Keeping an ear out
(The sounds of Nishabd, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., Delhii Heights)

Amitabh Bachchan's voice singing rozaanaa in the otherwise songless Nishabd is immediately arresting. Heard so far in bits on radio and TV trailers, this song of yearning reminds one of the soulful niilaa aasmaa.n (Silsila). For many years, we have been painfully inflicted with the stock Amitabh song - one that places/clones his baritone for some Punjabbee family wedding song. rozaanaa is much more private and melancholic. I had completely forgotten that Vishal Bhardwaj was composing this one, and it resulted in a "who else but" moment. Now to wait to hear the complete song. *** I have looked forward to the songs of Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. ever since I saw the trailers on TV. Especially Sunidhi Chauhan's robust "sajnaa ji vaari vaari" accompanying the most unabashed dancing seen on screen in a long time (and by a terrific ensemble to boot). Vishal-Shekhar have always had something to offer and this is probably their best since "Jhankaar Beats". The songs are worth quite a few iterations and grow on you well. And does anyone know if the Bengali instrumental track "Haath Dhore Niye Chalo" is a reprisal of some existing track, and what it means? *** Delhi Heights was anticipated because Rabbi Shergill, the man who shot to the top of the pops accompanied by Baba Bulle Shah and a guitar, was helming its music. (Incidentally, this film is produced by Shivaji Ganesan Productions - a very interesting and bold move given the movie doesn't seem to be your traditional Bollywood fare.) The track featuring on the music channels is nice to listen to. More impressive were the accompanying visuals - mostly made up of stills, which the camera zooms in or pulls out of. This is a good idea, given that most of its leads (likes of Neha Dhupia, Rohit Roy, Simone Singh, Jimmy Shergill) are extremely photogenic people who don't necessarily possess grade-A acting skills.