BAS ITNA SA KHWAAB HAI

Producer: Madhu Ramesh Behl
Director: Goldie Behl
Music: Uttam Singh
Lyrics: Aadesh Shrivastva
Music On: Universal
Staring: Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee

'Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai' brings back Abhishek this time with Rani Mukherji. They make a cute onscreen couple, but is that enough to make a hit? Well of course not! Its all about the music too, right? Well lets take a look and see what Aadesh Shrivastava has composed for us this time.

'Yeh Hawaaein' is a a nice mellow romantic number featuring the voices of Alka Yagnik and Shaan. Even though the lyrics by Goldie Behl and Shyam Raj aren't the most original in the world, they are expressed with sincere emotion by the singers and blend in well with the music. There is a quite a diverse range of instruments used and the great thing is that you can actually hear and distinguish each one from the other, from the funkiness of the sitar to the gentleness of the guitar and flute.

Alka Yagnik and Shaan are back for 'Kuchh Aisa Jahaan'. The lyrics are again, typically lovey-dovey and the music is pleasant, but nothing overly special. This is basically just a cute love duet that will probably grow on you with time.

Next we have 'Dil Nasheen' with Hema Sardesai, Sukwinder Singh and Shaan. This sounds like the number Sushmita Sen will perform to. Its filled with Arabic/Middle Eastern influences and is actually pretty good. The lyrics aren't anything special, but that's probably because Dev Kohli wrote them. The singers, however, are great and really play up and adapt their voices to fit the Arabic mood of the music.

'Chota Sa Mann Hai' is an ominously slow track. Alka Yagnik, Roop Kumar Rathod and Kay Kay provide the vocals for this quawali style song. The use of instruments and synthesizer are great. Especially the electric guitar, which rarely works with filmi song, but Aadesh Shrivastava has done exceptionally well in incorporating a contemporary instrument in traditional style music. The lyrics by Mona Alvar and Goldie Behl are quite good and fit well with music and tone of the song.

Sonu Nigam sings his heart out for 'Ganga Maiya', with lyrics by Nida Fazli. It starts off with someone shouting the title and the following music sounds so typical of village first thing in the morning. The music is well composed and the percussion and instrumental interludes between verses are really catchy and funky.

'Kya Hua', with lyrics by Goldie Behl is an interesting number sung once again by Alka Yagnik and Shaan. The chorus kind of sounds a little 80's but the percussion is pretty cool and it could definitely grow on you.

Shaan shows his versatility as a singer with the romantic duet 'Kuchh Aisa Jahaan' with Alka Yagnik. From singing a very upbeat type of pop song to the mellow notes of this duet demonstrates his potential. The lyrics,are well written and music is extremely pleasant.

Roop Kumar Rathod sounds like he has just downed a pint of ammonia in 'Jhodmein Yeh Zameen'. Its just as painful to listen to! I would give this one a miss!!

Aadesh Shrivastava has done quite well with this album. Even though its not the best musical score we have heard this year, it is definitely an album worth listening to.

REVIEWED BY PUJA VEDI