MUSIC REVIEW: Kaminey

At the risk of inviting a lot wrath from Vishal Bhardwaj fans, let me say this; Vishal's music makes his films what they are. Makdee, Maqbool and Omkara wouldn't have been half as effective, if it weren't for the composer's haunting melodies. Take the composer out and Vishal Bhardwaj the filmmaker loses some of his edge.

One expects nothing less than excellence from the soundtrack of Kaminey. The Shahid Kapoor-Priyanka Chopra flick is enjoying tremendous buzz across moviegoers - almost akin to the Dev D effect earlier this year. So while one can be assured of enough and more experimentation in the soundtrack, Vishal's challenge is to make sure Kaminey's music cuts through diverse segments - just like the score of Omkara did.

Kaminey opens with Dhan Tana – the track that's been on channels ever since the first promo was aired. Vishal manages an interesting coup in the playback department by bringing in Sukhwinder and Vishal Dadlani. So while Sukhwinder gives the track an aggressive rustic flavour, Dadlani brings in elements of high-octane rock. It's an extremely energetic, fusion track that's sure to rule the charts. While its key hook Dhan Tana has all the makings of being a ringtone faovurite.

There's a 180 degree change in mood with Mohit Chuahan's Pehli Baar Mohabbat. It's almost like Vishal wants to give you time to recover from the Dhan Tana high. Pehli is a soothing love ballad that does full justice to Chauhan's vocal cords. Chauhan goes back to his Silk Route days in this one.

Raat Ke Dhai Baje is another noteworthy track – simply for Vishal's choice of singers. You have Suresh Wadkar and Rekha Bhardwaj from the classical school, matching notes with item song specialists like Sunidhi Chauhan and Kunal Ganjawala. Though the lyrics are situational the track has a very catchy tune. The remix is even more fun with Vishal dishing out a fusion of rap, pop and classical. Stellar idea.

Fatak has Sukhwinder and Kailash Kher going full on ballistic with their vocal range. A bit on the lines of Omkara's title song it's very situational. But given its fast tempo, the song could catch on big time if utilised well in the narrative. Four songs down, one is surprised with the fine balance between commercial and experimental music in the album. And things only get better.