Love Aaj Kal

EXPECTATIONS Huge. Very huge in fact are the expectations from the soundtrack of Love Aaj Kal. And why not? First and foremost it’s the return of Jab We Met team of director Imtiaz Ali, composer Pritam and lyricist Irshad Kamil. Now that’s a reason huge enough. Moreover, with Saif Ali Khan playing the twin role of an actor and producer, one can be rest assured that Love Aaj Kal would be a zero compromise project both from the film and music front. No wonder, Love Aaj Kal is not just the hottest film of the season but also has listeners waiting to lay their hands on yet another blockbuster musical score.

MUSIC What a kick start! That’s an immediate reaction the moment you are through listening to the opening number ‘Aahun Aahun’ for the first 100 seconds. A true blue fusion piece that has various flavours of Punjabi, Hindi as well as English coming together not just lyrically but also musically, ‘Aahun Aahun’ has a HIT written all over it. Whether it’s the way Pritam puts together his entire composition in place (a difficult one at that), Irshad brings the young flavour on or singers Neeraj Sridhar, Master Saleem and Suzanne set the perfect mood, ‘Aahun Aahun’ is a winner. One can’t wait to see what director Imtiaz Ali and his choreographer have done to this number that is all set to be a rage, especially in it’s ‘remix version’. Watch out for those guitar strings that open and close the song.
 
Just as you are completely overwhelmed by ‘Aahun Aahun’ comes the ‘naagin’ tune that has made Love Aaj Kal the much noticeable project that it is today. The moment you hear Pritam getting his rearrangement in place for this half-a-century old tune, you know that he is a master when it comes to getting an age old tune a new age sound. Soon after Neeraj Shridhar gets into action and from there it’s time for ‘Twist’ which is a chart topper in the very first listening. Colleges, discothèques, autos, marriage celebrations, youth night outs – expect the song to be played all over in its complete glory. Whether it’s the original or its racy ‘remix version’, ‘Twist’ is going to stay alive for many more weeks to come!  After a couple of ‘come-on-hit-the-dance-floors’ numbers comes ‘Chor Bazari’ which brings in a certain feel of relaxation to the album. If one hears closely, the number belongs to the kind of setting that Vishal-Shekhar have been known for. There is a R.D. Burman influence in ‘Chor Bazari’, especially the ‘antara’ portion. Though with Neeraj Shridhar at the helm of affairs, there is a definite Pritam touch to the proceedings as well; however at heart, this number carries an innocent yet mischievous feel to it. Sunidhi Chauhan joins the fun as well in ‘Chor Bazari’ (also appearing in the remix version) that boasts of good lyricial quality to it. Expect a ‘dilli darshan’ with ‘Chor Bazari’ which is set in the streets of the city! It’s time to reprise the mood of ‘Tum Se Hi’ [Jab We Met] and ‘Is This Love (Kahin Na Laage) ‘ [Kismat Konnection] with the arrival of ‘Yeh Dooriyan’. Mohit Chauhan is the common factor again in this melodious romantic number that has as much chances of being popular as the three songs preceding it, hence making it four in a row for the team of Love Aaj Kal. A song that has slight hint of sadness to it, ‘Yeh Dooriyan’, as the title suggests, questions the relevance of distance and separation of two hearts. With a touch of melancholy to it, the number is a must for the two hearts that could perhaps be on the verge of separation but may well be coming together again.  Love Aaj Kal continues to be unstoppable as it comes up with yet another gem – ‘Ajj Din Chadheya’. With Rahat Fateh Ali Khan at the helm of affairs and Irshad Kamil spinning his words well yet again, the song has melody as its forte and doesn’t bear any Western influence whatsoever. Bringing on further variety in the album, ‘Ajj Din Chadheya’ has an old world charm to it that makes it difficult to put the album down. A number that is bound to work quite well in aiding the narrative of Love Aaj Kal while being played in the background, the song is about the protagonist asking God for getting the love of his life. It’s time to enter a Punjabi household with ‘Thoda Thoda Pyar’ that has a ‘sangeet’ ceremony kick starting the proceedings. The sound of ‘shaava’ and ‘aahas’ coupled with a bunch of women setting the ‘shaadi-byaah-ka-mahaul’ with a ‘desi’ touch is what makes ‘Thoda Thoda’ different from the rest of it’s ilk. Sunidhi Chauhan gets her first solo number in the album and she does well in getting the nuances right for ‘Thoda Thoda Pyaar’ that could easily have fell into the trap of being one of those dozen odd marriage celebration songs with a Punjabi setting that are unleashed every year. However, it is credit to Pritam and his arrangements that give a hint of a 70s setting to ‘Thoda Thoda Pyaar’, hence making it sound different from what one has heard in the past. The man for all seasons, K.K., is last to come with ‘Main Kya Hoon’. Typically in most of the albums, the order of song placement is with the best coming at the top. However, such is the beauty of Love Aaj Kal that even ‘Main Kya Hoon’ could well have been the first song of the album. It’s return to modern times with this solo track that has a happy feel to it with a definite Pritam touch. Whether it’s the interlude musical pieces or the overall pace of the song, ‘Main Kya Hoon’ scores and ensures that the music of Love Aaj Kal doesn’t have a wrong foot set throughout it’s 50 odd minute duration.

OVERALL It sounds too good to be true but Pritam seems to have kept all his brilliant compositions on hold between Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal. Yes, he has had quite a few good albums in the form of Race, Jannat, Singh Is Kinng and Kismat Konnection in the interim as well but his attachment of Imtiaz and his film is visible in the compositions of Love Aaj Kal. It is not everyday that each and every song turns out to be extremely good in an album but that’s indeed the case with Love Aaj Kal. This one is going to be unstoppable once it hits the stands!
 
OUR PICK(S) ‘Twist’, ‘Aahun Aahun’, ‘Main Kya Hoon, Chor Bazari’, ‘Ye Dooriyan, Ajj Din Chadheya’, ‘Thoda Thoda Pyar’