Bhram Music Review

A few years back Pawan Kaul had made a 'slasher' flick, a genre still in it's infancy stage in Bollywood, Sssshhh... this also acted as a launch pad for Tanisha Mukherjee. The film had bombed at the box office and Kaul took a break from movie making. Now he is back with Bhram, a thriller where he repeats his Sssshhh... star Dino Morea and introduces yet another leading lady Sheetal Menon. For the music of Bhram, producers Magna Films have roped in Pritam and Siddharth-Suhas as composers. While Irshad Kamil, the lyricist of Jab We Met writes two songs for Pritam, Kumaar collaborates with Siddharth-Suhas for the other four tracks.

The very beginning of Bhram makes you immediately look forward to what's next in store. And that's not really in appreciation of the song which kick starts the proceedings. In fact 'Jaane Kaisa Hai Tu' turns out to be such an ordinary number based on Indi-pop mood and setting that one is not too sure about the rest of the album.

There is a sense of uncertainty which comes in because typically an album has it's best song as it's opening number. However, in spite of Shaan at the helm, 'Jaane Kaisa Hai Tu' turns out to be an extremely average number. A song which has a young campus feel to it, it tries to be lively and peppy but doesn't quite excite one to give it a repeat hearing.

Now if only the song would have been accompanied by better choreography, picturisation, and cinematography, 'I Am A Bad Boy' may have managed to cover a good distance. The tune of this club number is pretty much in sync with the kind of tracks that are in vogue today. (Title songs of Race and Krazzy 4 are some of the numbers belonging to similar style and setting) but sadly the way the number has been shot hardly justifies the kind of tune which Siddharth and Suhas have come up with.

Is it extraordinary? No. But catchy 'I Am A Bad Boy' is which compliments the mood and demand of urban youth. With Suraj Jagan, Earl D'Souza, Sunaina, Khushboo Jain, Siddharth&Suhas coming together, this song deserves to be promoted well and promoted hard over the period of time to help it gain the recognition it deserves.

To one's pleasant surprise the album carries on a decent note after a disappointing beginning with 'Jaane Kaisa Hai Tu'. Richa Sharma brings to fore the folk flavor associated with her name and comes up with a very good rendition yet again. A number with a hint of separation and pain, 'Meri Akhiyaan' is a song, which could have fitted into the narrative of any big budget film as well and grabbed with glee by other filmmakers too. This way, Pawan Kaul would be happy to have laid his hands into this quality number. A well-written situational track, it also excites since one least expected it to find a place in a thriller like Bhram.

Siddharth and Suhas take it all upon themselves for 'Teri Aankhon Ki Narmi' where they take the center stage as singers as well. A rock track, it is catchy with a good Western sound to it. The song may not be truly Bollywood in appeal but that doesn't take away from the fact that 'Teri Aankhon Ki Narmi' does make one jive to it's beats. With a rhythm of 'Shana na na na' being it's driving force throughout, this number, which is a mix of Hindi and English lyrics, indeed turns out to be a peppy track that is good and keeps the listener engaged.

The mood of 'Teri Aankhon Ki Narmi' continues with 'Lagdaa Naa Lagdaa' where Siddharth-Suhas rope in ever-reliable K.K. to come up with second rock number in quick succession. There is an active use of violin in this dance track, which starts off, quite well but becomes ordinary in the 'antara' portions. After an engaging kick-start, courtesy the rhythm of 'Lagdaa Naa', one expected the song to carry on the same rocking feel throughout. However, that doesn't turn out to be the case as the portions which follow don't quite maintain a similar tempo.

Pritam returns in Bhram with 'Jaane Kyun Tanha Ho Gaye', which is (officially) adapted from Late Gautam Chatterjee's Bengali song, 'Ghare Pheraar Gaan'. A soft rock number, which reminds of the genre of music heard in Pritam's earlier scores in films like Life In A...Metro and Gangster, 'Jaane Kyun Tanha Ho Gaye' is a number about loneliness and unfulfilled dreams. Though Sonu Nigam does a fine job in rendering this track where the singer is required to change the pitch throughout the song's duration, one does feel that James ('Bheegi Bheegi Si' - Gangster, 'Alvida' - Life In A Metro) would have been better suited for 'Jaane Kyun Tanha Ho Gaye'! Also, the song doesn't create an effect similar to that of 'Bheegi Bheegi' or 'Alvida'.

After an initial disappointment, Bhram thankfully only turns better for the remaining part of the album. Bhram mainly carries a rock feel to it though there is a slight touch of folk too in one of the songs ('Meri Akhiyaan'). A couple of numbers do make an impression and one does feel that the album should have been given some more time for promotion with production values being much higher. Mainly belonging to Siddharth-Suhas, Bhram is a decent fare.