Music Review: Vikram Bhatt's 1920

Traditionally, films on the paranormal have had great soundtracks.

Right from Madhumati to Gumnam, Lekin to the fairly recent Paheli. The basic premise of a scarefest perhaps gives a versatile music director the chance to experiment with form and melody. Vikram Bhatt's 1920, with music by Adnan Sami, too had an opportunity to achieve something similar. Especially when you look at the names on the roster: singers as venerable as Pandit Jasraj, Begum Parveen Sultana and Shubha Mudgal, besides formidable ones like Kailash Kher and Asha Bhonsle. But as my mother used to say, even the best of ingredients cannot make a good biryani unless you get the proportions right. And the musical score of 1920 is the perfect example of a biryani gone wrong.

Let's start off with the first track, Vada Tumse Hai Vada, sung by Pandit Jasraj. The song experiments with a classical-inspired melody set against a variety of sounds and effects. With due respect to the maestro, there is so much happening in the song, you can easily miss him. In fact, when Jasraj explores the lower octaves, you can barely hear him, so overpowering and jarring is the orchestration.

The same song is revisited by another classical music veteran Begum Parveen Sultana. This time however, maybe because of the distinctive treble of her voice, the song sounds different. A peppy guitar part too helps.

Then there is Bichua, the obligatory 'item song' picturised on Rakhi Sawant. (Incidentally, Bimal Roy's Madhumati, the immensely popular 50s' haunted film, had a classic song, Chad Gayi Papi Bicchua. The similarities end here.) Sung by Shubha Mudgal, Bichua tries to be an earthy, raunchy number with a qawali touch. It has a lot of energy and is a tough song to sing no doubt, but the lack of a sticky melody or hook kills it. Ditto for Kailash Kher's Tujhe Main Pyaar Karu, though Kailash being Kailash, he manages to put in a soulful performance.