Happy birthday to Shreya Ghoshal.

Happy birthday to Shreya Ghoshal.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to sweet singer Shreya Ghoshal on 12th March, 2011. From national awards, Zee Cine Awards, Starscreen awards and filmfare awards, she had remained a frequent recipient of the awards due to her sheer brilliance.

Bollywood films in the 50s, 60s and 70s were dominated by Lata, Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, Asha, Suman Kalyanpur, etc. In the 80s and 90s Alka Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurty made a very notable contribution in bollywood films. Shreya Ghoshal had established herself the future singer of bollywood cinema for the last few years.Born in a Bengali family in Rawatbhata, in Kota district of Rajasthan, Shreya Ghoshal learnt classical music from Mahesh Chandra Sharma. She participated in the musical competition in the TV Channel titled Saregamapa, and when she reached the finals after defeating renowned female singers, the producers, directors and composers were moved by her performance.

She made her presence felt with her song in the film Devdas, directed by Sanjay Leela Banshali, with the song “bairi piya” and after that she never had to look back. Just like Sonu Nigam had created a gharana by himself and composers agree about his versatility, similarly Shreya Ghoshal is undoubtedly the future of Indian playback singing.She received the filmfare award for the best female singer along with Kavita Krishnamurty for the song “dola re” from the film Devdas, picturised on Madhuri Dixit and Aiswariya Rai. Her other hits songs include “jadu hai nasha hai” from the film Jism. She also amazed the listeners with the song “piyu bole, piya bole” picturised on Vidya Balan, from the film Parineeta, where Sonu Nigam sang it for Saif Ali Khan. The sweetness of her voice matched the period (late 19th century) when singers of the Bengali traditional families used to present their talent in soft style

She also the song “apne aansoo peene ke liye” from the film Paheli, very well, along with powerful performance from Rani Mukherjee and Shahrukh Khan in the film. She also received filmfare award for the best singer for her song in the film Guru, titled “barsdo re” composed by AR Rehman.
She had song notable Bengali songs like “pagla hawa” in The Bong Connection, “mon diye mon niye” in Agnipath, etc. In 2010, her song “bahara bahara” in the film I Hate Luv Stories was striking. She was extremely sweet in the duet song “tu ne to palbhar me chori kiya re jiya” with Sonu Nigam, in the film Dabanng, which went to do a business worth 150 crores. With a number of songs which are going to be released in different films in 2011, she is expected to continue her good work and the viewers and listeners expect her best in the years to come.

Tees Maar Khan will do well.

Tees Maar Khan will do well.

Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif’s new film Tees Maar Khan will do well. The film had been released on 24th December, 2010, before Christmas. Farah Khan had directed the film. The film had been produced by Shirish Kunder, Twinkle Khanna and Ronnie Screwwala. Vishal Shekhar and Shrish Kunder had composed music for the film.

The film is related to the story of a great thief played by Akshay Kumar. He had played the lead role in the film. Katrina Kaif had been an actress in the film. She had got a lot of help from Akshay Kumar and in term had helped him. Akshay Khanna is the other major character in the film who knew about Akshay Kumar’s activities.

In the film guest performances were given by Anil Kapoor and Salman Khan. Salman Khan had danced in the song “wallah re wallah” along with Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif. Sanjay Dutt had been the narrator in the film.

The story of the film had not been unique. But the good part of the film had been its music and the dance performances. Sonu Nigam had experimented with the style of singing in the song “tees maar khan” where he had shown his versatility. Sunidhi Chauhan and Vishal Dadhlani had done a brilliant job in the song “Sheila ki jawani”, which had been the most popular song in the film. Katrina Kaif had danced well in the song sequence.

The other song “wallah re wallah” had also been very catchy. Kamal Khan, Raja Hassan, Shreya Ghoshal and others had sung the song very well. Star performances of Salman Khan, and performances of Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar had been very grand. Acting of Akshay Khanna had been brilliant in the film as ever.

But the film had not surprised the viewers. So there is every possibility of the film ending up being a hit but not a blockbuster. The pair of Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif had been accepted by the viewers. But the film does not have the same magic as that of Singh is Kinng or Namaste London. But the film will get a decent start and do well.

Happy birthday to Anu Malik.

Happy birthday to Anu Malik.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Anu Malik on 2nd November, 2010. Anu Malik had created his own identity in the field of music composition in bollywood films. He had given hit songs one after the other in the last 10 years. From the time of Baazigar, Anu Malik showed his versatility in making tunes. He was instrumental in many hit films of Salman Khan.

He composed tunes from all the leading singers of bollywood from 1990s till today which includes Sonu Nigam, Kumar Shanu, Udit Narayan to Alka Yagnik, Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan and others. His music had catered to the tastes of different sections of viewers and listeners. If his songs in Salman Khan’s film Biwi No. 1 like “chunari chunari” had folk andaz, then the songs in Salman Khan’s film Janeman had western flavor.

He is a big admirer of Sonu Nigam and while participating in the Indian Idol program as a judge he admitted that Sonu Nigam is the best singer of the country. He had given a number of memorable tunes to Sonu Nigam in his illustrious career. In Border, his song “sandese ate hai” and “hume jab se muhobbat ho gayi hai” picturised on Akshay Khanna and sung by Sonu Nigam, received critics acclamation. In Refugee, he gave he very melodious songs like “mere humsafar mere humsafar”, “panchi nadiya pawan ke jhoke”, etc. which were picturised on Abhishek Bacchan and sung by Sonu Nigam. Sonu Nigam’s memorable performance created a different impact on the minds of the viewers of the film.

Even in Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai, Anu Malik’s composition for Sonu Nigam titled “rabba mere rabba” became superduper hit. Jeetender’s son Tushar Kapoor started his career with the film and Sonu Nigam’s song had given a tremendous break. Anu Malik’s composition for Sonu Nigam in the film Mai Hoon Na, attracted the attention the viewers. The film became hit and the songs were successful. Similarly Anu Malik’s composition of Sonu Nigam’s song “no entry” in the film No Entry picturised on Salman Khan became very very successful.The combination of Anu Malik and Sonu Nigam had given a number of successful songs of different flavours for the last 10 years and the filmlovers expect the combination to continue their good work and as Sonu Nigam is the role model of new singers in India, he has a lot of responsibility in terms of continuing his brilliant performances. The listeners expect Anu Malik to continue the great work that he started long time back.

Dabaang is set to break the record of The 3 Idiots.

Dabaang is set to break the record of The 3 Idiots.

Salman Khan’ s Dabaang is all set to break the record of The 3 Idiots. The film had been released few days back. Within the first weekend the film had earned around Rs 50 crores in one week.

The record is very significant considering the immense success of the 3 Idiots in the last year. The film had done business of more than 200 crores and set a all time record in the history of bollywood cinema. Dabaang has to go a long way to actually equal the record of The Three idiots.

But Salman Khan can be very happy about the proceedings. Firstly he had come up after the debacle of the big budget film Veer which did mediocre business. Secondly the news of Katrina Kaif leaving him and getting separated had been made public. In that scenario Salman Khan required a super hit film desperately. Dabaang had answered his critics.

He had played the role of a corrupt police officer in the film. Vinod Khanna did a great job in the role of the step father. Dimple Kapadia played the role of his mother and had shown that she had not forgotten her acting instincts. Arbaaz Khan the producer of the film, played the role of his brother. Salman Khan had left the house after the death of her mother Dimple Kapadia.

But after he met Sonakshi Sinha, the daughter of Shatrughun Sinha, his life changed. Om Puri, Sonu Sood and Anupam Kher were brilliant in their own roles. The music of Sajid Wajid was brilliant. Especially their song “tere mast do nain” sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan had become super hit. Recently in the program of Little Champs, Sonu Nigam had invited Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to be the judge and sing few songs. He had made Sonu Nigam also spellbound with his independent harkats. The other successful songs in the film included “chori kiya re jiya” sung by Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and “munni badnam” sung by Mamta Sharma and Ishwarya Nigam.

The film has all the masala for entertainment. Abhinav Kashyap, the director, Arbaaz Khan, the producer, and Salman Khan, the main actor had done a great job and require credit for giving another blockbuster to bollywood in 2010.

Karan Johar's We Are Family does not have that much firepower.

Karan Johar’s We Are Family does not have that much of firepower.

Producer Karan Johar had come with another film We Are Family which is recently released. It is directed by Siddharth Malhotra. The film had been the remake of the Hollywood film Stepmom.

But the film does not the firepower of usual Karan Johar’s films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, or Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham. At that time Karan Johar also directed those films. There was lot of pomp and grandier relating to them and the films ended up being blockbusters.

We are Family had strong performers in different roles including Kareena Kapoor, Kajol and Arjun Rampal. Kajol was shown in the family being an ideal mother caring for her three children Anchal Munjal, Diya Sonecha and Nominath Ginsburg.

Even after divorce Kajol fulfilled the mother’s duties. Arjun Rampal got involved with another girlfriend played by Kareena Kapoor. After sometime the situation compelled both Kajol and Kareena to stay under the same roof. While Kajol was concerned with the family, Kareena was interested only about her career.

The rest of the film hovered around the battle of the two mothers in the same house. As far as the success of the film is concerned it does not have the firepower of Karan Johar’s other films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham. One of the negative aspects is in respect of the same starcast. Kajol had done a great job in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham. But the viewers sometimes suffer from monotony after seeing the same actor and actress in the films of the common producer.

Eminent directors in Indian film industry had shuffled with their starcasts. Bimal Roy used Balraj Sahani in Do Beegha Zamin, Dilip Kumar in Devdas, Sunil Dutt in Sujata. Gulzar used Sanjeev Kumar in Mausam, Jeetender in Kinara, Uttam Kumar in Kitaab. Ramesh Sippy used Shammi Kapoor in Andaz, Dharmender in Sholay, Shashi Kapoor in Shaan, Rishi Kapoor in Saagar, Dilip Kumar in Shakti. If the viewers see the same actor in films after films of the common director or produced they get bored. It is high time Karan Johar should look for other alternatives.

The music of Shankar Ehsaan Loy was impressive in the film. His songs “ankhon me needen” sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shreya Ghoshal and “Hamesha and Forever” sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal had been very impressive.

The film will do good business. But it is not of the same quality as Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham.

Happy birthday to Sonu Nigam.

Happy birthday to Sonu Nigam.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to popular Singer Sonu Nigam on 30th July, 2010. In 2010, he had his romantic voice felt in the film Milenge Milenge, where his song picturized on Shahid Kapoor was well accepted by the viewers.

Sonu Nigam had brilliant combination a number of leading composers of bollywood over the last 10 years. Sonu Nigam was associated with Anu Malik as some of his best romantic numbers were composed by him including “hume jab se mohabbat ho gayi hai”, in the film Border, or “sau dard hai” in the film Jaaneman. He was also associated with Sajid Wajid, as most of his romantic numbers like “tumko bhula na payega” from the film Tumko Bhula Na Payenge, or “mujhse shaadi karogi” in the film Mujshe Shaadi Karoge. In 2010, both of them featured together in the film Veer. Although the film did moderate business, the songs became hits.

But Sonu Nigam sang very landmark songs under the composition of Shantanu Moitra in critically acclaimed films. The films included Parineeta, Lage Raho Munnabhai, The Three Idiots, etc. Parineeta was directed by Pradeep Sarkar and was probably the first launching pad of actress Vidya Balan. Sonu Nigam’s duet song with Shreya Ghoshal namely “piyu bole piya bole” composed by Shantanu Moitra maintained the flavor of Rabindrasangeet with a background of Kolkata during the time of writer Sarat Chandra Chatterji. Also the song “yeh hawaye gungunaye” was equally impressive.

In the film Lage Raho Munnabhai, Shantanu Moitra, maintained both the bhai-like mastani flavor as well as the soft romantic mood. Sonu Nigam’s song “pal pal pal pal pal pal har pal” was probably the most romantic song of the film. The other songs like “lage raho munnabhai” did bear a different andaz. If the acting of Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani and Vidya Balan was impressive, the music was equally instrumental in the success of the film.

The Three Idiots had shown the loopholes of India’s higher education system. The songs composed by Shantanu Moitra had the message of the director Raj Kumar Hirani. Sonu Nigam and others in the film sung the theme song “all is well” a number of times in the film. The other song “zubi zubi” sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal was also very fast and melodious. Shantanu Moitra had used other upcoming singers like Suraj in the film who had also done a great job in the film. If the acting of Amir Khan, R. Mahadevan and Sharman Joshi had impressed the viewers, the music had made them spellbound.

The audience expect the combination of Sonu Nigam and Shantanu Moitra to provide more number of romantic numbers in future, even in films made under any other banner in addition to the banner of Vidhu Vinod Chopra or direction of Raj Kumar Hirani.

Milenge Milenge will do average business.

Milenge Milenge will do average business.

The film Milenge Milenge will do average business. The film had been directed by Satish Kaushik and had the fifth film of Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor together.

Had the film being released three years back, when Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor starrer Jab We Met stormed box-office the film would have done great business. At that time they were hot pair. After that Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor had acted in several films separately and got successes with them. Presently the viewers hardly are inclined to see both of them together.

In this film, Kareena Kapoor was in search of a prince, and a carrot reader Kiron Kher told her that she would get one very soon. She went to attend a youth festival in South Africa. There Shahid Kapoor, read the diary of Kareena Kapoor and realized the type of person Kareena was looking for.

Shahid Kapoor pretended to be the type of young man, Kareena wanted. But when Kareena came to know about it, she left Shahid Kapoor. They shared a 50 rupee note and diary and decided that if destiny brought them together again they may have met once more. The film hovered around that theme whether they met each other when they were destined to marry somebody else after three years.

The music of the film had been composed by Himmesh Reshammiya. The song “tum chain ho” sung by Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik, had been very romantic, and had been very popular even before the film was released. The other songs like “milenge milenge” and “ishq ki gali” were also impressive.

The film had been released on 9th July, and in the first week had collected around 10 crore rupees. The performance of Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor had been impressive as ever. The supporting artists like Aarti Chabria, Satish Shah, Delnaaz Paul, did well in their respective roles.
May be the timing of the release of the film was wrong for Milenge Milenge. The most popular pair of the present period is Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor. Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor remained popular romantic pair during the days of Chup Chup Ke, 36 China Town and Jab We Met. Viewers can watch Milenge Milenge for light entertainment.

Sonu Nigam and Shantanu Moitra.

Sonu Nigam and Shantanu Moitra.

Sonu Nigam had brilliant combination a number of leading composers of bollywood over the last 10 years. Sonu Nigam was associated with Anu Malik as some of his best romantic numbers were composed by him including “hume jab se mohabbat ho gayi hai”, in the film Border, or “sau dard hai” in the film Jaaneman. He was also associated with Sajid Wajid, as most of his romantic numbers like “tumko bhula na payega” from the film Tumko Bhula Na Payenge, or “mujhse shaadi karogi” in the film Mujshe Shaadi Karoge was composed by him.

But Sonu Nigam sang very landmark songs under the composition of Shantanu Moitra in critically acclaimed films. The films included Parineeta, Lage Raho Munnabhai, The Three Idiots, etc. Parineeta was directed by Pradeep Sarkar and was probably the first launching pad of actress Vidya Balan. Sonu Nigam’s duet song with Shreya Ghoshal namely “piyu bole piya bole” composed by Shantanu Moitra maintained the flavor of Rabindrasangeet with a background of Kolkata during the time of writer Sarat Chandra Chatterji. Also the song “yeh hawaye gungunaye” was equally impressive.

In the film Lage Raho Munnabhai, Shantanu Moitra, maintained both the bhai-like mastani flavor as well as the soft romantic mood. Sonu Nigam’s song “pal pal pal pal pal pal har pal” was probably the most romantic song of the film. The other songs like “lage raho munnabhai” did bear a different andaz. If the acting of Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani and Vidya Balan was impressive, the music was equally instrumental in the success of the film.

The Three Idiots had shown the loopholes of India’s higher education system. The songs composed by Shantanu Moitra had the message of the director Raj Kumar Hirani. Sonu Nigam and others in the film sung the theme song “all is well” a number of times in the film. The other song “zubi zubi” sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal was also very fast and melodious. Shantanu Moitra had used other upcoming singers like Suraj in the film who had also done a great job in the film. If the acting of Amir Khan, R. Mahadevan and Sharman Joshi had impressed the viewers, the music had made them spellbound.

The audience expect the combination of Sonu Nigam and Shantanu Moitra to provide more number of romantic numbers in future, even in films made under any other banner in addition to the banner of Vidhu Vinod Chopra or direction of Raj Kumar Hirani.

Contribution of Sajid Wajid in bollywood films.

Contribution of Sajid Wajid in bollywood films.

Sajid Wajid had been one of the most promising music composers of contemporary bollywood films. They were born in a musically rich family. Their father Ustad Sharafat Khan was famous table player. Their grandfather was Ustad Abdul Latif Khan who received the prestigious Padmashree award from Government of India.

They learned music from Ustad Alla Rakha Khan and Das Babu. They started they career in bollywood music with the film Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya in 1998. Salman Khan was the hero of the film and Sohail Khan produced it. The song “teri jawani bari mast mast hai” became big hit. They gave the biggest break to singer Sonu Nigam who became a star with the first non-film album Dewaana. The song “kuch tum socho” literally haunted the teenagers for years. The other songs “dewaana mai hu dewaana tera”, “dil se dil tak”, “ki ab mujhe raat din” mesmerized the audience, specially the youngstars.

They composed impressive songs in Salman Khan’s Hello Brother. The songs “Hello brother”, “hata sawan ki ghata” became very popular. They also composed music in other upcoming films like Gunaah, Shararat, Jawani Diwani, etc.

They had composed the best music in generally Salman Khan’s films. In Tumko Bhula Na Payenge, the songs “tumko bhula na payega” and “are re re yeh kya hua re” sung by Sonu Nigam were the most romantic songs composed in 2002. Their music in Salman Khan’ film Mujhse Shaadi Karogi in 2004 became smash hit. Sonu Nigam’s song “jeene ke hai chaar din”, “mujshe shaadi karogi” was as popular as Udit Narayan’s song “laal dupatta”. The film did brilliant business as well.

Sajid Wajid continued the magic with Salman Khan in David Dhawan’s film Partner as well in 2007. All the songs in the film smash hit like “do you wanna partner”, “you are my love”, “gore gore mukhrepe”, to name a few. The film did business of more than 60 crores and the credit goes to the performance of Salman Khan, Govinda, Katrina Kaif. Lara Dutta and the brilliant music of Sajid Wajid. Their music in Mai Aur Mrs Khanna and Wanted also was received by the audience. The song “ishq vishq” sung by Kamaal Khan and “dil leke” sung by Shaan became very popular.

In 2010, Sajid Wajid composed music for Salman Khan’s film Veer. The song “surili ankhiyonwali” sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, “salaam aya” sung by Roop Kumar Rathod and “meherbaniyan” sung by Sonu Nigam became very popular inspite of the film doing moderate business. Sajid Wajid had composed music for Salman Khan’s upcoming film Debaang.

The viewers expect the musical duo to continue the great and composer more innovative tunes in future.

Sonu Nigam require more romantic numbers in 2010.

Sonu Nigam require more romantic numbers in 2010.

There was a time whenever discussion hovered around recent romantic numbers in bollywood films, Sonu Nigam’s name emerged automatically.

It started with “hume jab se muhobbat ho gayi hai” in Border for Akshay Khanna. It continued in Refugee. The songs “panchi nadiya”, “aisa lagta hai”, “mere humsafar” composed by Anu Malik and picturized on Abhishek Bacchan.

After 2000, Sonu Nigam still gave romantic numbers like “piya bole piya bole” in Parineeta, composed by Shantanu Moitra for Saif Ali Khan, “pal pal pal pal pal pal, kaise katega pal” composed by Shantanu Moitra for Sanjay Dutt in Lage Raho Munnabhai.

Even the song “chup chup ke chup chup ke” from Bunty Aur Babli had romantic appeal. It was composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy. Anu Malik’s composition for Sonu Nigam in Salman Khan’s Janeman titled “sau dard hai” had both pathos and romantic appeal embedded in them.

But in the last year excepting “kal nau baje” from the film Short Cut, he did not have striking number of romantic songs. In 2010, he should get back to romantic numbers which are most soothing in the years of listeners. These days very rarely romantic songs were composed.

Sonu Nigam’s song “phir se” in the film Toh Baat Pakki in 2010, or his song in Salman Khan’s film Veer, composed by Sajid Wajid is not as romantic as the songs of the previous films like Tumko Bhula Na Payenge, where the title song had a haunting effect.

Experimental songs do well and show the range of playback singers. But they don’t create a lasting impact. For example, Sonu Nigam’s song “all is well” in The Three Idiots became hit, but his followers want Sonu Nigam to get back to romantic songs where he had been elegant in the 90s. Let us hope for the best.

Toh Baat Pakki should do good business.

Toh Baat Pakki should do good business.

The film Toh Baat Pakki should do good business. Director Kedar Shinde had relied upon comedy story for the success of his film. It had been produced by Ramesh S. Taurani.

Tabu had played an important role after a very long time. She played the role of a middle-class woman who had married Ayub Khan. She searched a rich and good person to get him married to her sister. Her sister again had a choice of her own.

She met Sharman Joshi who played the role of an engineer, in a grocery store. She allowed Sharman Joshi to stay in her own house so that he could meet her sister. He fell in love with the sister and agreed to marry her.

But when he sat in the seat of the bridegroom, he found a different girl. The film was full of comedy from the beginning till the end. There was lot of anxiety amongst the viewers to see Tabu perform, the last she was seen acting in a film was Cheeni Kum, which she did more than three years ago.

The music of the film had been composed by Pritam. The popular numbers included “jis din” sung by Mika Singh, “phir se” sung by Sonu Nigam and “karle mujhse pyar” sung by Pritam Chakravarty. The songs were not as catchy if compared to Pritam’s music in the film Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani or Jab We Met.

The film received a passive response in its opening week. These days halls are flooded with comedy films. At some point of time the viewers will get sick seeing comedy one after the other. Even then the story of the film was good.

Further due to presence of veteran artists like Tabu, Ayub Khan, Sharman Joshi, the acting had been powerful. The film should get more viewers in the days to come.

Kumar Shanu said Sonu Nigam has ladies voice.

Kumar Shanu said Sonu Nigam has ladies voice.

In a recent interview given in Bengali newspaper Anandabazar Patrika on 26th December, 2009, Kumar Shanu had said a lot of things. He said most of the deliberations will be found in a book which he recently wrote.

When he was asked that why he is hardly found in latest bollywood films, inspite of ruling bollywood films from 89 to 95, he said that a number of lobbies influence music, and he may not be part of them.

He mentioned that music was at its zenith in the 90s when Nadeem Shravan had composed tunes for him in films like Phool Aur Kante. Most of the films became super hit due to the music. He said that at the moment Indian films are filled with westernized compositions and hence the soft romantic numbers that existed during Shanu’s time is disappearing.

He did not agree about the fact that just because Kishore Kumar died in the late 80s, he got break and gave hits after hits. He said that Abhijeet, Amit Kumar, Vinod Rathore, Sudesh Bhosle everyone were in the race but he made it to the top by his sheer brilliance. He did not give any positive comment about Sonu Nigam saying that the tone quality of his voice is not good but praised Shaan and Shreya Ghoshal.

As far as his lessening of domination in bollywood films, he said nobody ruled bollywood music for indefinite period. He said that Mohammad Rafi did not get songs after the 70s and got a heart attack due to that. He said that Kishore Kumar featured in less number of songs before the 70s.

He talked about a present film that he was working on relating to the life of young boys of Goregaon who earned their living by boot polish. He also talked about his business that he is running in Dubai.

As far as his comments on Sonu Nigam are concerned, it is difficult to ignore his success in bollywood music inspite of Kumar Shanu’s comments. The audience is going to judge the relevance of Shanu’s comments.

The Three Idiots will entertain the viewers.

The Three Idiots will entertain the viewers.

Rajkumar Hirani, the successful director of bollywood films, had experimented with Amir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, R Madhavan and Sharman Joshi, in the film The Three Idiots. Amir Khan, R Madhavan and Sharman Joshi were college friends.

The story of the film was related to Chetan Bhagat’s novel Five Point Someone, and the production was controlled by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. In the film Madhavan and Sharman Joshi recollected an old bet they were involved with. The bet was related to a wedding that they would have crashed into and a funeral which went out of control.

They searched their college friend Amir Khan who was involved in an affair with Kareena Kapoor and also was rebuked by Boman Irani. After the college days, all of a sudden, Amir Khan disappeared. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi could not trace him.

The music of the film had been composed by Shatanu Moitra who had followed up his successes in Parineeta and Lage Raho Munnabhai. The main songs which were catchy include “all izz well” sung by Sonu Nigam, Shaan and Swanand Kirkire, “behti hawa sa tha who” sung by Shaan, Shantanu Moitra, “jaan nehi denge tujhe” sung by Sonu Nigam, “give me some sunshine” sung by Suraj jagan, Sharman Joshi, to name a few.

Raj Kumar Hirani had only tasted success from the time he had made films related to Munnabhai series. Both Munnabhai MBBS and Lage Raho Munnabhai had been super hit. Going by that track record The Three Idiots is also going to be hit.

Besides Amir Khan, Mr. Perfectionist is destined to put his stamp with the success of the film The Three Idiots after the successes of Ghajini and Taren Zameen par released in the previous years respectively.

Review of the film Kurbaan.

Review of the film Kurbaan.

Rensil D Silva experimented with Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor in the film Kurbaan. Karan Johar produced the film with the backdrop of terrorism.

In the film Kareena Kapoor who previously lived in US returned to India after her father had cardiac arrest. Kareena Kapoor met with Saif Ali Khan when they were in Delhi University and fell in love with one another.

Kareena got a job in US and took Saif Ali Khan to US. She helped him to work as Professor of Islam in the same University where Kareena Kapoor worked. Kareena Kapoor developed intimacy with Dia Mirza, Vivek Oberoi and Nauheed Cyrusi. While Kareena Kapoor was pregnant she heard that Om Puri and others planned to blast the flight in which Dia Mirza was flying.

Kareena Kapoor later found out that Saif Ali Khan was involved in the same terrorist activity in which Om Puri and others were involved. Saif Ali Khan kept Kareena Kapoor under house arrest and threatened her that in case she disclosed anyone about the conspiracy, her father in India would be killed. The flight exploded and everyone in the flight were killed.

Vivek Oberoi joined the terrorist group with the mission of taking revenge against Om Puri, Saif Ali Khan and others. Om Puri preponed the plan of blasting three subway stations in New York. Ultimately Saif Ali Khan sacrificed his life to save Kareena Kapoor and the child in the mother’s womb.

The music composed by Salim Sulaiman was very impressive. The song “shukran allah” sung by Sonu Nigam, Salim Merchant and Shreya Ghoshal became superhit. The other songs like “dua”, “ali maula” all were very impressive.
The critics fear one fact. Films based on terrorist activities did not do good business in the past. So obviously Kurbaan can face the heat in that respect. Otherwise the performance of Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Om Puri and Vivek Oberoi were excellent.

The film should do well.

Mai Aur Mrs. Khanna got a slow opening.

Main Aur Mrs. Khanna got a Slow Opening.

This year 3 of the bollywood films were released on 16th October, 2009, including Blue, Mai Aur Mrs Khanna and All the best. The directors and producers purposely released it during the period of diwali to allow the viewers to watch the film during festival time.

Although Blue and All the best got a fantastic opening, Mai Aur Mrs Khanna lagged behind. Director Prem Soni had used Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor in a love story titled Mai Aur Mrs Khanna. Salman Khan married Kareena Kapoor against the wishes of his parents and settled in Melbourne, Australia. There he had a successful career of a stock-broker. The moment he lost the job, the internal differences between the couple played by Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor had forced Kareena Kapoor to stay with Sohail Khan.

Salman Khan’s friend Govinda tried to patch up the things so that the marital relationship could be restored. The film had been produced by Ronnie Screwala and Sohail Khan. Kareena Kapoor’s visa expired in Australia before she was working in a watch shop. Due to insistence from her friends she married Sohail Khan.

In the mean time Deepika Padukone also entered the scene and made the play more dramatic. Inspite of good performances from Kareena Kapoor, Salman Khan and Sohail Khan the film did not have a good opening. The music of Sajid Wajid was impressive with Sonu Nigam’s song “don’t say alvida” becoming hit.

Some way or the other the luck is not going in Salman Khan’s favour. Although his TV program “10 ka dum” had been extremely successful most of his films including Wanted are doing mediocre business. He has one last film this year titled New York to prove his stardom. But the film Mai Aur Mrs Khanna should be watched by viewers considering the cameos played by even guest artists like Preeti Zinta and seasoned performances from Kareena Kapoor, Salman Khan, Sohail Khan and others.

Did Sonu Nigam reach the level of excellence of Rafi?

Did Sonu Nigam reach the level of excellence of Rafi?

Sonu Nigam is considered the most powerful playback singer in bollywood films at the moment. The greatest debate that haunts most of the music lovers of the country is that whether Sonu Nigam had reached the level of excellence that Rafi had reached in the 50s and 60s.

The greatest achievement of a singer lies in his acceptability before diverse range of composers and lyricists. As Rafi was classically trained and could adapt any type of song ranging from qawallies to ghazals to soft romantic numbers to westernized rock and roll compositions his demand before the musical community was immense. He is probably the only singer in the 50s and 60s who had sung with compositions of all the leading composers including Naushad, Shankar Jaikishan, Roshan, Madan Mohan, OP Nayyar, Salil Choudhury, Ghulam Mohammad, Vasant Desai, C. Ramchandran, S D Burman, LP, KA, RD Burman, and others and lyricists including Shailendra, Shakeel Badayani, Hasrat Jaipuri, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Kaifi Azmi, Raja Mehendi Ali Khan, Rajender Krishnan, etc. Excepting Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar, no other singer were in close diameter of Rafi in the 50s and 60s, as due to lack of classical orientation some of the singers of specifically composer’s singers.

Sonu Nigam had sung songs composed by AR Rehman, Anu Malik, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Vishal Shekar, Pritam, Shantonu Maitra and many other composers of the present age. In singing difficult and dynamic songs his name had appeared before Udit Narayan, Sukhwinder Singh, or others, including “sathiya sathiya” composed by AR Rehman, “sandese ate hai” composed by Anu Malik, “piyu bole” composed by Shantonu Moitra, “tumko bhula na payega” composed by Sajid Wajid, “ek din kahin” composed by Nusat Fateh Ali Khan, to name a few. But there is strong competition in bollywood music at the moment and Sonu Nigam is not the uncrowned king considering the challenge posed forward by Javed Ali, Atif Aslam and many new singers.

If compared with Rafi, probably the factor where Rafi remains unparallel, were the remote compositions that he had sung with. If Naushad’s “woh duniya ke rakhwale” was pure classically oriented, then SJ’s “aasman se aya farishta” had French background embedded in them, if Roshan’s “jo wada kiya ho” had royal andaz, Madan Mohan’s “tumhari zulfon ki” had ghazal andaz. Besides Rafi had given expression to Salil Choudhury’ s tunes based on east-west blend of music, Jaidev’s urbanized folk songs, SD Burman’s rural folk songs. There is no similarity of “madhuban me radhika nache re” with “aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche” or “dil jo na keh saka”. The list can go on. The other factor where Rafi had an edge includes the standard of Indian film music reached its zenith in the 50s and 60s which is difficult to attain.

Sonu Nigam is big asset for bollywood music at the moment and has a long way to go. But those who understand music will invariably agree Rafi’s empty space had remained absolutely unfilled. Rafi-lovers only try to fulfill their thirst by hearing the singing style of Sonu Nigam which is to a big extent modeled in Rafi’s style. Sonu Nigam himself also agrees that Rafi was unparallel and will always remained the uncrowned king of bollywood music.

Viewers expect the singers of the present age to listen to Rafi’s song and improve their own level of singing to whatever extent they can.

Sonu Nigam and Salman Khan

Sonu Nigam and Salman Khan.

Sonu Nigam is considered to be the most versatile singers of the present period. In the last 10 years he had sung in the films of almost all the leading stars including Hrithik Roshan, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan. He had sung songs composed by most of the dynamic composers of the country including AR Rehman, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Anu Malik, Vishal Shekhar, Sajid Wajid, etc. But his voice matches the most with Salman Khan.

In the film Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, all the songs sung by Sonu Nigam for Salman Khan like “jeene ke hai char din” or “mujhse shaadi karogi”, became super hit. The songs were composed by Sajid Wajid and the lips of Priyanka Chopra added flavor in Salman Khan’s super hit film which was mostly picturised in the sandy locations of Goa. The songs of the film Yuvvraaj, composed by AR Rehman, last year like "shano shano" sung by Sonu Nigam and picturised on Salman Khan also was appreciated by the viewers.

Even the songs in the film Partner composed by Sajid Wajid like "maria maria" or "do you want a partner" became bumper hits. The film became super hit and the combination of Salman Khan and Lara Dutta was liked by the viewers as they have liked both Govinda and Katrina Kaif in the film.

Sonu Nigam and Salman Khan combination stormed bollywood in the film Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya. The songs were composed by Himesh Reshamiya, and Sonu Nigam’s song “just chill chill” became super hit. The lips of Sohail Khan and Katrina Kaif were as impressive as Salman Khan in the song. The other songs in the film were equally successful. Sonu Nigam Salman Khan combination stormed bollywood films in the film No Entry. Especially the title song “no no no no no no no no, no entry” piscturised on Salman Khan and Bipasha Basu became super hit. The music was composed by Anu Malik.

Sajid Wajid combined with Salman Khan and Sonu Nigam to provide hit songs in the film Heroes. The song “tera mera pyar baliye” having Punjabi andaz became very successful in the patriotic. Besides the same combination had given successful songs in the film God Tussi Great Ho. Whichever song was sung by Sonu Nigam for Salman Khan became very successful.

Previously Salman Khan’s songs in the film Tumko Bhula Na Payenge became super hit. The successful songs of Sonu Nigam included “tumko bhula na payega”, “are are yeh kya hua re”. Diya Mirza and Sushmita Sen complimented Salman Khan in the film and all the songs and the film did very good business. Even the songs of the combination in the film Janemaan, including “jane ke jane na”, “tumko maloom hai” etc., became super hit.

Sonu Nigam and Salman Khan had become a formidable combination over the years and the viewers feel that the composers and lyricists should use the combination as much as possible in films in future.

Happy birthday to AR Rehman

Happy birthday to AR Rehman.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to AR Rehman, on 6th January, 2008. AR Rehman had remained a master composer in Indians films for more than 10 years.

His variety and versatility had been exhibited with the landmark tunes given in films like Roza, Saathiya, Taal, Bombay, etc. Successful songs under his composition include “sathiya, sathiya” sung by Sonu Nigam in the film Saathiya, “dil hai chotasa choti si asha”, “roza janeman” in the film Roza, “tuhi re” sung by Hari Haran in the film Bombay, “maiya maiya” in the Guru. He had received 7 filmfare awards for the best composer only next to the genius musical duo Shankar Jaikishan who had won it 9 times. The other composers like Shankar – Ehsan – Loy, Vishal Shekhar, Anu Malik, Pritam have special regard for the versatile composer AR Rehman. He created a separate image for himself inspite of strong competition fro the above mentioned composers.

In 2008, AR Rehman gave landmark tunes in most of the films. He was sublime in the film Jane Tu Yaa Jane Na. All the songs “pappu cant dance sala”, “kabhi kabhi aditi”, impressed the teenagers with the catchy numbers.

He was totally different in Subhash Ghai’s venture Yuvvraaj. Gulzar wrote the lyrics of the film and the combination of Subhash Ghai, Gulzar and AR Rehman created magic. The songs “tu muskura”, “shano shano”, “mastam mastam” sung by Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and other popular singers had created a lasting impact inspite of the mediocre business of the film. In fact AR Rehman compelled Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anil Kapoor and others to work harder for giving lips in the songs created for the respective film.

AR Rehman was even brilliant in Amir Khan’s film Ghajini. Although the film was related to the revenge that was taken by Amir Khan after his girlfriend was killed by his enemies. Sonu Nigam’s song “hai guzarish” stormed the bollywood audience even before the release of the film.

AR Rehman had been so versatile that his music in one film never matched with the music of the other film. His composition in the film Dil Se, titled “chal chaiya chaiya” sung by Sukhwinder Singh and picturised on Shahrukh Khan was totally different from the composition in the film Taal, titled “ishq bina kya jeena”, picturised on Aishwarya Rai.

Again his composition for the film Roza titled “dil hai chota sa” sung by Chitra and picturised on Madhu was totally different from the song “saathiya, saathiya” in the film Saathiya sung by Sonu Nigam and picturised on Vivek Oberoi. He had blended western tune with Indian classical music. He also composed successful music in South Indian films.

The viewers expect him to make more experiments in Indian films in the years to come.

Shankar Ehsaan Loy in the recent years.

Shankar Ehsan Loy in the recent years.

Shankar Ehsan Loy had made their presence felt in bollywood films over the last 10 years. They had provided successful tunes in the many films and every year at least two films where they have composed music had become hits.

Shankar Mahadevan had the reputation of creating breathless music even at a time when he did ot shine in bollywood films. That unstoppable breathless element was exhibited in most of the creations.

The songs in the film Bunty Aur Babli, had that unstoppable element. The successful song included “dharak dharak, dhua uraye re”, “bunty aur babli”, “aisi nazar se na dekha”, etc. The performance of Udit Narayan, Alisha Shinoy and others had set the pace of the film. Abhishek Bacchan and Rani Mukherjee gave elegant lips in the film. Shankar Ehsaan Loy received the filmfare award for the best composer for their composition in the film Bunty Aur Babli.

Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsan Noorani and Loy Mendosa again rocked bollywood films with their music in the film Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. It was Karan Johar’s venture with Shahrukh Khan, Abhishek Bacchan, Big B, Preeti Zinta, Rani Mukherjee making notable contributions. The multistarrer film had many hit songs, some of which were sung by Sonu Nigam, others by Alka Yagnik, Shreya Ghoshal and others. The prominent songs included “kabhi alvida na kehna”, “mitwa”, etc. Shankar Ehsaan Loy again received filmfare award for composition of best music again for the film Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna.

If the composition of Shankar Ehsaan Loy are analyzed from the starting of their career it will be found that they gave different type of music even at the time when they composed music for the film Dil Chahta Hai. The songs “koi kahe”, “jane kyun log pyar karte hai” became super hits.

In Mission Kashmir, their songs “bhumro, bhumro” amazed the audience with excellent lips of Hrithik Roshan and Preeti Zinta. The title songs of the films Kuch Na Kaho and Kal Ho Naho became everlasting hits.

In Shahrukh Khan’s Don, their music had folk flavour, westernized flavour and melody embedded in them. The prominent songs included “sham hai”, “khaike paan banaraswala”, “mai hoon don”, etc. They have used Suniti Chauhan, Sonu Nigam, Shaan and other singers with success. Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Isha Koppikar proved their strong dancing capabilities in the film.

Shankar Ehsaan Loy were even sublime in their composition of music for the film Taren Zameen Par. The song “tujhe sab hai pata haina ma” almost every viewer weep in the cinema halls.

Even all their songs in the film Salaam-e-Ishq became super hit, including songs like “tenule”, “salaam-e-ishq”, etc., sung by Sonu Nigam and others. The lips of Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, and others were really extraordinary.

Their composition of music in the forthcoming films like Chandni Chowk to China, Kismat Talkies, etc., had created lot of interest in the minds of the viewers. Shankar Mahadevan is like by even viewers of TV Channels when they see him as Judge of Saregamapa Music Competition held in Zee TV. All his energy and enthusiasm is even displayed in that program. His is a strong competitor of AR Rehman, Vishal Shekhar, Pritam and Anu Malik and the team is supposed to provide even better tunes in future.