By Joginder Tuteja, May 19, 2008 - 14:59 IST
Even though there was a six month gap between Om Shanti Om and Tashan, it has been an array of musical releases for Vishal-Shekhar. Bhoothnath followed Tashan and now De Taali has also hit the stands. After a very good (Tashan) and a plain average (Bhoothnath) affair, one has good expectations from De Taali primarily because the film boasts of a young and energetic cast of Ritiesh Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Ayesha Takia and Rimi Sen. Since the quartet has usually been associated with films comprising of music that is fun and peppy, one expects the same from De Taali as well, especially with Vishal Dadlani himself doubling up as the film's lyricist. Well, the expectation is indeed met as De Taali turns out to be an enjoyable album!
20 seconds into 'Everybody Put Your Hands Together' and you can find your neck swaying with the song's beats. With a mix of English and Hindi lyrics, 'Everybody Put...' is cool, funky and energetic - everything which goes perfectly well with the club setting mood. A dance number which sees Sunidhi Chauhan, Anushka Manchanda and Shaan coming together, it is quite contemporary and has a Vishal-Shekhar stamp all over it. Not that the song is plain rhythm and beats - it has its own share of melody as well, especially in the middle portions - but overall it sticks to the club mix genre!
While the words De Taali are heard extensively in 'Everybody Put...' as well, there is an entire song which is titled 'De Taali'. Yet another young number which goes perfectly well with the mood of the film's setting, it has a very 'American Pie' kind of college setting to it; especially in the way it is picturised. This time around Abbas Tyrewala chips in as a guest lyricist. Sunidhi Chauhan and Shaan make sure that the youthfulness of the proceedings continues to constantly pick on momentum by means of 'De Taali'. They pretty much succeed in doing so with even more fun on the way once the 'remix version' arrives.
After two funky tracks comes 'Aaj Main Boond Hoon', a romantic number with a melodic base to it. Pancham da's influence is visible once again in this composition which reminds one of such tunes that were created by the composer duo in films like Jhankaar Beats and Home Delivery. Shreya Ghoshal is quite effective in her rendition while Shekhar Ravjiani who chips in as well does well in bringing on Amit Kumar nostalgia. Wish Vishal-Shekhar get the man back from his self imposed exile and have him sing more songs.
If 'Aaj Main Boond' had shades of Pancham da then 'Hone Lagi' is a bona fide R.D. Burman composition where everything from the basic tune to the arrangements follows the same stream as the late composer excelled in during the 70s and the early 80s. What surprises further is Anushka Manchanda rendering this soft romantic number since all this while she has been primarily associated with fast paced tracks like 'Golmaal' [Golmaal], 'Naughty Naughty' [Cash] and 'Bad Bad Boys' [Chak De India].
Shekhar Ravjiani again arrives in a special appearance mode for 'Hone Lagi' and does well yet again by bringing on the Amit Kumar effect. The remix version which follows though is avoidable as the album would have been better off had it stuck to just the original tune.
A potential success in the making, 'Maari Teetri' is rendered by Raja Hasan who was the 1st runner up on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge (2007). With a rustic folk feel to the song that has been fused with Western arrangements, 'Maari Teetri' has a catchy tune and in fact comes quite close to 'Dil Haara' [Tashan] in terms of feel, mood and setting. The song moves at a frantic pace and can be a highlight of the film if picturised and promoted well since Raja Hasan pretty much justifies his presence in the track.
Last to come is 'Tooti Phooti' which is yet another enjoyable number which has its beauty coming from the fact that it has Sunidhi Chauhan, Shaan and KK on the forefront with instruments taking a backseat. Also, Vishal's lyrics are truly original and give a whole new contemporary look and feel to the song. A love song which is quite different from the kinds one has heard in the recent past, it is surprising to see it placed at the very end of the album. This one can be comfortably played on a repeat mode.
For quite some time now, fans of Vishal-Shekhar were in a complaint mode because ever since Jhankaar Beats, they hadn't come up with a score which came anywhere close to revisiting the nostalgia of R.D. Burman. Here they present as many as three such numbers on a platter - 'Aaj Main Boond Hoon', 'Hone Lagi' and 'Tooti Photti' - with the last two turning out to be the pick of the lot. Also, with 'Everybody Put Your Hands Together' being a sure shot success and 'Maari Teetri' carrying good potential as well, De Taali turns out to be much more than just a satisfying affair.
 
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