By Abid ©2007 Bollyvista.com

Rating: 7/10

Credits
Producer/s: Sohail Khan and K. Sera Sera
Director: David Dhawan
Music: Sajid-Wajid
Lyrics: Sanjay Chhel, Shabbir Ahmed and Jalees Sherwani
Vocals: Earl D’Souza, Kunal Ganjawala, Labh Janjua, Naresh, Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Suzi Q, Shweta Pandit, Sneha Pant, Sunidhi Chauhan, Udit Narayan and Wajid
Label: T-Series

Four years after rocking the nation with their chartbuster hits from ‘Mujhse Shaadi Karogi’(MSK), music directors Sajid-Wajid are back once again with the original king of comedy, David Dhawan. Naturally, expectations run sky high from their latest offering, ‘Partner’, more so as it brings together two of David’s favourite stars, Govinda and Salman, who in their prime have rocked the charts. So let us see if this album is able to recreate the MSK magic.

The essence of fun, laughter and romance is brought to life in the title track ‘Do You Wanna Partner’, a light, fun-filled, situational number, tailored to perfection by the superb singing of the artists. It is lovely to hear Udit after such a long time and his vibing with Shaan is fabulous. The very versatile director-script writer, Sanjay Chhel, who also doubles up as a lyrics writer in many a previous David movies, pens some very apt, situational lyrics, as he talks about the uncertainties and the perils of love with ‘Lekin, Kintu, Prantu’,(the ifs and buts in Hindi). He etches out the character of the lead pair to perfection. The Goanese piece is catchy and the chorus humorous. This number has the potential to hit the charts.

Trumpet dominated brass sounds herald the remixed version of ‘Do You Wanna Partner’. The already racy rhythm gets deadlier and racier this time around and the Goanese piece comes earlier than in the first version.

Nice flute sounds and rap by Earl commence the hip-hop ‘You’re My Love’, which features thrice in the album. The second one is a mere space filler and the third is a remixed version. The ‘mukhda’ seems to be inspired by Himesh’s title track from ‘Good Boy Bad Boy’. The instrumentation and orchestration is mostly Indian with flute and ‘been’ sounds dominating the proceedings. Shaan is perfect as usual and Shweta complements him with her lovely rendition. Shabbir Ahmed’s lyrics are filmy to the core. The somewhat subdued vocals in the antara give it that unique touch. The not too much heightened pace, with added percussion sounds, makes the remixed, ‘Do You Wanna Partner’, a good hear.

Rhythmic, synthesized music commences the Punjabi pop styled ‘Soni De Nakhre’. Quite a catchy dance number with lyrics mostly in Punjabi, will be patronized by a certain section. But when compared to the team’s last Punjabi pop styled ‘Aaja Soniye’, this one is certainly not in the same league and will definitely not get as popular. Though Sajid-Wajid have roped in Labh Janjua, who is a very popular Punjabi pop sensation from UK and has sung for a few Hindi films. But his presence will not make much of a difference to this average number.

The carnival spirit of Goa comes alive in this festive cum romantic number ‘Maria Maria’. The song begins in a Ricky Martin style, but thankfully later changes tracks, as it becomes super energetic, keeping up with the festive and boisterous mood of the festival. It is a treat to hear Sonu and Sunidhi together yet again. They sing with zest and fervor and succeed in redeeming the number to an extent. The chorus ‘Maria Maria’ is the highlight piece of the composition. When compared to the memorable “Maria” numbers, like the one from R. D. Burman’s ‘Sagar’ and Anu Malik’s ‘Josh’, this number by Sajid Wajid will not be classified in the same league but is definitely worth a hear.

East meets West, as synthesizer meets sitar to commence ‘Dupatta Tera Nau Rang Da’. The team’s earlier dupatta chart conqueror, ‘Laal Dupatta’ (’Mujhse Shaadi Karogi’) still continues to be rage in many a marriage functions and parties, and so a lot was expected from their next dupatta number (Salman and dupatta/odhni numbers have always hit the charts). But alas, this one does not live up to the expectations. Too much Punjabi influence, too many Western beats spoil the song. Salman and dupatta songs have always been associated with pure Indian beats and melody, and the listener comes with a preset mind and predictable expectations. But if we leave aside our pre-conceived notions, this track, if picturised well, may look good on screen, especially when Salman and Govinda groove to the rhythm. Ganjawala and Sonu have done a good job.

All in all, Sajid-Wajid fail to live up to the expectations (based on past David-Salman combo audios). Apart from a couple of good numbers, the rest are just about average. We can give the benefit of the doubt to the composers. Maybe, it was the requirement of the movie and the audio will surprise us (as on many previous occasions), once the movie releases next month.

Rating: 7/10