Pritam has of late given us some hummable scores. There is something in
his music that makes it different from the contemporary sounds assaulting
the ears.
For "Woh Lamhe" Pritam has roped in three singers from Pakistan
and Bangladesh, besides relying on Kay Kay, Shreya Ghosal and Kunal
Ganjawalla.
The album starts off well with Kay Kay's "Kya mujhe pyaar hai"
- a lively and peppy number inspired by an Indonesian pop group's song
"Tak Bisakah". The song is tailor-made for Kay Kay who sings
it to perfection.
"Chal chale" by Bangladesh singer James is the high point
of the album. James, with his Bob Dylan style of singing, does absolute
justice to the slow number. The use of harmonica adds to the song's
charm.
James' first song for a Bollywood film earlier this year - the Pritam-composed
"Bheegi bheegi" in "Gangster" remade from the Bengali
hit "Prithibita naki chhoto" - was received well by Indian
listeners.
James, who leads a band "Nogor Baul", has been popularising
Baul - the rural folk songs of Bangladesh - in most of his songs. His
famous albums to date include "Jail theke bolsi" (speaking
from jail), "Nogor baul" and "Palabe kothai (where will
you escape).
"Tu jo nahin" is a number sung originally by Pakistan singer
S.B. John in the film "Sawera". Son Glenn tries to recreate
his father's voice with the number included twice in the album. This
song is reminiscent of the old Bollywood track "Mohabbat ki jhoothi
kahani".
"So jaoon main" is a slow number sung very well by Ghosal
and also has a male version by Ganjawalla.
"Bin tere" is a popular track by Pakistani singer Jawad Ahmad.
Here he sings a reworked version of his original number.
Overall, Pritam brings together all his bits and pieces from various
sources without missing a beat. All the songs here are quite melodious.
It will be interesting to see how his original scores succeed as against
the reworked versions. Still, "Woh Lamhe" is definitely worth
a hearing.