~~Chamku~~Music Review~~

Guys, hope you all remember “Jab Se Tere Naina”. Oops I am not talking about Sonam or Ranbeer but talking about the guy who gave the music “Monty Sharma” . Saawariya was considered as one of the worst movies of the year 2007 but the music was much eulogized and this tubby musician won copious awards and rave reviews for his work. Monty is nephew of music maestro Pyarelal (of Laxmikant - Pyarelal duo) and besides he has given background scores of movies like Black, Devdaas, Apne and U Me aur hum. The soft utterly quixotic feel of Sawariya and the brilliant background scores of Black and Devdaas brought Monty to a pergola where he can show that he has pristine ability as a connoisseur keyboard player, unswerving and stanch music arranger, a successful background music scorer and finally as a promising music director.

Monty is now back with “Chamku”,his second offering, which is said to be a pragmatic and realistic action packed thriller about Naxalites and outlaws, with an innate sense of cultural music. With a very peculiar title “Chamku” and low profile music release, the album promises some quality music due to Monty’s earlier work. Let’s check this out that can Chamku be second Saawariya for Monty Sharma or would he be considered as one film wonder?

1. Aaja Milke- First track starts with a western alap (aur kya likhun samajh me nahin aa raha hai) by Shreya and with this shows her ability and idyllic dominion over delivering a variety of emotions, a lot of shades and the doldrums in one song using her stupendously mellow and spry steered vivacious vocals and later Sahil also joins her later and affably delivered a superb performance making this a 'Feel-good-to-Hear' song. This song is about togetherness and Sameer’s apt lyrics suitably gel with the serene feel of love.

“Na Koi Khusboo Thi Na Koi Mausam Tha,

Har Lamha Zindagi Veeran Thi..

Charo Taraf Sirf Ghum Ka Andhera Tha,

Tanha Tha Har Khushi Anjaan Thi..

Tujhko Pa Ke Khone Lagi

Ab Door Tak Phaili Huyi Veeraniya.

Saj Rahi Hai Ab Aankhon..

Mein Pyar Ke Khwabon Ki Parchaaiyan.”

This is a typical Monty Sharma type song with a perfect arrangement of Indian instruments, delivering an ethnical "hilly" feel in its serene sounds with use of Dhol and Dafli but in a low pitch. A decent track, it deserves repeated hearings.

2. Kithe Jawan-When I heard this song for first time, I thought it to be a rephrased version of Lambi Judai, as song has same touch like that legend. This song with some Punjabi flavor is about the twinge of severance between two lovers is crooned by Richa Sharma (Our specialist of Virah Songs). Richa with her rustic voice catch hold of the listener’s breath-flow. Sameer’s extra-ordinary poetry with the creatively and very apt lined gives song an edge. Song starts as “sarangi” solo and has inclined towards classical ragas or can say with a touch of Thumari. The song is a fusion based folk song which is not heavy in beats with western instrument along with traditional instrumental gelled together to deliver an upbeat background score appeal in this song. Hear it time and again to feel Monty’s strong inputs in fusion based music and Richa’s impressive melancholic voice.

3.Gola gola- Keeping up the bucolic theme of the movie comes the song Gola Gola which is a typical Holi song with emphasis on “Bhang ka gola, paan, Thandhai, Rang, Choli, Lehnga” etc etc chirped by Abhijeet (in a quite different voice) and Vaishali Samant as lead singer along with some others. But I think the touch of Devdaas is still on Monty because feel of Dola-re-Dola can be felt. This festive song has some ingenious lyrics, radiant interpretation and melodious use of local dhol, dholak and sarangi; this will run well with the viewers if video is good otherwise it would be a listen and forget type of song.

4. Trance- After 3 folkish songs, this very different track comes in with its western feel. This is Monty’s first chic entry in giving us “Groovy Party Number” styled song with use of fast electronic synths, Arabic music and strident ecstatic discotheque beat fillers but too with folksy cadence. Multilingual lyrics affix the real zest to the song’s contentment and the music is quite giddy and scatty, invigorating and of a new type. Saleem Shahzada, Soumya Roah and Anaida crooned this track admirably. But people will take it, chances are low.

5. Bin Daseyaa- Another Birah song or better to say the remix version of “Kithe Jawan” comes as the next track. This song is again crooned by Richa who gave expressive shades to this melancholic track. But the use of extensive western instruments gives it a lounge mix feel but yet it didn’t kill the soul of the song.

6. Dukh ke badri- Well the last track of the album is again a melancholically communicative number which is regarding looking positively towards the life and saying that problems will end soon and finally love and harmony will arrive. This song is crooned by Kalpana, Parthiv Gohil and Shail and their voice gels mutually in a milieu of meticulous drumming arrangements. This number has a rustic feel to it and you can easily feel the touch of north india typically of Bihar and Eastern UP in it. This amazing sounding situational song shows affable merger of soulful chores and their alap, impressive music arrangements and pleasant sounding vocals.

"Dukh Ke Badri Ab Chhat Jaayi Ho...

Sukh Ke Kheti Lehraayi Ho..

Dukh Ke Badri Ab Chhat Jaayi Ho..

Bag Bageecha Taal Talayya.. Bag Bageecha Taal Talayya

Hariyali Ke Sang Muskaaye Ho

Dukh Ke Badri Ab Chhat Jaayi Ho..

Ghar Ghar Goonji Prem Bhansi

Roop Badal Ke Krishna Aaaye Ho…

Dukh Ke Badri Ab Chhat Jaayi Ho..

Sukh Ke Kheti Lehraayi Ho..

Dukh Ke Badri Ab Chhat Jaayi Ho.."

My Take- This movie is by Vijayta Films and has an enticing star cast (Bobby Deol, Priyanka, Ritish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Arya Babbar and Irrfan Khan) but I don’t know why there have not been many promotions in the media about the movie and truly speaking this can affect the album also. After Sawaariya, expectations were high from Monty and a lot was expected from him. This album touches the alcove of soft poignant music albums with a fusion based arrangements. But what I see is that in the time of Groovy Bachna Ae Hasseno, mushy Jane Tu ya Jane Na and a hip hop Singh is Kinng, this album is hard to survive as it has nothing to offer on those fronts. But yes, Monty Sharma has delivered a decent album with a perfect rustic theme which surely will suit the background of the movie and he really deserves applaud for this adroitness and nimbleness, which he has used this soundtrack. I would easily give 4 star due to its originality and perfect fusion, but people may not like this album because of the nature of songs.

Songs I liked

1. Aaja Milke
2. Kithe Jawan

3. Dukh ke badri

~*~A pErFeCt DrAmAdY~*~

After been recomended by a few friends, I looked for this DVD and what held my eyes was the tagline “Shoot first. Sightsee later.” What I thought from the tagline and from the cover, that movie would be an action movie and I very fervently started watching it and as the movie progressed I got deeply involved in the movie. The movie made me laugh from the opening note: Colin Farrell's voice over during the opening credits saying "After I killed him, I dropped the gun in the Thames, washed the residue off me hands in the bathroom of a Burger King, and walked home to await instructions. Shortly thereafter the instructions came through - "Get the F**k out of London, you dumb fucks. Get to Bruges." I didn't even know where Bruges fucking was. Where the f**k is Bruges?" and only then I knew that I gonna love this one.

This movie is a hitman dark comedy or better to call a dramedy. As a comedy the film is impudent impertinent and drolly fun and as a drama, the film is murky and unpredictably piteously dramatic and at last I was confused what to feel. It tell us that life is offensive, witty, assorted, existential, and just plain pissed off when you're a hit-man and that too hold up in medieval city of Bruges. This movie In Bruges stands out boldly (and blessedly) from the rubbish and wan comedy genre movies as “Meet the Spartans”.

Plot:
Two Irish hit men Older and wiser Ken and Rookie Ray hold up in the medieval city of Bruges waiting for instructions from their Boss Harry who send them their to cool off after a failed mission. Ken likes the quietude and serenity of city with its churches, canals and fine old buildings where as rookie Ray a soft-centred, dim young man sees it as a sh!thole. Ray's mind is nonetheless preyed upon by his truly horrible, although inadvertent bloodshed in London while committing his first assignment and his answer to everything is violence. But the longer they stay waiting for Harry's call, the more bizarre their experience becomes and they came in touch with tourists, a Dutch prostitute, a dwarf American actor working in a British art movie and a potential romance for Ray in form of Chloe a drug dealer for a living. In this way both men find some happiness in the city while being stuck there. And when the call from Harry does finally come, and when he does all hell really breaks loose and finally the movie ends up with a code of conduct play into the resolution.

Acting:
Colin Farrell as half wise-ass womanizer and half half-suicidal Ray with his eyebrows forever arching and his expression often set to confused, the one who is uncouth, conceited, unacquainted, and gets a kick out of hitting, killing, and insulting people but he is also a thoughtful man distraught about what happened in London. His one liner is amazing and is in abundance and you will be laughing continuously.

Ray nag and go on about about how he just hates Bruges and “Rubbish" is the best word with which he come up with to describe Bruges. “If I'd grown up on a farm and was retarded, Bruges might impress me. But I didn't, so it doesn't.”

His dialogues are loaded with sacrilege and few might deem it bigot, racist and mean. As“I do know a Belgium joke. What's Belgium famous for? Chocolates and child abuse, and they only invented the chocolates to get to the kids.”
“Even midgets have to take drugs to stick it”

But still, he was haunted by his past and having seen the error of his ways, he feels the need to make right, even if he hides it with a lot of complaining and arguments “I'd go to that house, apologize to the mother there, and accept whatever punishment she chose for me. Prison...death...didn't matter. Because at least in prison and at least in death, you know, I wouldn't be in f**king Bruges.”

An idyllic coalesces of comic timing, serrated allure and vulnerability - it's a knockout performance. He defies all the odds and manages to be as sympathetic in the dramatic parts as he is enchantingly acerbic in the comic parts.

Brendan Gleeson as Ken, a fantastically artistic performance as Farrell's mentor and friend. He is a tough guy, proficient of murdering anyone, but on the other hand he's very soft, lovable and pleasant, kind and a joy to be around. Ken has a certain level of contentment and self-knowledge. He’s a hitman and he has some moral issues with that but he’s learned to live with those issues. He is like a fatherly figure for Ray and helps him through the emotional fight he is going through.

Ralph Fiennes (Harry potter, Schlinder’s list and The Constant Gardener) as Harry, a mean-spirited bloke is duo’s boss and who arrives in Bruges to take care of some nasty business and to act out his sociopathic "principles". He is a family man with a ferocious principled susceptibility but he also displays a short temper and a penchant for obscenity. And at last he finds himself the victim of his own moral code in the end. Impeccably executed.

Clemence Poesy (as Chloe an attractive drug dealer selling drugs to a racist dwarf) Jordan Prentice (A racist dwarf American actor working in a British art movie) and all others have done excellent job in giving a proper kick to the movie.

Direction: Martin McDonagh (who won Oscar for his short film Six Shooter in 2006 and a famous play writer) is back with his first feature film, a black comedy about hitmen taking care of their life while awaiting their next assignment. He has eerie fashion of narration and it can be seen clearly where he mixes comedy and racism slurs with a superb elaborateness. This movie proffers magnificent vista commendable of the preeminent travelogue and emotional emblematic journey of the characters. The intricacies of screen play are diverse, sundry, assorted, rising and defining character through dialogue as well as throughaction. The first hour of the movie is a slapstick comedy and when you start thinking it to be a normal comedy, he throws in the ace and for next 45 min it is a brutal and full of emotionality.

My Take: When I started this movie, I don’t have many expectations from it but truly speaking this kept me bound. This movie not only exemplifies the daring deeds of the chase and kills but also consents the audience to feel the human side of those whose job it is to kill others. The humor is extremely effective, mostly coming from Ray in form of one liner. His irresponsible negligent trickery in the world of bereavement and brutality are more poignant than witty. Another plus is the film is remarkably well shot and the brilliant background music. In Bruges is a treacherously bravura confederacy of plot, meaning, acting, story, cinematography and direction. Truly speaking the movie is droll and unpredictable, a deadly combo. I will easily give 4 stars out of 5.

(P.S. Movie is Rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language and some drug use) And guys please be ready for “beep” in this movie (In movie F**k was used for approx 100 times, C**t for more than10 and Sh!t - at least 25 times) Remember it’s a dramedy… Besides a hefty sum of milder profanities and obscenities as well throughout.)