen
image
of
Akshay
Kumar.
With
Kalpana
as
his
duet
partner,
Anand
Raaj
Anand
gets
into
a
romantic
mode
with
this
yet
another
'masala'
track
which
barely
sustains
itself
for
the
situation
and
that's
about
it.
With
great
power
comes
great
responsibilities
-
This
can
well
be
true
for
Akshay
Kumar
now
as
well!
As
mentioned
at
the
very
beginning,
any
film
starring
Akshay
Kumar
today
is
THE
Akshay
Kumar
film.
Whatever
good
or
bad,
it
is
attributed
mainly
to
the
superstar
than
anyone
else.
This
is
why
even
the
music
of
Welcome,
which
is
extremely
ordinary
in
any
case,
will
be
termed
as
nothing
less
than
disappointing
due
to
high
standards
set
for
an
Akshay
Kumar
film.
Though
thankfully
the
film
seems
to
be
highly
interesting,
Akshay
fans
would
have
to
wait
for
Tashan
and
Singh
Is
Kinng
in
anticipation
of
some
good
music.