Wake Up S!d — Music review

Recently John Hughes passed away who has made some of the finest coming of age films of all time like “16 Candles” , “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off”. He portrayed the young teenagers in a very real and comic way . His films are still relevant as they were 25 years ago and are also some of my favourites . Now we have Ayan Mukerji from Dharma Productions who is also trying his hand on the same genre . What was remarkable in Hughes’ films was that they were very simple and portrayed whatever that they wanted in a very simple manner . The same simplicity is what I got to observe in this album too . The music here is by Shankar Ehsaan Loy (K Jo’s favourite) and lyrics are also by Javed Akhtar (another favourite) . In past the trio and the lyrical genius have done wonders and the same is expected from them every time they come together . I am very very happy to see a change in Dharma Productions who is now focusing on making a bit different films than usual lavish films that they are associated with .

The first song on the album is the title track which has vocals by Shankar himself . The track has some nice guitar pieces in it which is a feature that has been maintained throughout the album .
I love the way song goes from a soft slow mode to a rock mode and that too in a nice way and not an abrupt way . The music on the entire album for that matter seems to be an extension to Rock On!! Album but in my view it is not . This one has more of a soft rock feel in most of the songs on the album . Well , the lyrics on this one are also nice and Javed sir has done a good job as usual . The song introduces Sid and his character in the film in a nice way . The film seems to be a bit similar to Lakshya , the music and lyrics of which were by the same team . Though the songs here are very different and even lyrics are different . The backing vocals in this song by Loy Mendonsa are also nice . Overall , its a good track to begin the album with and has also done full justice to the title of the film .

Next comes , Kya Karoon? , by Clinton Cerejo which has a nice fresh feel . I always like the sound of harmonica because it very well captures the “easy going happy go lucky ” feel and it has been used in this track very nicely . A nice slow track which has good lyrics and “kya karu” seems to be catchy. NICE is a word that I’ll be using very much throughout the review because it is a word that very well summarizes the album . And Nice doesn’t mean that it is not very good . It is great but in a very subtle way that will probably make you happy . Clinton has provided the song that fresh young feel that was required through his vocals and he is nicely supported by Dominique and Loy . In all its a nice song that would look great along with the story in the film . It is almost like those songs that one usually hears in background in many Hollywood films . The lyrics capture the feelings of youth in a nice way throughout the album and also in this song .

“Aaj Kal Zindagi” comes next which reminded me a bit of “Kaisi Hai Ye Rut” from Dil Chahta Hai . The beats in this one are similar to that one . That one was a beautiful track sung by Srinivas who did a great job . This one has vocals by Shankar himself who also as usual has done a great job . This one is somewhat of a feel good inspirational song which has a good melody and lyrics . One nice thing that I observed is that most of the tracks on the album are short and only around 4 minutes long . This in my view is ideal length for any song and songs like these don’t even hinder the pace of the film and keep it going . I hope the film is also short and concise like the songs with no unnecessary elongation .

Then comes probably the best track on the album but there is a catch , this one has been composed by Amit Trivedi .Though this song is by a different composer it still doesn’t stand out and has maintained the spirit of the album and is of the same league as others and Amit needs to be complimented for that . It is different than others but has the same quality of simplicity in it too . Lyrics wise also this song is the best on the entire album and Jaaved sir has done a fabulous job on this track . The only song which has female vocals and Kavita Seth has done a great job here . She has given it a nice classical feel along with Amitabh Bhattacharya . Both of them have a nice fresh voice quality which goes along with the theme of the soundtrack . Amit Trivedi is definately a find and he is proving that with his work . He has already proved himself in Aamir and Dev-D but here he has stood along with an already established trio of music directors and shown that he is no less and done a good job . Though the music is good and soulful but the strongest point of the song are its lyrics and singing . Full marks to Kavita for her nice Classical Sufiana singing . I would love to hear a bit more of her . Javed sir has also very nicely used the word “iktara”…. I am a bit crazy i guess but i would have loved to see this picturised in a bit of rain and also a bit dark , in monsoons, as if time has stopped .

Then at last comes “Life is Crazy”, again by Shankar who has been supported by Uday Benegal .All of the songs on the album talk about life in general and its surprising but there is no love song on the entire album . This one is also talks about life and its different elements of happiness . It also calls it crazy and both the singers do that in a stylish way . This song also has a soft rock kinda feel and has a nice pacy rhythm .

One complaint that I have against Shankar is that he is now singing just too many songs on his albums . This one has 4 songs by them(SEL) out of which shankar features on 3 of them . No doubt he is a fabulous singer but he should rather sing a few songs else the audience would get a bit bored with him and all the songs on his album would sound the same .

Lastly comes a remix version of the title track which is also nice and would work more than the original one among the masses . This one has been titled as “Club Mix” and it would work in clubs and discs for sure . The sound of ticking clock in the bgining sounds good , even in the original one . This one is a more faster version and sounds like those songs by teenage bands in the west .

Overall , its a very NICE and different soundtrack and its strength lies in its simplicity .There are no unnecessary remix versions and most songs are of appropriate length .SEL and Javed Sir have done a good job once again . I am looking forward to this film now even more than before I was . Lets hope the film also has something good in store . Its good that UTV has this film with them , they’ll do a good job with publicity . One thing UTV is doing great is that it is bringing the commercial and off beat film makers in the same domain and a bit closer than before .

Album Rating : Four out of Five ; Pretty fresh and definately worth listening .

Kaminey — Movie Review

Hmmm , where do I start ?? …Some films are not easy to review because an experience has to be experienced , it is actually hard to put it on paper . This is exactly what Kaminey is , an experience . Lets start from the beginning . The film doesn’t take time out for introducing the characters one by one , they get introduced by themselves , by default . By the time titles would begin you would get engrossed in the film and the people who generally make noise during the beginning of the film in the cinema hall would get silent by the end of it .

Kaminey begins on a comic cum thrilling note . The comic side belonging to Guddu (the stuttering Shahid) and the thrilling side belonging to Charlie (the F ko F bolne waala Shahid – the lisping one) . Priyanka aka Sweety , the marathi mulgi , does her job well in the begining itself and director Vishal manages to give film an almost perfect start (have to say almost perfect bcoz there is no such thing as perfect ) . The lisping and stuttering would make you laugh at the characters but still establish that connect with them . One by one all the characters come into play and start getting connected with one another through a Guitar and a Girl . The girl being Priyanka Chopra .

Making life what it is(Kamini) around Guddu , Sweety and Charlie are characters like Bhope Bhau , Tashi , Mikhail , Lobo and Lele . All of them unique and all entangled in a complex world of chrime, money and power . The cultural diversity in the film is one thing to watch where Mikhail and his brothers are Bengali , Tashi and Lobo are Christians , Guddu who is actually Sanjay Sharma is a Hindu and Bhope Bhau and Sweety being Marathi .There are also some foreigners in the film .Bhope Bhau who is a true Marathi Manus and against all north indians has been briliantly played by Amol Gupte . He has done full justice to the character and has played the part of an aspiring politician who uses this “Marathi Manus Ideology” for getting a ticket to contest in the elections . His character has maximum weightage in the film apart from Shahid and Priyanka . The film is made up of these so many different Characters and it completely belongs to them . All characters are important and everyone of them has a mean(kamini) side . The director has even gone ahead and shown the mean side of a small Kid who also plays a very small and comic part in the film . Every character has been perfectly casted and it is these characters that make the film so strong .

Kaminey for its maximum length belongs to Shahid and it won’t be wrong to say that it is completely his film . It is his best and most mature performance till date and his hard work comes across on the screen . He has worked really hard for both of the characters and has put up a fabulous performance . The two characters being completely different , Shahid has got a rare opportunity to express all different shades of a personality on-screen . His is the toughest part and to act that well shows his progress as an actor . He has already become the new superstar and now his acting skills would also get appreciated which would further increase his stardom for sure . Pankaj sir will be so proud of him after watching the film . Vishal has given him ample space to perform and he has delivered according to his expectations . Though Priyanka’s part in the film was small but certainly a very important one and one that required great efforts from her too . She also has equally worked hard and given her best . She is just fabulous in the film and her chemistry with Shahid is something to watch out for . She plays this part of a crazy marathi girl effortlessly and would certainly make you smile . She is adorable and for that matter both Shahid-Priyanka as a couple are also adorable and look cute . They both are stars and of the type who can also act . Chandan Roy is also good as Mikhail .

I am trying to avoid myself from letting out the plot details because it is pretty exciting to watch them unfold one by one . The comic caper genre that Vishal has attempted in the film has worked like wonders . It is officially now first of its kind , opening the gates for many other Directors to attempt this genre also . The story is different to an extent but what is best is the treatment that Vishal has given to the story . The screenplay is great and there are several memorable sequences in the film . Some of them that come immediately to my mind is the sequence between Bhope and Mikhail(Charlie’s Friend) , then there is one with the kid , the interrogation sequence and last but certainly not the least the climax sequence . The climax of the film is what you call ‘climax’ exactly and it is this part which decides the fate of the film . It is this part that will please the majority of the audience and would make it a sure shot hit .

Techinically also its a very strong film and the cinematography by Tassaduq Hussain is top notch . Several locations of mumbai have been shown in a never before manner and the sequences with Rains have also been shot perfectly . I have a thing for shots in the heavy rain and I just loved them in the film .The steady-cam shots which are on the move have also been done in a beautiful manner and are technically sound . The film’s story spans just within a complete day and hence it moves at a rapid pace which is another plus point about the film .The editing department has done a great job in this respect . The music of the film is no doubt great and it also adds a lot to the film . Its a dark film but still is not that dark and suits the taste of Indian audience . The dialogues of the film are just great and have been written very well . The actors have very well delivered them too in the way they should have been .

I am trying my best not miss out any of the positive points from the film because there are just so many and this is also the reason that from the release of Omkara till date I have not written anything about the film because its tough . Regarding the negatives from the film , the only negative that I thought was that why very less time was given to fabulous characters like lobo, lele , tashi and mikhail . They were such interesting characters and the actors were also brilliant and could have given so much to the characters . The only explanation to this would possibly be the length of the film which had to be kept minimal for the general audience . One request to the producers and director , please release a Director’s Cut of the film(at least on DVD) so that I can enjoy these characters at a full length .

Lastly comes Vishal Bhardwaj , the captain of the ship . Absolutely fabulous job ! kudos to him ! This one is a completely different film from Omkara and he has again done a great job . Omkara is a classic and it is hard to get over such a film . But he has not only managed to do that but also given this film a completely fresh feel , the only common thing being the characters which are so real and so on ground . Vishal Sir , please don’t ever think of the censor certificate and keep making films as real as possible and let the censor board change itself . He has managed to do something that many have tried to attempt before but have messed up somewhere . He is an actor’s dream director now for sure . Please continue working like this and bring such good and entertaining stories for us on celluloid . By the way the film also qualifies for the “Paisa Vasool” kinda audience and they will also love it .

Go watch it . Forget the swine for some time !!!

One personal opinion that I want to put forward in this review is that Omkara was more of Vishal’s film than Kaminey is . It had so much more on the psychological level that had to be handled by him only and he did that in a way that actually bowls me over every time I watch that film . But I don’t want to take anything away from him and Kaminey beacause the two are completely different kind of films .

Movie Rating : Four and Half Stars out of Five ; don’t even think of missing it and Mumbaikars and Poonawaalas please wait and don’t resort to piracy .