BAGHBAN

Producer: B R Chopra
Director: Ravi Chopra
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan, Mahima Chaudhary and Aman Verma
Lyrics: Sameer
Music: Aadesh Shrivastava
Singers: Amitabh Bachchan, Sudesh Bhonsle, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Sukhwinder Singh, Aadesh Shrivastava, Hema Sardesai and Sneha Pant
Audio: T-Series

The much-awaited family film Baghban is ready to hit the big screen and features an impressive cast, including Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan and Mahima Chaudhary. Produced by BR Chopra, the flick has been directed by Ravi Chopra. Sameer pens lyrics for the film together with the musician Aadesh Shrivastava who arranges easily flowing tunes. The late Gulshan Kumar's music company, T-Series releases the soundtrack that features nine songs in total.

1) Pehle Kabhi Na Mera (Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik)
The soundtrack starts a melodious-romantic duet by veteran singers Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. Udit Narayan catches the rhythm perfectly well with his sharp vocals and Alka Yagnik provides ample support delivering her vocals accurately. The duo successfully creates a romantic feel. Amongst the instruments, the dholak sticks out the most. Sameer sharpens his skills of poetry by penning pure romantic lyrics for this track, complimented well by Aadesh Shrivastava who scores a soothing piece of music. Overall listeners should appreciate this romantic number and help it climb up the charts.
Rating: 8/10

2) Om Jai Jagdish (Udit Narayan and Sneha Pant)
Om Jai Jagdish” has Udit Narayan and Sneha Pant providing the vocals. The track seems situational. Udit's silken rendition is simply great whilst Sneha Pant proves her mettle with her remarkable voice as well. Amongst the instruments, the tabla, flute and sarangi sound pleasant on ears. Aadesh's composition is good to hear. Overall the song is enjoyable.
Rating: 7/10

3) Meri Makhna (Sudesh Bhosle and Alka Yagnik)
A Bhangra/Punjabi song features next on the album. Although “Meri Makhna” emerges as a Bhangra/Punjabi number it has some elements of qawaali as well. So one can enjoy three moods in one song! The track begins well with the voice of Sudesh Bhosle, which completely fulfills the requirements of Amitabh's manly and thundering vocals. Sudesh has magnificent ability to modulate his voice as per the personality and the voice of the actor. Alka Yagnik, the fellow singer, truly justifies her job by rendering her vocals perfectly and her electrifying delivery of “Saajana' takes the listener to the world of ecstasy. Amongst the instruments used by Aadesh Shrivastava, the flute, dholak, jhankaar and sarangi stick out. Sameer pens brilliant lyrics, which raise the spirits accordingly. Aadesh Shrivastava arranges soothing and active tunes for his fans. The song is on air these days. And the visuals feature the likes of legendary Amitabh Bachchan and yesteryear dream girl Hema Malini dancing together after a long time. The track has been picturised well. The direction, choreography, cinematography deserve positive marks. The song has potential to be on top of the charts and can win awards too. Overall the number provides comforts to the thirsty soul and helps the fingers press repeat button again and again.
Rating: 9/10

4) Instrumental (Meri Makhna)
An instrumental version of “Meri Makhna” lands up next on the soundtrack. The arrangement of all musical instruments deserve huge applaud. Overall the track makes good hearing.
Rating: 7/10

5) Chali Chali (Amitabh Bachchan, Aadesh Shrivastava and Hema Sardesai)
Chali Chali, rendered by Amitabh Bachchan, Aadesh Shrivastava and Hema Sardesai, is a potential chart buster. All the singers do well with their respective jobs but Amitabh Bachchan is the one whose vocals make the distinction. His deep and energetic vocals have a soothing effect on ears and are simply incomparable. The background chorus is pleasant. Sameer happens to be a worthy lyricist here and Aadesh's music is active and helps the listeners dance to the beats. The only negative thing is the unnecessary rap pieces that take place on the narration of the song with pauses. The track has been showing on all usual music channels featuring Big B, Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini in the lead.
Rating: 8.5/10

6) Chali Chali - Shorter Version (Aadesh Shrivastava)
The second version of Chali Chali (which is of course short in length) is featured on the album next. Shrivastava, the solo singer, polishes up his skills by delivering his vocals brilliantly. He catches the rhythm well. Lyrics and music together they both prove their mettle as well. Overall the song spreads joys all around.
Rating: 7.5/10

7) Baghban (Richa Sharma)
Richa Sharma, who is popular for singing classical pieces, pockets this solo title song. Amitabh joins Richa too but only to deliver dialogues in the beginning. The gorgeous singer (Richa) has electrifying vocals that make the song distinctive; Amitabh's philosophical dialogues' delivery in the beginning beautifies the song as well. Richa seems to be in her elements. Her raags, which emerge in the midst, are impressive. Amongst the instruments, the flute and tabla stick out most. Sameer pens creative lyrics, which deliver a positive message to the listeners. The background chorus is effective with Aadesh Shrivastava arranging the tunes in slow beats. Overall the song is pleasant.
Rating: 8/10

8) Holi Khele Raghuveera (Amitabh Bachchan, Sukwinder Singh, Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik)
Amitabh Bachchan, Sukwinder Singh, Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik render "Holi Khele Raghuveera". The track reminds the listeners the old classic song “Rang Barse” from the film “Silsila”. Sukwinder's voice is a pleasurable listen, Amitabh's clear rendition is soothing and Udit's vocals make good hearing too. Alka Yagnik's commendable delivery is excellent as usual. Amidst the song, Sukwinder delivers some raags, which are appealing to the ears. As far as the lyrics are concerned, Sameer writes remarkable lyrics understanding the nature and the custom of Holi. Background chorus seems OK. The song is on air these days featuring the likes of Amitabh, Hema and others playing with colors.
Rating: 8.5/10

9) Main Yahan Tu Wahan (Amitabh and Alka)
A soft romantic song, Main Yahan Tu Wahan wraps up the album. Amitabh Bachchan teams up with Alka Yagnik to deliver this ballad. Amitabh delivers beautiful dialogues in the beginning of the song. His following rendition in slow style provides joys. Amidst the song, there occur some more romantic dialogues delivered by him, which of course become a comfortable entertainment for the listeners. Alka too showcases her attractive vocals in slow rhythm. Sameer pens pure romantic lyrics, which go well with the mood of the song. Aadesh Shrivastava scores soft tunes as per the theme of the song. Overall the song ends the album with a delightful romantic ballad.
Rating: 8/10

The soundtrack of Baghban is a very enjoyable listen, especially for fans of Amitabh Bachchan's singing. The whole album is a joyful experience too because almost all songs have something special to offer to the listeners.

Overall Rating: 9/10

REVIEWED BY GOHER IQBAL PUNN