Music Review: Chak De India

Album: Chak De India
Music Director: Salim Merchant & Sulaiman Merchant
Lyricist: Jaideep Sahni
Album Rating:

 

 

 

A refreshing album in terms of music and lyrics. Songs stand out because of the different sounding lyrics. Instead of the tried and tested ‘dil’, ‘deewana’ words, the Jaideep Sahni (is he new?) does a wonderful job as the song writer.

Chak De India
Singers: Sukhwinder Singh, Salim Merchant and Marianne DCruz

An energetic song, sung beautifully by Sukhwinder. This song extends the ‘Karam kar, phal ki aasha na kar’ preaching of Bhagavad Gita. The song has wordings worth listening to. Sukhwinder pumps in enough energy for the listeners to start pumping their fist. Ignoring the common sports based theme, this song reminds me of Lagaan’s ‘Chale Chalo’. The tune is catchy and motivating. A song to listen to whenever you need a pep talk. You would want to get up and do something because Sukhwinder is saying ‘Kuch kariye’!

Badal Pe Paon Hain
Singer: Hema Sardesai

Hema Sardesai is back with a bang after a hiatus (At least I didn’t notice her anywhere. Apologies if I missed any of her songs.). A fast, foot-tapping song where Hema sounds like she is actually on cloud nine. The guitar piece is brilliant and the chorus adds charm to the song. Hema shines through-out – one can make out Hema is thoroughly enjoying the song. If you are on cloud nine, listen to the song and sway with Hema.

Ek Hockey Doongi Rakh Ke
Singers: Shah Rukh Khan, KK and Chorus

Oooo… going by this song, one is better off staying away from the girls of the hockey team. This song is Shah-rukh’s introduction of the team. Khan’s commentary and the girls’ tidbits gel well with the chorus, though he could have done better on the commentary job. KK sings only a line in the song, you wil miss him if you blink err… whatever the equivalent is for listening. Good work on the lyrics and the narration.

Bad Bad Girls
Singer: Anushka Manchanda

This one stands out as the odd one out. This is targeted at the disc/pub crowd, I think. With its drum beats, breaking glass and synthesized sounds, it is more like a noise on the ears. The tune is nothing to rave about. Anushka’s voice totally suits the song and she handles it well.

Maula Mere Le Le Meri Jaan
Singers: Krishna & Salim Merchant

A mellifluous song, with a touch of folky, Arabic music. Krishna is brilliant – the right amount of emotion packed in and his voice sounds so soothing. His voice at times shakes a little and this adds to the beauty of the song. This song grabs you as soon as it starts and it tranfers you to another world altogether. The singer in the background actually spoils the serenity of the song. He is more screaming than singing – we could have done without him.

Hockey Remix
Singers: Shah Rukh Khan, KK and Chorus

This is the faster, noisier version of ‘Ek hockey doongi mein rakh ke’ minus the introductions. With digitally created sounds, loud thumping is noise to ears. I so prefer the slower, pleasanter song. This one is sure to top the charts in your local discotheque. Save your ears, skip this song.

Sattar Minute
Singer: Shah Rukh Khan

Supposedly Khan’s pep talk to his team. I don’t know why this ‘dialogue’ or ’speech’ is part of the movie’s soundtrack. Are people going buy this album because it contains a speech by King Khan? In the speech, Shah Rukh Khan is trying to motivate his team to play their best in those 70 minutes of the game – he hardly sounds convincing. He lost my attention right after the second sentence and the whole speech lasts for a litte more than 2 minutes. I know this is going to anger Khan fans, but nothing inspiring about the speech. The coach sounds desperate, not confident. When you are leading a team – there is a thin line between desperation and confidence.

All in all, a good album. ‘Chak De India’, ‘Badap Pe Paon Hain’ and ‘Maula Mere’ are good enough reasons for buying this album. No matter what I say, Khan fans are going to lap up this album.