Tum Mile

EXPECTATIONS Hasn’t it become all so predictable when one begins the review of any music coming from the house of Bhatts that has a Pritam and Emraan Hashmi association to it? So many times has a statement being made that ‘Good music is pretty much on the cards when forces like Mukesh Bhatt, Mahesh Bhatt, Pritam, Emraan Hashmi and lyricist Sayeed Quadri come together.’ After all, their track record over the years has been a testimony to this fact. Hence bowing down to sheer predictability of listening to some real good music once again, one plays on Tum Mile which also has another lyricist Kumaar, who has now become a regular with Pritam, as an added contributor for writing the title song.
 
MUSIC With Neeraj Sridhar at the helm of affairs, what does one expect? Another ‘Hari Krishna Hare Ram’? Or a ‘Aahun Aahun’? Or a ‘Chor Bazari’? Well, get set for some surprise as both Pritam and Neeraj make a conscious effort to do something completely different with the title song of ‘Tum Mile’. This time around it’s the feeling of innocent and pure love that takes centre-stage as Neeraj gets into the shoes of a lovelorn youngster who is plain and simple glad to have found the love of his life. A rhythmic tune that has a much better ‘antra’ when compared with ‘mukhda’, ‘Tum Mile’ has an elaborate setting to it in it’s opening version.  However, to one’s pleasant surprise, even better versions follow after a while with Javed Ali and Shafqat Amanat Ali getting their own solo versions of the same song. Frankly, the two singers do well in stealing the show this time around. Even though it’s the original version which is currently on air due to ingredients that give it a popular appeal , the ones that should turn out to be ‘lambi race ka ghoda’ are the ‘Love Reprise version’ by Javed Ali and ‘rock version’ by Shafqat Amanat Ali. Javed Ali takes huge strides with his soft rendition in this melodious outing which stays away from excessive musical instruments. On the other hand Shafqat Amanat Ali, who hails from Pakistan, gets another fabulous song under his belt after ‘Mitwa’ [Kabhi Alvidaa Naa Kehna] with this soft rock version of the title song. All in all, this is a song that grows on you and once the tune is set in mind, there is no stopping. However, one is always greedy for more when it’s a Bhatt-Pritam-Emraan combination and this is where the trump card is out in the form of ‘Dil Ibaadat’. If one thought that Tum Mile was fabulous then one listening of ‘Dil Ibadat’ will quickly make you change loyalties. In this love song, K.K. has a number in hand which could well be an award winning outing if aided by good picturisation. If presented in a highly passionate and dramatic manner, something which goes with the genre of the song, ‘Dil Ibadat’ could well be the ‘Khuda Jaane’ [Bachna Ae Haseeno] moment for Pritam. Special mention is reserved for the oriental touch to the arrangements which gives that added edge to ‘Dil Ibadat’ that also sees a ‘rock version’ as the album progresses. This is where one begins to draw comparisons with Pritam’s soundtrack of Life In A Metro since that too belonged to a similar space.

The signature tune that is currently being heard along with the promos of Tum Mile kick starts ‘Tu Hi Haqeeqat’, which is yet another solo, this time Javed Ali at the helm of affairs. By this time, one realizes that the album is made of all-male singers. In fact this could well be the first ever instance for the music of a film with romance as it’s strong point not to be featuring any female voice at all. Coming back to ‘Tu Hi Haqeeqat’, it is not as strong as the title song or ‘Dil Ibaadat’ but that’s purely on a comparative scale. Rendered by Javed Ali, this one has a core Indian feel to it and is the easiest tune to grasp. Perhaps this is the very reason one looks forward to the songs that follow since in Tum Mile one doesn’t expect Pritam to churn out a conventional Bollywood tune. It’s a journey into the ‘youngistan’ world with Mohit Chauhan taking listeners right into a campus through ‘Iss Jahaan Mein’. A lively number with fast paced arrangements and a definite rhythm to it, ‘Iss Jahan Mein’ still manages to get a melodic base to it. Also, one has heard Mohit Chauhan in quite a few slow moving tracks earlier, most of which are quite sober in appeal. However, this time around he also lets his hair down and with an innocent appeal to it; ‘Iss Jahan Mein’ does carry enough potential to be yet another ‘Junoon’ [New York]. K.K. returns to the scene with ‘O Meri Jaan’ and makes sure that he gets to croon some of the best tracks in the album. This time around it’s a sad outing for the entire team which makes sure that the song turns out to be an emotionally charged affair, whether in terms of composition, writing or singing. This one is again straight out of the kind of genre that Life In A Metro had established a few years back. If you had liked the songs back then, there is no reason why they won’t work now in the context of Tum Mile.  Finally comes ‘Soul Of Tum Mile’ and as expected, this four minutes piece begins with the sound of a thunderstorm. There is a slow and steady movement in this instrumental piece which shows an escalation coming in at just the right junctures. Boasting of an international appeal, this piece become more intriguing 100 seconds down the line, hence ensuring that it would add on to the dramatic quotient as a part of the film’s background during some intense dramatic moments in the film.
 
OVERALL 2009 is clearly Pritam’s year. If he has enjoyed the biggest musical success in the form of Love Aaj Kal then he has also seen a steady success run of New York. If at the beginning of the year he gave multiple item hits in Billu then he has also got some pure and fresh music in place for Tum Mile. In between he has found some good tunes rolling for All The Best and Dil Bole Hadippa too, which re-establishes the fact that he is clearly THE most prolific hit-maker that we have in Bollywood today. This is what he proves yet again with Tum Mile where he gives Bhatts their very own Life In A Metro to be preserved and relished for years to come.