Music Review: Hello! What is this?

Somewhere in Rock On, there is a scene where the four young boys of Magik, having won a competition, reach the office of a record label. Much to their shock and dismay they are told, "Aaj kal public ko tempo mangta hai!"

Listening to the seven tracks of Sajid-Wajid's Hello, one can probably understand what the record label boss meant. Of the seven tracks in Hello, five of them are fast-paced dance numbers including one remix of the title track. And frankly, even though you may not necessarily approve of or like this kind of music, there are points when you find yourself clicking your fingers to the tune of a song or tapping your feet at the tune of another.

Daler Mehndi, that inimitable bhangra singer, used to do that to you in his initial singing years. Somewhere something went wrong and Daler fizzled out of the limelight. Besides the stray Rang De Basanti number and a few songs here and there, Daler had pretty much vanished from one's line of hearing. But with Karle baby dance wance, Daler strikes back and how! The peppy bhangra dnace number (senseless as it may sound on the second or even the first hearing) makes you get on your feet, even if it is to turn up the volume of your stereo. Karle… is your typical bhangra number that is bound to do well in the club circuit. Wish they had done a club remix of this one instead of choosing the Hello title track.

Of course, that is not to say that the track is not catchy. But the vocals of the title track tend to put off rather than make you actually dance. Plus, the track seems very theme specific. It seems produced essentially to promote the title of the film than actually be a number in the CD. Another thing that is an absolute turn off is the fact that the damn tune of this song is so reminiscent of Jaanejaan you're my love from the film Partner.

Talking of similar sounding songs, here's something for you to chew on. Try listening to Rab ka banda. Sonu Nigam sings this number along with Sunidhi Chauhan and Zubin. But somehow the guy eerily sounds like that Himesh Reshammiya chap. What's next Sonu? A cap, a guitar and a film with four zees?