New York

EXPECTATIONS Director Kabir Khan’s last film Kabul Express had boasted of some memorable music, especially ‘Kabul Fiza’. Now his next outing New York is a bigger affair and since it is touted to be an out and out commercial fare, one does expect yet another good musical score, what with Pritam being at the helm of affairs. Of course one can’t expect a typical romantic ‘pyaar-mohabbat’ score here since the film deals with a bunch of friends and terrorism but something situational, yet interesting, could well be in the offering.
 
MUSIC The album, which has songs written by newcomer Sandeep Shrivastava, kick starts with ‘Hai Junoon’, the number that has been playing along with theatrical promos for close to six months now. Such has been the impact of the song after countless listening that it turns out to be quite welcome when heard in its entirety. A number about living life and being with friends, ‘Hai Junoon’ could well be the next bonfire number in college/team outings in months to follow. K.K., the man of all seasons, is good once again and it is remarkable how he modulates his voice for the youth here. The song repeats in the ‘remix version’ and the effect is such that one instantly longs for a music video here. Would YRF oblige?
 
After a K.K. solo arrives a Sunishi Chauhan solo in the form of ‘Mere Sang’. Yet another number with Western arrangements taking the Indian melody forward, ‘Mere Sang’ has a soft rock feel to it and sounds like a college outing. A track abut true friends being together, it is situational and isn’t really the next chartbuster in the making. However, it works well for the situation. This song too reappears in a remix version but it seems rather unnecessary since it hardly adds on to the overall impact.  In an album which is primarily made of solo tracks, the next to follow is Mohit Chauhan’s ‘Tune Jo Na Kaha’. It starts with an expected humming by the singer before words start flowing. Surprisingly, unlike most Mohit Chauhan tracks, this one doesn’t quite take a flying start and instead appears as a lazy outing. As the song moves ahead, it turns out to be a sad number about bad times taking over all the happiness. Yet another situational number, it doesn’t really have the much-anticipated Pritam touch to it and stays on to be a mere gap filler in the film’s narrative. Composer/singer Pankaj Awasthi gets a guest track ‘Aye Saaye Mere’ all for himself. Written by Junaid Wasi, this ‘sufi’ number continues the situational feel of New York while bringing a different dimension to the album which till now was primarily following a Western route. Is ‘Aye Saaye Mere’ going to make a listener make a beeline for the album? Not really, what with the track expected to play only in the background. The punch is missing and one ends up feeling let down about New York which started off on an extremely positive note with ‘Hai Junoon’. Two more tracks follow in the album, both being primarily theme tracks and composed by Julis Packiam. First to come is ‘Sam’s Theme’ which is hummed by Caralisa Monteiro who sets the haunting mood as expected out of her. A slow moving tune that lasts for a little more than 4 minutes, it is soothing and has an international feel to it. A good experience and so is the case with ‘New York Theme’ which doesn’t feature any vocals and is primarily an instrumental. However, this time around, instead of being soothing and melodious, the theme is more intriguing and thrilling.
 
OVERALL New York turns out to be an okay album when so much more was expected out of it. Agreed that one expected only situational tracks in the film but except for ‘Hai Junoon’, none of the others turn out to be mighty impressive or the kinds that you would recommend to friends.
 
OUR PICK(S) ‘Hai Junoon’