Varun Dhawan to rap in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania

Venus recreates Jab Koi Baat

Remember the suave Vinod Khanna lip syncing to Jab koi baat bigad jaaye, sung by Kumar Sanu? In an attempt to bring back the romantic flavours of the 90s, especially for the youth of today, Venus Entertainment has launched an encore version of the song last week, titled Jab koi baat valentine mix. The track is a brainchild of DJ Girish, who had earlier worked on popular remixes for films like Om Shanti Om, Jannat among others; and music arranger Hyacinth D’souza, who recently won accolades and an award for Badtameez Dil from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Girish says, “Since youngsters today are very casual about romance, we wanted to showcase eternal and pure love through this song. To compliment the track, the video shows the journey of a couple and how they stand by each other, no matter what the hurdle.” It was Girish who saw D’souza casually singing this track at an event and that’s when the duo decided to collaborate and take the idea further. Interestingly, D’souza also turns singer with this song. Adds D’souza, “The original composition by Rajesh Roshan really touched our hearts. It has a simple message – love has no end, and we have tried to bring it across through this version.”
Since Venus has the rights of the song, Jain instantly agreed to release it under their music label. “Jab koi baat from Jurm is one of the most popular romantic numbers of all time and when both Girish and Hyacinth presented their version to me, I really liked it,” said Ratan Jain, producer – Venus. He mentioned that it is the perfect gift they can give to the young music lovers, especially with the Valentine fortnight still going on. The song has been released across all the digital platforms by Venus and Jain confirmed that the artists may recreate a few more tracks under the label, which can lead to the creation of an album very soon.

Highway
Melodious journey

When you have a combination like A. R Rahman, Irshad Kamil and Imtiaz Ali; who had earlier given us a fantastic album in the form of Rockstar, you instantly expect the trio to raise the bar and present another winner. With a few outstanding tracks, the Highway album does manage to live up to the expectations. For the opening track, Rahman has roped in Sultana and Jyoti Nooran (The Nooran sisters) for the brilliantly composed Patakha Guddi. The melange of Sufi and Punjabi tunes make for a perfect combination and the singers have done perfect justice to the track, especially in the high pitch portions. Turn the volume up and listen to it while you drive to experience ultimate bliss. Patakha Guddi is hands down the best track of the album. Rahman goes behind the mic for the male version of the song, which is equally well rendered. The part where he chants Ali Ali will definitely leave you mesmerised.
Rahman comes back for the beautiful Maahi Ve; a soft, contemporary romantic number which demands repeated hearing, thanks to Rahman’s magical vocal rendition and Kamil’s well penned lyrics. The words are simple, but they leave an impact on the listener, which is commendable. Jonita Gandhi’s soft, solo track Kahaan Hoon Main is easy on the ears. Rahman has done a great job with the instrumentation and choice of instruments in this number is a plus point. The spunky, fast – paced Wanna Mash Up comes next, where Kash, Krissy and Suvi Suresh’s voice surely packs a punch. Although it is an English number, one can’t help but groove on it. The lyrics penned by Kash and Krissy are decent.
The soft lullaby Sooha Saha comes next, where the classical and folk elements surprise. Although the singer Zeb has rendered the track really well, Alia Bhatt has done a decent job too, as she croons a part mid – way through the song. The rawness in her voice stands out. Gandhi comes back with Implosive Silence, a long, slow number, where the musical pieces composed by Rahman attracts you the most. Sunidhi Chauhan’s Tu Kuja is well arranged and reminds you of Kun Faaya Kun from Rockstar, especially because of its spiritual setting. But overall, it makes for an average number. Saint Kabir’s Heera comes as the last number, where the use of violins add a magical quality to the song. Shweta Pandit has rendered the song pretty well.
Although the Highway album has quite a few experimental tunes, some songs grow on you with repeated hearing. Overall, we feel the combination of Rahman – Kamil – Ali has worked wonders yet again.