CHORI CHORI - Everyone Falls In Love!

Director: Raju Narula
Music: Sajid-Wajid
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Producer: Lalit Kpoor
Starring: Ajay Devgan, Rani Mukherjee

Carrying a tagline of "Everyone falls in love", Chori Chori looks to be another typical love story. And maybe it is. Or maybe it's a bit different, seeing as there are quite a few wedding numbers on the soundtrack.

1. Mehndi Mehndi:
A simple wedding song sung by Alka Yagnik. She renders this one normally; not exceptionally. Perhaps it's because of her voice, but this song is quite similar to "Mujhe Saajan Ke Ghar" from Lajja. The lyrics are a bit too simple, as is the music. Little creativity was taken with the music and beats, as it sounds like countless other previous shaadi numbers.
Rating: 6.5/10

2. Aate Aate:
A simple love duet sung by Alka Yagnik and Babul Supriyo. It's nice to hear Babul Supriyo after a bit of time. Alka Yagnik sounds nice in her part as well. The background is very reminiscent of a few older pieces, especially in the tone and mood. The instrumentation is quite nice. The tune is also quite nice, though not too original.
Rating: 7.5/10

3. Tu Mere Samne:
What soundtrack today would be complete without an Alka-Udit duet? This track comes in to fill that void. The first thing one would notice in this song is the different music at random intervals. Though it occurs in relatively short bursts, there are audible elements of American trance present throughout the song, and in the background. The rest of the music is quite average and makes no impact. The rest of the song is quite average as well. Udit and Alka both sound good in their respective parts. The tune is nothing out of the ordinary. The background beats are different, but don't fit in with the song too well.
Rating: 6/10

4. Mein Ek Ladki:
This track turns out to be a "heroine in search of love" number. It's most probably picturized at a college, given the style of music and the chorus. It's another average number with below average lyrics. The style of composition is very typical. The chorus helps elevate it a bit in terms of catchiness. However, the real surprise of this number is Sunidhi Chauhan. In most of her songs, she has a very husky voice. In this song, she has a much softer, and more pleasant, voice. Either her vocals have matured, or she has decided to try out a more typical voice. Either way, it's nice to hear her like this (unless it's another case of a miscredited singer, as in "O Re Kanchi" from Asoka, but elements of her voice are apparent in this song).
Rating: 7/10

5. Chori Chori:
Another wedding number makes its way onto the soundtrack; this time in the form of the title track. Alka Yagnik renders this one in a solo number. The song fails, once again, to be above average. The music, the singing, the lyrics, and the beats are all average. Nothing about the song is very distinctive. Still, it makes for a nice listen a few times.
Rating: 6/10

6. Amma Mere:
Yet another wedding number? There is a difference with this one. As opposed to the previous upbeat shaadi numbers, this one is an older-style song. The song is rendered by Aroz Bono, and Fareeda Khan, both who do a good job with the song, having voices to suit the mood and style of the song. The lyrics are more traditional. The overall piece is nice to hear, because it's distinctive from most of the shaadi numbers that are in films today.
Rating: 7.5/10

7. Kehna Hai:
The third love duet on the soundtrack, similar to Aate Aate, except that Kumar Sanu replaces Babul Supriyo (but who's going to notice?) this time around. This number really moves back to the simpler numbers of the early 90s, when music wasn't as complex. This can easily be observed throughout in the simplicity of the music and the type of beats (except in the music intervals). Both the singers do a good job, though Sanu sounds a bit too nasal. The song is quite nice to listen to, though not entirely original.
Rating: 7/10

8. Ruthe Yaar Nu:
The mandatory Punjabi number makes its way onto the soundtrack. Unfortunately, a good Punjabi number requires a person with a good Punjabi voice to render it, and Adnan Sami Khan sounds nowhere near Punjabi. Similar to "Nach Nach Nach" from Deewanapaan, his vocals sound mismatched. However, the Sabri Brothers' vocals are quite fitted to the song. The actual song is a lot more Punjabi than past songs like "Say Shava Shava" from KKKG or "No. 1 Punjabi" from CCCC. The song sounds a bit similar to "Apna Punjab" by Gurdas Mann, in terms of pace. The lyrics are quite Punjabi enough, as opposed to sticking random Punjabi words in a Hindi song.
Rating: 7/10

Overall Music and Instrumentation:
The music throughout is all right. However, the main problem in most of the songs is lack of distinctiveness in actual music and tune. Almost none of the songs sound very original, and none of them are memorable.
Rating: 6/10

Overall Singing:
The soundtrack is Alka dominated. Overall, she sounds average on the soundtrack. Sunidhi Chauhan's softer vocals are a nice change from her huskier voice. Babul Supriyo and Kumar San both sound nice in their songs, as does Udit Narayan. Adnan Sami's vocals don't fit his song too well, and neither do they fit the actors he sings for. The two matured singers in Amma Mere, as well as the Sabri Brothers, both have vocals fitted for their respective songs.
Rating: 7.5/10

Overall:
This is really another soundtrack that will pass without much notice, unless the movie is a major success. Sajid-Wajid need to work a bit harder on their music, seeing as their compositions in TNBP were just as mediocre.
Overall Rating (not an average): 6.4/10

REVIEWED BY RISHI J