Music Review :: Dangerous Ishhq

We bring to you the exclusive music review of Dangerous Ishhq – starring Karisma Kapoor and Rajneesh Duggal. Music by Himesh Reshammiya.

Himesh Reshammiya – the name brings back memories of that glorious (!?) era between 2003 and 2007 wherein every second movie’s soundtrack was done by the publically-proclaimed king of nasal overtones, Mr. Reshammiya.

With an almost cent percent track record of delivering extremely addictive and popular chartbusters, the man dominated the Indian music scene back then. It was truly said – you can love him or hate him but you CANNOT ignore Himesh Reshammiya. And then he decided to compose music only for his acting ventures. Thus, began his imminent downfall. After a slew of musical flops, he finally reattained his lost accolades with 2011s biggest blockbuster, Bodyguard.

And now he’s back with Vikram Bhatt’s Dangerous Ishhq. Aside from Himesh, this movie plays an important hand in re-establishing the career of former actress and diva, Karisma Kapoor. Agreed, it was more of a sabbatical than a farewell but times have changed since her last appearance on the silver screen with the 2006 flop Mere Jeevan Saathi. Irrespective, I can’t speak about her until the movie releases but what I can judge is the music. Does it live upto Himesh’s past array of fantastic work with movies such as Namastey London, Tere Naam, Aitraaz etc? Let’s take a look at the music graph followed by the actual review:

Tu Hi Rab Tu Hi Dua

Opening up with the haunting notes of a piano followed by synthesized strings, Tu Hi Rab Tu Hi Dua starts off beautifully and you expect a full-fledged iconic love ballad – until the tablas kick in. Sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Tulsi Kumar, this one is a very 90s Indian love song & believe me, it is a perfectly fine hear – but at the end of it, you are left wanting for more. A special mention to the highly addictive tune of the song which leaves the listener with a sense of déjà vu as well as Rahat’s singing (which can be considered as the saving grace of the song). Tulsi Kumar is oh-so-annoying with her screechy voice. I mean, it is obvious she is trying her level best especially during the verses but her voice just falls flat.

“Meri aankhon mein, meri saanson mein tera chehra,
Tu hi hai tu hi mera jahaan
Tu hi rab, tu hi dua, tu hi labh, tu hi zubaan,
Tu hi raah, tu hi makaam, tu rehnuma”

[youtube_video id=fYZ7AICzBoQ]

A reprise and an R&B remix version of this song also feature in the album. The remix is, actually, pretty good but the reprise – oh my god! Tulsi Kumar seems to have hurriedly and breathlessly sung the song. Believe me, it is nauseating. Himesh, you should have selected someone like Alka Yagnik or Shreya Ghoshal to sing your beautiful track.

Ishq Mein Ruswaa

Ishq Mein Ruswaa bears a vague resemblance to Aapke Pyar Mein from Raaz but in a folksy setting. Led by an archaic tune, it has nothing new to offer except melodious singing by Anweshaa.

I would love to hear more from this singer. As usual, the original version is succeeded by its remix. Why, God, why?! To be honest, it is not even worth mentioning.

Naina Re

Himesh Reshammiya’s nasal twang is officially BACK.

We must thank Sanjay Leela Bhansali for introducing the stunning voice of Shreya Ghoshal to Bollywood. Coupled with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Himesh Reshammiya, the woman stuns with the intensity of her emotion-filled voice. Being a soft melancholic track, Himesh manages to touch all the right heartstrings with Naina Re. His nasal tone is just as appealing as Rahat’s anguished voice. A must-hear for sure, especially for Rahat’s aalaps and for Sameer‘s beautiful lyrics.

“Sabki prem kahaniyaan, dil ke bechainiyaan,
Tu hi shuru karwaaye
Khud hi dil ka, rog lagaye, khud hi baitha, roye
Naina re naina tujhse bura na koi”

[youtube_video id=PWPiDnYXA8E]

Why must Himesh remix almost every song in his albums? Naina Re’s remix is utter crap and an injustice to the song. The more-acoustic Reprise version makes up for this blasphemy.

Umeed

Boasting of Himesh’s trademark beats, the loungy Umeed left me confused. I think it was, in a way, spawned from Aafreen (from Red) and Aap Ki Kashish (from Aashiq Banaya Aapne), yet it managed to hold its own thanks to a haunting melody backed by Amrita Kak’s fantabulous singing. The song takes a traditional route into the verses which is a bit of a dampener. Shabab Sabri adds to the vocals without really leaving a strong impression.Being a predominantly fast paced track, the inclusion of a remix might seem redundant but Himesh has completely changed the setting of the remix. Not bad.

Lagan Lagi More Piya

Starting off beautifully with the voices of Shabab Sabri & Shreya Ghoshal, Lagan Lagi More Piya suddenly turns into a commercial happy lovey-dovey traditional song which can seriously be disconcerting.

Certain portions of this track reminded me of Kaahe Chhed Mohe (from Devdas), as well as, Bumbro (from Mission Kashmir) – yes, the extremity of the citations is surprising. A very mediocre situational song, this one was, thankfully, left untouched by not having a remix.

With Dangerous Ishhq, I expected a lilting soundtrack with equal dosages of modern and traditional songs (considering the movie deals with past lives and different eras). Most of the songs seem to be suffering from a wannabe-modern-yet-traditional-at-heart hangover.

Maybe this was the brief given to Himesh Reshammiya, but it isn’t his best soundtrack for sure and lies somewhere between passable & above average. But credit must be given where it is due – lyrics by Sameer Anjaan & Shabbir Ahmed are commendable. Hopefully, the visual depiction of these songs will be much better. For that, we have to wait till May 11, 2012 to catch Dangerous Ishhq at a nearby theatre.