Music Reviews

Hai Mera Dil – Sapna Mukherjee

It was Feroz Khan who introduced her as a playback singer in his film Jaanbaaz in 1986. Now it is Magnasound that rediscovers her talent for pop music with this 10-song album.
Sapna already has three non-film music albums to her credit – Dil Tera Hua (music by Late R.D. Burman), Jaanam (music by Viju Shah) and A Tribute to Geeta Dutt and her Oye Oye number from Rajiv Rai's Tridev won her the Filmfare award. Now, after a hiatus of a couple of years, Sapna is back with Hai Mera Dil and is out to prove her versatility with a variety of songs which have a mix of everything.
According to Sapna this album has taken her one-and-a-half years to put together. Of the 10 songs, two are composed by Rajesh Roshan and the rest are by Leslie Lewis. Lyrics are by Sameer and Dev Kohli.
The title number, Hai Mera Dil, has an element of rock 'n' roll which is very '60s. It is a hummable song which she has sung from the heart. Aaja Meri Laila is a playful chorus song which all youngsters would love for its fast beats.
Gujarati Chohren, composed by Roshan, is folkish and sounds like a film song while Roshan's other composition, Kake Te Dhabe, is a now-mandatory Punjabi folk song rendered enthusiastically by Sapna.
The Leslie composed, romantically soft Yeh Pyaar Kya Hai is a song Sapna takes as a challenge and delivers it well. She joins Sudesh Bhosle for a patriotic duet, Hai Paigham, which sounds forceful because of its folk beats. Her Beliyon Dholki Bajao is a classical-based Rajasthani folk sung effectively. It not only marks the album's grand finale but also promises to be a chart-topper.
Cassette courtesy: Magnasound

Nasha Hi Nasha – Sukhwinder Singh

A.R.Rahman's Chhaiya Chhaiya (Dil Se) is the most fortunate thing to have happened to Sukhwinder Singh's career as he never had to look back after that. He not only managed to give hit after hit but also composed chartbuster folk songs for top music directors and even composed songs for Ajay Devgan's Hindustan Ki Kasam. Now the London-returned singer-composer adds another feather to his cap by releasing his self-composed and written non-film album, Nasha Hi Nasha.
If it was ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas you could have safely bet on the album to be dealing with intoxication but thanks to Sukhwinder's Sufi background this Nasha is an ode to love and seeks inspiration from Western numbers especially those of Pink Floyd. His title song, Nasha hi Nasha, is an orchestral marvel and is inspired by the A.R. Rahman school of music. You can safely buy the album for this one number which is lyrically as well as musically rich. Sukhwinder gives his best here.
Pyar Hota is tambourine-based and is a Sukhwinder speciality while O Sanam is a fast and Westernised tune, something like a Lucky Ali song. The singer writing his own lyrics is no problem but he shouldn't be repeating lines like Ghunghat Ki Haya which enjoys a place of prominence in the title song. The Punjabi munda is at home while singing Ghar Aaja in his energetic voice inviting the non-resident lover to return home.
On Side B the emphasis is on retro beats in songs like Ri Gujaria and O Piya which is a mix of semi-classical and retro.
In his quest to be different and to give something new Sukhwinder detracts from his usual film style to reveal the versatile side of his talent and comes up trumps in the popularity stakes.
Cassette courtesy: Vanilla Music