KAL HO NAA HO

Producer : Karan Johar, Yash Johar and Dharma Productions
Director : Nikhil Advani
Cast : Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta and Jaya Bachchan
Music : Shankar-Eshaan-Loy
Lyrics : Javed Akhtar
Singers : Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam, Rich Sharma, Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Sujata Bhattacharya, Vasundara Das, KK, Loy Mendosa and Ravi Khote
Audio : Sony Music

Dharma Productions returns with their latest movie Kal Ho Na Ho, featuring the acting talents of Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan, Jaya Bachchan and special appearances by Kajol and Rani Mukherjee. The film is directed by Nikhil Advani and the soundtrack has been composed by Shanker-Eshaan-Loy, whilst Javed Akhtar provides the lyrics. The soundtrack, which has now hit the market, features seven songs in total and has been released by Sony Music.

1 - Kal Ho Naa Ho (Sonu Nigam)
The album opens well with the title track, Kal Ho Naa Ho. The song is catchy, soft and rhythmical. Sonu Nigam's rendition is simply marvelous. All the background musical instruments sound pleasant on the ears but the piano and violin create the biggest impact. The talented Javed Akhtar seems to be wandering in the valley of philosophy with his magnificent lyrics, which really lift the spirits. The trio of Shankar-Eshaan-Loy, who's been playing a lucrative innings for some time, presents a stupendous orchestration that deserves huge praise. Overall the song is a pleasurable listening experience and helps the fingers press the repeat button again and again.
Rating: 8.5/10

2 - Kal Ho Naa Ho: Sad Version (Richa Sharma, Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam)
The sad version of Kal Ho Naa Ho features next on the album. The song begins beautifully with the Punjabi narration sung by Richa Sharma. Meanwhile Alka Yagnik also renders her silken voice remarkably well and Sonu Nigam hooks the audience with his vocals too. The background chorus is good to hear. Javed Sahib fulfills his duty perfectly well by providing philosophical lyrics for his fans, who always await for his meaningful poetry. Shankar-Eshaan-Loy design worthy music, which is a mixture of different flavors that fuse together impressively.
Rating: 8/10

3 - Mahi Ve (Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Sadhana Sargam, Shankar Mahadevan and Sujata)
"Mahi Ve" features fast beats and a big panel of vocalists, namely Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam, Shankar Mahadevan and Sujata. As far as the singers are concerned, almost all of them present their skills with ease and brilliance. Udit Narayan impresses with his sharp vocals whilst Sonu Nigam and Sadhana Sargam as usual do a great job. Unfortunately Shankar and Sujata fail to show their usual skills and fall under the average category. The chorus in the background is also average. The biggest shock of the song is the badly penned lyrics by a legend of the poetic world. Javed Sahib disappoints his fans with the poor lyrics. The musicians (SEL) also provide listeners with a poor orchestration. Thus the song does not raise any enthusiasm.
Rating: 4/10

4 - It's the Time to Disco (Vasundara Das, KK, Shankar and Loy Mendosa)
The next track on the soundtrack is the energetic "It's the Time to Disco". The song opens well and Vasundara wins the listeners' hearts with her electrifying voice. The male singers (KK, Shankar and Loy) also perform well but Vasundara steals the show. The background chorus seems energetic. Javed Akhtar pens good lyrics whilst Shankar-Eshaan-Loy create a joyful experience for the listeners. Overall the song makes good hearing.
Rating: 7/10

5 - Kuch To Hai (Shaan and Alka Yagnik)
The album also features a romantic duet by Shaan and Alka Yagnik. Both the vocalists showcase their skills brilliantly. Shaan (who is the center of attraction of all musicians today) seems to be a good player of his pitch and Alka Yagnik sounds sweet. The background chorus is average. Whilst Javed Akhtar again seems tired with his job resulting in penning below average lyrics. Shankar-Eshaan-Loy's composition is good but not impressive. Only the singers happen to be the saviors of the track.
Rating: 4/10

6 - Pretty Woman (Shankar and Ravi)
"Pretty Woman" features Shankar Mahadevan and Ravi. Shankar opens the track with his electrifying vocals. His following rendition too deserves positive marks. Rap pieces by Ravi are plain average. The dhol works the best amongst the instruments. The chorus does not attract at all. Again Javed Sahib forgets his master skills and writes ordinary lyrics for the song. The composers (SEL) follow him accordingly and decorate a bad piece of composition resulting in generating a big disappointment for the listeners.
Rating: 3/10

7 - Heartbeat (Instrumental)
An instrumental, Heartbeat locks up the album. A good soft music comes listeners' way. The arrangement seems pleasurable and haunts. Overall the song attracts.
Rating: 6/10

Though the soundtrack has some soothing numbers, it has nothing special to offer to the listeners who seek good quality music from Karan Johar's movies. This time Karan fails badly in creating the audible and likable music for which he is known.

Overall Rating: 5.5/10

REVIEWED BY GOHER IQBAL PUNN