Lahore 2010 Music Review

There are certain set expectations that one has from the music of a sport based films. A couple of inspirational tracks, a situational song or two and then a theme track/ background piece. This is the reason why doesn't expect a chartbuster outing from Lahore which has music by M M Kreem, lyrics by Junaid Wasi with Panchhi Jalonvi and Piyush Mishra as the guest writers.

MUSIC
An anthem track which can be expected to play at numerous junctures in the film, 'Ab Ye Kaafila' is about the bunch of sportspersons marching ahead in their pursuit of success. A situational track rendered by KK, Karthik and M M Kreem, it has a smooth flow to it and refrains from turning loud. Saving itself from the trap of turning overtly patriotic and predictable, 'Ab Ye Kaafila' is easy on ears even though it comes across as an ad jingle.

There is a new Daler Mehndi that one gets to hear in 'Musafir' which is a soft track. One wonders how composer M M Kreem thought of bringing Daler Mehndi out of his comfort zone of 'bhangra' numbers and made him to do this slow moving number about the journey of life. Yet another situational track which can primarily be expected to play for some time in the film's background score, 'Musafir' written by Panchhi Jalonvi has a pensive feel to it and doesn't have much shelf life beyond Lahore. However, M M Kreem thought otherwise and hence he repeats the song, this time by bringing himself behind the mike.

Normally one would expect Shankar Mahadevan and Shilpa Rao to come together for a romantic or fun outing. However, the situation is a little different in 'Rang De' which has a start similar to that of Pritam's 'Ishq Hi Hai Rab' (Dil Bole Hadippa). With a Punjabi folk flavour dominant right through its duration, 'Rang De' is foot tapping and brings along the feeling of friendship and euphoria. No, it is not the next chartbuster in the making but still, it is the most crowd pleasing number of the lot so far.

The mood changes soon after with M M Kreem coming behind the mike once again for 'Saaware'. A sad track about all happiness being lost and the entire world being a deserted place due to this loss, 'Saaware' promises to get a good 'thehrav' in the narrative of 'Lahore' which promises to be a good sports action entertainer. One looks forward to how the song is placed in the film.

Guest composer Hitesh Soni pairs up with lyricist Piyush Mishra to write 'O Re Bande' which is the longest track in the album. Lasting as long as eight minutes, the beats of this 'Sufi' number reminds one of 'Piya Hazi Ali' [Fiza]. A soothing track and the best of the enterprise, 'O Re Bande' is elevated to further heights due to soulful rendition by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shilpa Rao. Lovers of this genre would lap up 'O Re Bande' which has a timeless appeal to it and spreads the message of peace and togetherness. A noble track.

Last to arrive is 'Lahore - Theme' which has an international appeal to it and sounds classy. A Western track which is composed by Wayne Sharpe with vocals by international celebrity Lisbeth Scott, 'Lahore - Theme' brings the album to a good closure.

OVERALL
Lahore stays situational for most of its duration but maintains a decent quality throughout. It never slips from its zone with tracks like 'O Re Bande', 'Saaware' and 'Rang De' ensuring that you do revisit the album. However, there is near to nil promotion of the album coupled with the fact that it doesn't have any elements that contribute to a soundtrack turning out to be highly popular amongst masses. Moreover, since Lahore is arriving amidst a dozen odd other releases, the hard fact is that this soundtrack would go more or less unnoticed.