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By Joginder Tuteja, December 29, 2007 - 14:40 IST
What should be one's expectations from the music of an animation film coming from Bollywood? Unlike it's Hollywood counterpart, first and foremost the concept of animation films itself has to catch up in India. Except for Hanuman, India is still looking forward to another successful film of this genre at the box office. Secondly, a Hindi animation film hasn't quite boasted of a memorable soundtrack a la Finding Nemo, Shrek or dozen odd other Hollywood animation movies from past or present. In such a scenario, with no major expectations, one plays on Return of Hanuman that has music by Tapas Relia and lyrics by Satish Mutatkar. Thankfully, it turns out that there are at least a couple of tunes that do leave a mark!
Get ready for a Samba outing with Daler Mehndi coming up with the theme track 'Aasman Ko Chukar' revolving around the life of kid Hanuman. As is the requirement of a genre that targets children, the music here is fast paced with lyrics being kept simple yet witty. Satish Mutatkar have the kind of effect that Gulzar Saab usually makes with his songs that he writes for kids. A sweet number, which should appear throughout the film's narrative at all interesting junctures, 'Aasman Ko Chukar', is a good track to kick start the soundtrack of 'Return of Hanuman'.
Mainly a chorus track, 'Superstar' is the next to follow that has a team of singers - Hrishikesh, Neuman, Francois, Shazneen, Samantha and Sunayana - coming together to share a common platform. A high on intensity track which is centered on the announcement of arrival of 'Superstar Hanuman' who is getting all set to take on the evil, it can be equated to a kind of track, which one normally hears in a film belonging to war genre.
Shravan, Sneha, Aparna and Armaan are the four kids who come together for 'Hanuman Chalisa' which is told in a contemporary manner with the sound of guitar accompanying the track throughout. Even the tune is set in a way, which resembles more of a nursery rhyme than a devotional track - a good ploy since doing this only expands the market of 'Hanuman Chalisa' further. Lasting more than 12 minutes, this may well be a record for the longest rendered song by children for a Hindi film!
It's the sound of guitar again that marks the opening of one of the peppiest track of the soundtrack - 'Dhishum Dhishum'. Sung excellently by a young boy named Shravan, 'Dhishum Dhishum' is quite an engaging track for which credit should go to composer Tapas Relia who never lets a dull moment come in. His choice of instruments is perfect too as he keeps it simple for this track about glory and antics of young Hanuman told beautifully by lyricist Satish Mutatkar. This is one track, which reminds the listener of Vishal Bhardwaj composed kid track, 'Jungle Jungle Pata Chala Hai' years back!
The song which follows next is dedicated to the massive eating capacity of kid Hanuman and hence has been titled 'Black Hole' in reference to his big stomach. Adnan Sami, Mangal Mishra and Vijay Prakash come together for this track which is average sounding and doesn't have much going for it; especially after a song like 'Dhishum Dhishum' which had made expect a lot more from the remaining tracks. Though 'Black Hole' maintains a good pace as well, it's the singing here which isn't half as inspiring as songs preceding it.
Last to come is 'Instrumental Medley' which encapsulates the theme of each of the tracks from the album and creates a 6 minute medley out of it. This is followed by a 4-minute piece, which is dedicated to the best of the enterprise - 'Dhishum Dhishum' and acts as a 'Karoke' version. A good way to bring the album to it's closure.
Return of Hanuman is one of the better soundtracks that one is exposed to, especially when it comes to animation flicks. The tracks which make maximum impact are 'Dhishum Dhishum' followed by 'Aasman Ko Chukar' with 'Superstar' making it's presence felt as well. These are the ones that can be enjoyed most while watching the action unfold on screen.
  
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