EXPECTATIONS
It
all
started
six
years
back
when
the
music
of
Jhankaar
Beats
was
released.
This
was
the
soundtrack
that
brought
together
film
maker
Sujoy
Ghosh
with
composers
Vishal
and
Shekhar
who
have
never
looked
back
ever
since
then.
In
fact
such
has
been
the
benchmark
set
by
the
composer
duo
in
Jhankaar
Beats
that
each
and
every
album
of
theirs
is
expected
to
throw
at
least
one
'Tu
Aashiqui
Hai'
or
a
'Suno
Naa'.
They
did
come
up
with
some
good
music
for
Sujoy's
next
film
Home
Delivery
too
but
sadly,
the
effort
went
completely
unnoticed.
And
now
the
team
comes
back
with
Aladin
which
belongs
to
an
altogether
different
scale
and
setting.
With
Vishal
Dadlani
writing
lyrics
for
all
songs
in
the
album
barring
one
(by
Anvita
Dutt
Guptan),
Aladin
is
expected
to
be
a
huge
soundtrack
considering
it's
larger
than
life
theme
and
treatment.
MUSIC
'Big'
is
actually
the
way
'Genie
Rap'
begins
as
the
number
is
as
foot
tapping
and
infectious
as
it
gets.
An
extremely
well
paced
rap
song
that
keeps
the
funk
on
throughout
it's
relatively
shorter
3
minutes
duration,
one
wishes
that
the
fun
stayed
on
for
much
longer.
Anushka
Manchanda,
who
is
time
and
again
roped
in
by
Vishal-Shekhar
for
certain
special
songs,
makes
an
impression
in
this
fun
song
which
is
bound
to
be
a
HIT
with
the
kids.
A
Hinglish
number
which
is
sung
with
aplomb
by
Amitabh
Bachchan,
'Genie
Rap'
[which
comes
with
the
key
words
'Make
A
Wish']
is
lavishly
choreographed
too
that
adds
on
to
the
grand
look
and
feel.
What
turns
out
to
be
an
icing
on
the
cake
though
is
DJ
Suketu
created
'remix
version'
which
takes
the
song
to
an
altogether
different
level.
This
time
around
one
won't
complain
about
the
length
since
'Genie
Rap'
lasts
for
close
to
five
and
a
half
minutes.
This
version
is
made
just
for
the
dance
floors,
what
with
'bhangra
beats'
bringing
with
it
its
own
set
of
audiences.
A
winner
and
a
positive
start
for
the
album.
The
sound
of
saxophone
immediately
brings
to
fore
the
sound
of
late
70s/early
80s
and
sets
the
mood
for
a
nostalgia
driven
ride
led
by
Amitabh
Bachchan.
Shankar
Mahadevan
is
roped
in
to
croon
for
Big
B
though
how
one
wishes
that
the
legendary
actor
had
himself
come
behind
the
mike
for
this
one.
To
Shankar's
credit,
he
does
well
in
coming
up
with
a
full
throated
rendition
that
does
justify
his
presence
behind
the
mike.
If
one
has
to
draw
parallels,
'Tak
Dhina
Dhin'
is
set
in
the
same
mode
as
'Jahan
Teri
Yeh
Nazar
Hai'
[Kaalia].
However,
other
than
the
mood
from
the
past,
the
situation
is
entirely
different
here
and
hence
even
the
lyrics.
A
fun
situational
number
which
has
Shaan
crooning
for
Riteish
Deshmukh,
it
yet
again
has
children
as
its
target
audience,
especially
if
one
closely
observes
the
interludes.
One
is
further
forced
to
go
down
the
memory
lane
when
Amitabh
Bachchan
is
seen
in
his
trademark
outfit
from
'Pag
Ghunghroo
Baandh'
[Namak
Halal].
Close
to
three
decades
later,
it
is
time
for
'O
Re
Saawariya'
which
has
some
rooted
lyrics
by
Vishal
Dadlani.
Sung
by
both
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
Sudesh
Bhonsle,
the
song
continues
the
fun
and
lively
mood
of
the
album
with
Shreya
Ghoshal
and
Shaan
joining
in.
Vishal
and
Shekhar
move
away
from
the
Western
rhythm
with
this
song
and
instead
place
'O
Re
Saawariya'
in
an
out
and
out
'hindustani'
zone.
It's
a
different
matter
though
that
this
number
too
is
presented
in
a
'remix
version'.
By
the
time
the
song
is
through,
one
realizes
that
majority
of
songs
in
Aladin
are
anything
but
what
one
associates
with
Vishal
and
Shekhar
as
the
album
turns
out
to
be
more
of
homage
to
Amitabh
Bachchan
than
anything
else.
The
thought
is
dispelled
soon
after
though
as
the
composer
duo
gets
one
of
the
most
romantic
numbers
of
the
year
in
the
form
of
'You
May
Be'.
A
lovely
melodious
track
which
makes
one
just
stop
all
work
and
just
concentrate
on
the
beauty
of
lyrics,
music
as
well
as
rendition,
'You
May
Be'
is
a
mix
of
English
and
Hindi.
This
is
one
contemporary
urban
love
song
that
remains
consistent
from
the
'mukhda'
through
the
'antaras'
and
makes
one
place
it
in
the
repeat
mode.
For
the
first
time
ever,
both
Vishal
Dadlani
and
Shekhar
Ravjiani
come
behind
the
mike
for
the
same
song
and
the
impact
created
by
their
joint
outing
is
just
magical.
Pick
this
one
up
and
play
it
on
for
the
one
you
love!
A
quintessential
climax
song
comes
next
with
the
arrival
of
'Bachke
O
Bachke'.
Written
by
Anvita
Dutt
Guptan,
this
one
is
high
on
orchestra
and
faintly
reminds
one
of
'Deewangee
Deewangee'
[Om
Shanti
Om].
However,
the
final
impact
is
nowhere
close
to
it
though.
Shankar
Mahadevan,
Shaan,
Sunidhi
Chauhan
and
Vishal
Dadlani
come
together
for
'Bachke
O
Bachke'
which
stays
on
to
be
situational
at
most
and
makes
one
look
forward
to
how
it
has
been
presented
on
screen.
Lastly
arrives
a
dark
number
with
Sanjay
Dutt
coming
behind
the
mike
for
'Giri
Giri'.
Now
this
is
one
track
which
takes
a
few
hearing
before
one
is
able
to
grasp
not
just
the
tune
but
even
its
style
and
setting.
A
song
where
Sanjay
Dutt
describes
his
evil
character
of
'Ringmaster',
it
doesn't
quite
belong
to
the
kind
that
one
would
die
for.
However,
the
base
rhythms
that
accompany
the
key
words
'Giri
Giri'
go
perfectly
well
with
Sanjay
Dutt's
on-screen
image
and
manage
to
keep
the
interest
alive.
OVERALL
Aladin
would
have
been
a
difficult
album
to
compose
since
it
doesn't
quite
fall
under
the
bracket
of
a
regular
love
story
or
a
rom-com
or
a
period
film.
Due
to
this
reason,
don't
expect
another
Jhankaar
Beats
or
an
Om
Shanti
Om
or
a
Dostana.
For
a
film
that
has
an
element
of
fantasy
and
myth
interspersed
in
the
contemporary
times,
Sujoy
along
with
Vishal-Shekhar
bring
together
certain
situational
songs
(Tak
Dhina
Dhin,
O
Re
Saawariya,
Bachke
O
Bachke)
along
with
a
couple
of
theme
songs
(Genie
Rap,
Giri
Giri)
and
an
out
and
out
romantic
number
(You
May
Be).
OUR
PICK(S)
'You
May
Be',
'Genie
Rap'