Song: Long Drive Film: Khiladi 786 Composer: Himesh Reshammiya Playback Singer: Mika Singh
Hello Bollywood world! I know I've disappeared for a while, but I guess that's what happens when life gets busy. And speaking of being busy, I will be soon be making a 1,000 mile, 16 hour road trip (one of the pros and cons of living in the United States), so I decided to make a playlist of my favorite songs to listen to while traveling/driving, and I thought I should share this with other Bollyphiles. Although a lot of these songs are portrayed on traveling scenes or have lyrics about traveling, some of them just have that soothing quality that can match the smooth hummm of traveling. Check these out!
Song: Phir Le Aaya Dil (Reprise) Film: Barfi! Composer: Pritam Playback Singer: Arijit Singh
Oh my gosh, it's already October!!! Which means I'm super behind on my top songs for the last four months, but it's okay because it's never too late to recognize good songs!!! A lot of really good albums have come out this summer (Pritam's albums are out to take over the world), so this should be a good list.
Khudaaya (Film: Shanghai): Wow, this is definitely one of my favorite songs that has come out this year. It's so Emraan Hashmi-esque, and yet it still sounds different and unique. And Shekhar Ravjiani's voice...he should definitely sing more often, his voice is amazing! I wish the song was longer though (it barely touches three minutes!) main uske bina bepata hoon, bepata bepata bepata hoon Listen to Khudaaya Dhadang Dhang (Rowdy Rathore): People may have other favorites from the Rowdy album, but I love Dhadang Dhang the most! It's fun, and still has that 90's touch that the rest of the album has, and Shreya Ghoshal and Wajid totally rock it! The video is really good too (I love Sonakshi). strongly yeh jaadu tera mujhe pe chad gaaya! Listen to Dhadang Dhang Tum Hi Ho Bandhu (Cocktail): Okay, so I pretty much love all of the Cocktail original tracks (except Second Hand Jawani-that one's alright), so it's really unfair to choose only some to put on this list, but I had to do it (the ones that are on here on the ones that have the most iTunes plays). Tum Hi Ho Bandhu is the unanimous friendship song of the year, and undoubtedly amazing. Kavita Seth and Neeraj Shridhar contrast each other's voices really well, and the lyrics are awesome. I bow down to you Pritam. jab yaar kare parvah meri, mujhe kya parvah iss duniya ki...Listen to Tum Hi Ho Bandhu Tera Naam Japdi Phiran (Cocktail): I know this song is similar to other Pritam songs (like Subha Hone Na De), but I still like it! More than the Shefali Alvares and Nikhil D'Souza parts, I like the Javed Bashir sung parts, which are the main stanzas and chorus. The music is also pretty good, and it has some of the current trends in music right now. Cool! I'm a bad bad girl... Listen to Tera Naam Japdi Phiran Yaariyan Reprise (Cocktail): I don't think there's many people that like the Yaariyan Reprise better than the original Yaariyan, but I do! I really like the piano tones, and how this version is more unplugged. Also, Sunidhi and Arijit Singh are amazing, and they sound really fresh. I think the sadness of the lyrics is more raw in this reprise, and I'm definitely a sucker for sad songs! The part where Arijit Singh enters the song is fantastic. tumse bhi zyaada hongi ab yaadein pyaariya... Listen to Yaariyan Reprise Maula (Jism 2): I liked most of the Jism 2 songs, but out of all of them, this was my favorite! First of all, it has Ali Azmat singing it (who is just amazing) and the cello is just incredible. The lyrics are pretty good too, even though 'Maula' is a word that is being used pretty often in songs these days. Overall, really nice and soulful, love it! dam daram daram daram da...Listen to Maula Pyaari Pyaari (From Sydney With Love): This is one of those cool songs with a lot of different types of music in it. This song is actually composed by Sohail Sen (yeah, the Ek Tha Tiger guy) and it's super unique. It's sung in Hindi and Bengali (the Bengali sounds really cool!) and there are just so many musical elements in here, I can't even explain it completely. If you haven't heard it before, listen to it because it's awesome and very catchy! lage tu hi sabse pyaari... Listen to Pyaari Pyaari Saiyaara(Ek Tha Tiger): My favorite Ek Tha Tiger song! Which shouldn't be surprising at all, considering I love sad songs, and I love Mohit Chauhan even more. I think this is one of those unanimous good songs by Sohail Sen, and Taraanum Malik does well as the female singer, so no more explanation necessary. sitaaron ke jahaan mein milenge ab yaara... Listen to Saiyaara Kaafir Andhere (Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi): K.K.! Need I say more??? Kaafir Andhere, composed by Jeet Ganguly (the guy that used to compose with Pritam back in the day) brings K.K. back to his type of song, with those sad, rock-ish elements. K.K. sounds just as good as ever, and for me, there is no andhere (darkness) when his voice is in my ears. Yes! teri yaadon ke sheher mein, rafta rafta... Listen to Kaafir Andere Main Kya Karoon (Barfi!): All of the Barfi! songs were excellent, and Main Kya Karoon is one of the two songs that makes this list. I just love the quirky nature of the song, and the lyrics are probably my favorite aspect of the song. Though I haven't seen the film yet, the song seems to fit the promo and Ranbir Kapoor so well, it's just awesome! And the singer, Nikhil Paul George, has a really nice smooth voice, and I can't wait to hear more from him! Uff! tu hi bata iss dil ka mein... Listen to Main Kya Karoon Phir Le Aaya Dil Reprise(Barfi!): I think this song from Barfi! is the best song on this list, and definitely one of the best songs of the year so far. My goodness, IT. IS. JUST. SO. GOOD. I don't know what makes it so good and better than everything else, it just is. The music is so soothing and has some of those classical elements (tabla!), and Arijit Singh... Wah! Wah! The first time I really heard him was in Raabta (Agent Vinod), and he just gets better and better. And the lyrics...are amazing. Pritam and Sayeed Quadri definitely hit the jackpot with this song. Simple, yet fantastic. woh jo adhuri si yaad baaki hai...
Whew, that was a long list, but yay for good songs!
SRK's new film Jab Tak Hai Jaanhas released it's first song promo! Check it out!
So I'm sure everyone in the world has seen this promo by now. Meh, I'm not a huge fan of it. I've watched it several times now, but it hasn't really grown on me. The best part is when sunshine plastic Katrina comes in at the end and brightens up the greyness of London. Anyway...
For one, I don't enjoy this song as much as I think I should have, given that it's A.R. Rahman composing for Shahrukh Khan (!!!). The song actually is better without the video (usually songs are better with the video) because you don't have weird, wrinkly Shahrukh thinking he's 20 years old. Also, Rabbi Shergill's voice doesn't really match Shahrukh's voice, and I think the Bollywood world has already come to that general consensus. I mean, overall, the song is okay, but I was expecting much much more from the first released promo of a film as big as Jab Tak Hai Jaan. It's one of this year's Diwali releases, it's Yash Chopra's last directed film, it has Shahrukh Khan AND Katrina Kaif AND Anushka Sharma, it has music by A.R. Rahman, lyrics by Gulzar, and cinematography by Anil Mehta (the cinematography looks good though). Therefore, I was really expecting much MUCH MORE! But that's the end of my spiel on that.
The song still seems to be climbing the charts, and I'm glad the film has a name and all that, so it will still probably be the clear winner in the Diwali showdown against Ajay Devgn's Son of Sardaar. I hope the future promos are better, and I hope they have a lot of Anushka in them (she's the best thing this film has in my opinion-she's not old and wrinkly, and she isn't made of plastic). Anyway, let me know what you think!
The highly anticipated Halkat Jawani promo from the film Heroine has released (I know, it released forever ago, but it's never too late to talk about it!) Check out the promo (if you haven't already seen it!)
Wow...Bebo is just too much! So, all in all, this promo is pretty much what I expected from this song. Despite how good the song or the singing or the choreography is, the song at the core expects you to love Kareena herself, like the lyric that says "aa ke mose lipat le" (come, cling on to me). On to the specifics!
Typically with Kareena, the choreography is mediocre at best. And I think it has to do with the fact that Kareena is not that great of a dancer. The main Halkat Jawani step is pretty dull, even with her hair flying everywhere. And of course there's more than enough hip-shaking (maybe that's the only thing Bebo can do??? hummm) I mean, Bebo doesn't really need good choreography for people to watch her IMO, but it would definitely be a plus if she could dance as well as Katrina in Sheila Ki Jawani or Chikni Chameli (yes, I dared to compare Kareena with Kat). But honestly, if Kareena had some awesome dance numbers to add to her body of work, she would undoubtedly be the best actress in Bollywood. So, either Kareena needs to train harder or someone needs to train her harder, because she is definitely in her prime right now.
The song... is not so great either. After I heard the first couple of times, I liked it more, but it's not up to par with other songs of the same genre. The aaja parts at the beginning are pretty hot though. The song is definitely worth watching Bebo however, and Sunidhi Chauhan is rocking it like always.
And what about the costumes? Are the costumes supposed to mimic costumes of other item songs because Kareena plays an actress in the film? Because then the costumes would make sense, since they look exactly like ones that we've seen before. If it's not supposed to mimic other item songs, than wow costume designer, you couldn't think of anything else??? Since I don't know for sure, I won't say much about the costumes, except that that neon yellow is really bright.
Last but not least, Bebo herself! I think she is totally in her element in this song, as far as her expressions and famous eye-winking goes. She is just super hot, and those high cheek bones are incredible. Oh, and she looks more toned than she did in Chammak Challo and Dil Mera Muft Ka, which is good, as long she doesn't go back to being size zero.
Let me know what you think! Is this the best item song so far in 2012?
Song: Deewana Kar Raha Hai Film: Raaz 3 Composer: Rashid Playback Singer: Javed Ali
The Raaz 3 music has released! (you can listen to the songs at the Bollywood Hungama Raaz 3 Jukebox). The music is composed by Jeet Ganguly, with the first track composed by Rashid. Let's see if this album can live up to the Bhatt/Hashmi standard of music.
Song: Kya Karoon Film: Wake Up Sid Composer: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy Playback Singer: Clinton Cerejo
Wake Up Sid - One of Dharma Productions' better films
Karan Johar's latest directed film Student of the Year's trailer has released! Check out the trailer for Karan Johar's first film without Shahrukh Khan, and with three debutantes!