'New York' impresses with nice, hummable tracks

By Ruchika Kher

Film: "New York"; Music Directors: Pritam Chakraborty and Pankaj Awasthi; Lyricists: Sandeep Srivastava and Junaid Wasi; Singers: KK, Sunidhi Chauhan, Mohit Chauhan, Pankaj Awasthi and Caralisa Monteiro; Rating: *** 1/2

After being starved for Bollywood music for quite a few months owing to the stand-off between producers and multiplexes, music buffs finally have something really worth listening to.

The music of Yash Raj Films' "New York" is youthful and interesting. The soundtrack encompasses four originals, two remixes and two instrumentals.

The first song "Aye Saaye Mere", sung and composed by Pankaj Awasthi, has a rustic feel to it but has an urban touch at places too. The song is well sung and the music makes it intriguing. "Aye saaye..." is surely a good listen.

"Hai junoon" crooned by KK instantly reminds of "Rubaru" from the film "Rang De Basanti". The song, however, is bound to catch the attention of listeners. It is a young, hip and foot-tapping number and it will be a hit among youngsters.

The track also has a remixed version, which is average and adds nothing to the song.

Next is "Mere Sang" with Sunidhi Chauhan behind the mike. Sunidhi has the potential to mesmerise the listener and she succeeds in doing so in the song. Although the lyrics could have been better, "Mere Sang" sounds nice in parts where the tempo rises.

It too has a remixed version, which is far from interesting. The original is much better.

The "New York theme" is dark, edgy and definitely the highlight of the album. The music grows on the listener and is very intense. After a long time, a soundtrack entails an instrumental.

The movie boasts of not one but two instrumentals. The second one, "Sam theme", is slow, poignant, soothing to the ears and has less musical arrangements. An equally engrossing piece of work.

Up next is "Tune jo kaha". Mohit Chauhan has sung the track in his usual free-flowing, soft voice and trademark style. The song has a heard-before feel but still makes the listener sit up and take notice. The lyrics are good too.

On the whole, "New York" is a welcome break from the dry spell in the Bollywood music scene. Pritam has done a good job and has created some nice hummable tracks that are sure to strike a chord with the listeners, especially youngsters.

• Music News