Lack of freshness in 'Always Kabhi Kabhi' album (IANS Music Review)

Film: 'Always Kabhi Kabhi'; Music Directors: Pritam Chakroborty, Ashish Rego and Shree D; Singers: Bhaven Dhanak, Sanah Moidutty, Harmeet Singh, Benny Dayal, Apeksha Dandekar, Roshan Abbas, Suhail Kaul, Ishq Bector, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shaan, Aditi Singh Sharma, Naresh Iyer, Shefali Alvaris, Shafqat Amanat Ali, KK, Anupam Amod and Vinnie Hutton; Rating: **1/2

With 'Always Kabhi Kabhi', Pritam has brought forward a young, campus soundtrack, sticking to the theme of the film. But most tracks lack freshness and do not possess anything extraordinary. One expects more from a composer like Pritam.

The music album has 10 tracks sung by a variety of singers.

The title track has been done by guest composers Ashish Rego and Shree D and sung by Bhaven Dhanak, Sanah Moidutty and Harmeet Singh.

'Always kabhi kabhi' is a regular, simple, light, happy-go-lucky song. It is moderately paced and gives a gist of the theme of the film. Not a great song, yet not too bad to start the album with.

The song also has an unplugged version sung by Apeksha Dandekar and Vinnie Hutton. It has minimal instruments, more English lyrics, is slower in pace and has a raw feeling.

'Antenna' by Benny Dayal, Apeksha Dandekar and Roshan Abbas begins with psychedelic sounds and then picks up other beats. The moderately paced song doesn't click at all.

The composition doesn't seem fresh and even though the song makes the effort of being entertaining, it falls flat.

It also has a remixed version called the 'Reloaded: SRK Mix' that replaces Benny and Roshan and brings in KK and Anupam Amod. The song is a regular remix and will be for a guest appearance by actor Shah Rukh Khan in the film.

Then comes 'School ke din', which is aimed at bringing alive school day memories. The track has vocals by Suhail Kaul and Ishq Bector and is young and pleasing.

It also includes a little rap and guitar dominates throughout the track.

Sunidhi Chauhan's 'Better not mess with me', a total rock track, is about a strong-headed girl. This one too has a dose of English lyrics. However, the song won't have a shelf life and is quite ordinary.

The club mix has been crooned by Shefali Alvaris.

'Undi the condi' by Shaan and Aditi Singh Sharma introduces the listener to a strange phrase that means 'understand the condition'. A fast-paced love song, the track is more of an English song and is totally targeted at the teens of today.

Next comes the only slow song of the album 'Jane kyun'. The love ballad creates a pensive mood and has been sung by Naresh Iyer.

A song like this is a must in a Pritam album and therefore no surprise that it has been included. It is worth a listen.

The song has a Sufi version too with Shafqat Amanat Ali behind the mike. This version is better and more soulful.

(Ruchika Kher can be contacted at [email protected])