Radio
T-Series, Rs 160
This is a mixed bag from Himesh Reshammiya. Again looking at the plus points first, it’s nice to see Himesh being gutsy enough to lay stress on Indian instruments like tabla and shehnai in a much more candid way than before, in particular in Koi humko chahe (Himesh-Shreya), Piya jaise ladoo (Himesh-Rekha Bhardwaj) and Damaadji (Himesh-Kailash). Two of the four Himesh-Shreya duets are familiar terrain, melodious, ear-friendly, very ethnic yet not memorable. But Jaaneman and Shaam ho chali hai stand out for their sheer intensity of melody and emotion.
Zindagi jaise ek radio (Himesh-Aditi) is a version of traditional Punjabi folk but finds Himesh in screechy mode. Subrat Sinha’s lyrics here and in general are average. Of course Man ka radio (Himesh) is definitely infectious. As a singer, Himesh does get more refined, but as a composer, ever since he hit big-time as a singer, his antaras are tending to get more complex - a simpler structure would get more returns.
Yet one aspect is clear: Himesh’s core strength is his compositional expertise which clearly has not rusted. He never just composes something merely trendy and catchy and believes in the truism that a song’s core is composition, not sound!

Main Aurr Mrs Khanna
T-Series, Rs 160
This is Sajid-Wajid’s best work this side of Partner, which was a more rambunctious score compared to the classy ambience here. The top honours would be shared by the twinkle-toed Tum ne socha (Wajid-Shreya) and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s finest film song after Main jahaan rahoon (Namastey London), the ultra-melodious Rabba. Sonu-Shreya-Suzanne’s Don’t say alvida is also a winner and the kind that will rock with the youngsters. Shreya’s solo version shines.
The multi-singer Mrs Khanna has an instantly-catchy riff (Bappi Lahiri-Shaan-Sunidhi-Neuman-Suzanne) but pulls down the album.

Mauje Dandiya 2009

T-Series, Rs 45