Bhool Bhulaiyaa (Music: Pritam)
2007 was clearly Pritam's year. Period. From January to December, he dominated the music scene across the charts. Rightly labelled the 'hit-machine' by his contemporaries and rivals, Pritam made the entire nation sway to the tune of Hare Krishna Hare Ram. The rest of the album was quite good, too, but songs like Labon ko, Allah hafiz, Sajda and Let's rock soniye got sidelined because the focus was on Akshay's promotional video. Music lovers weren't complaining though!
This was one soundtrack that deserved to go the extra mile, but lost out because of the non-performance of the film. It is always risky to have too many songs in a single album because, except for a song or two (like the title song, Jaaniye), most of the tracks are relegated to the background score. New composer Gourov Dasgupta dominated the album with Shafqat Ali Khan, Anand Raaj Anand and Bappa Lahiri also pitching in. Gulzar's poetry was an added bonus, too, making Dus Kahaniyaan one of the most versatile albums of 2007.
Come to think about it, this soundtrack didn't even have a name till around three weeks before it hit the stands. A surprise super hit, when it came to both the movie and the music, Jab We Met made history in the last quarter of 2007. Each and every song from the film has achieved chartbuster status and while Mauja hi mauja, Nagaada and Yeh ishq hai are the songs blazing strong up north at all celebrations, Aao milo chalo, Tum se hi and Aaoge jab tum (Sandesh Shandilya) were for the hearts who are truly in love. Jab We Met would easily stand out as one of the top 10 soundtracks ever by Pritam!
The film may have been one of the strangest of 2007, but no one complained when it came to the music. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom featured a rocking soundtrack by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, which had an intrinsic Indian feel to it, in spite of high-on-western-orchestra arrangements. The title song featured on Amitabh Bachchan was a clincher, though Ticket to bollywood and the climax medley of Jhoom were popular, too. One wishes though that Bol na halke halke could have got the kind of recognition it truly deserved.
Pritam ruled from the top in 2007! He took up the challenge to do something different from the routine and joined filmmaker Anurag Basu to not just create an entire soundtrack based on the rock genre, but also to create a band. The result was astonishing: lovers of new-age music feasted on Alvida, In dino, Baatein kuch ankahee si, O meri jaan and Rishtey. Cynics may have termed the soundtrack as repetitive, but that was the beauty of the album. It maintained a similar style throughout and still conveyed different emotions. Truly, the album of the year!
'Himesh Reshammiya in one more project', or so one thought! But the album turned out to be surprisingly refreshing. Along with Javed Akhtar, the composer/singer came up with some of his best tunes, which were quite un-Reshammiya—a compliment for the team associated with Namastey London. Chakna chakna may have been purely for the masses, but songs like Main jahaan rahoon, Viraaniya and Yehi hota pyaar touched hearts across segments.
Om Shanti Om (Music: Vishal-Shekhar) Vishal-Shekhar were consistent throughout 2007 with their music—from Cash, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd and Ta Ra Rum Pum gaining popularity. However, when it came to their positioning on the charts, they got a great thrust with Om Shanti Om making a huge dent on the stands. The album rose to the top the moment it arrived and has been registering great sales ever since. Though SRK's six-pack abs made Dard-e-disco the most popular song of the album, it was Deewangee deewangee which was the best composition of the lot.
Vishal-Shekhar were uniquely different from what they had done in the past, as demonstrated by songs like Aankhon mein teri, Dhoom taana, Main agar kahoon, Jag soona soona lage and Dastaan-e-om shanti om. Yes, they all were hits!
Partner (Music: Sajid-Wajid)
The re-discovery of 2007 was the composer-jodi of Sajid-Wajid. They came up with the biggest project of their career and the result was there for everyone to see. They stuck to the formulaic soundtrack that had made many a David Dhawan film successful in the decade gone by. The presence of songs like Do you wanna partner, Dupatta, Soni de nakhre, You're my love and Maria Maria may have been questioned by many who were looking for some unique sound in this part of the century, but hardcore music buffs and Salman-Govinda fans were willing listeners!
A late riser, Taare Zameen Par finally got it's due at just the right time—thankfully! Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy forgot all about the work they had put in their dhin-chaak soundtracks for the likes of Johnny Gaddaar, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Heyy Babyy, Salaam E Ishq and many more and concentrated on telling stories through a child's point of view. The result: there is no one who didn't weep when songs like Maa, mera jahaan and Taare zameen par were heard along with the narrative.
The Train heralded the arrival of a new composer who made his presence felt in a big way with songs like Woh ajnabee, Mausam and Beete lamhein turning out to be chartbusters. Though Mithoon got into the thick of things last year, too, with songs from Bas Ek Pal and Anwar becoming popular, it was The Train which announced his arrival loud and clear. The presence of a certain Emraan Hashmi in the film helped, too!
Enjoy😊
Anupamaa
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
