Fanaa - Music Review

Fanaa 2006 (Annihilation, Destruction, over here- 'Destroyed in Love')
- some spell it as Fanaah (remember the song from Yuva?).

Directed by Kunal Kohli
Produced by Yash Chopra, Aditya Chopra
Written by Shibani Bathija & Kunal Kohli
Starring Aamir Khan, Kajol, Tabu, Rishi Kapoor, Kiron Kher
Music by Jatin-Lalit
Distributed by Yash Raj Films

Expectation factors:
- Aamir starrer of 2006
- Kajol is back from her sabattical
- Aamir and Kajol are cast opposite each other for the first time
- Tabu possibly will create a few flutters [but that's just my wish :)]

Fear factors:
- That Rishi Kapoor, Kiron Kher don't steal the thunder with exemplary over-acting
- I doubt Lara Dutta can do any damage

Based on scoops available on the web at this point [Link] about the highly secretive story and listening to the songs over and over again, you can pretty much guess what's in store. But I am sure the story will do favourably with the audience. I would give the film between 3.5 to 4 stars out of 5. But it needs to be seen if Kajol and Aamir can pull it off to higher standards with their talents. And of course the credits would go to Kunal too if that happens.

The music for Fanaa seems to have drawn inspiration from too many places. This doesn't seem to be the best that Jatin-Lalit are capable of. A lot of experimentation in each of the songs, and a failure to give the album a unified single identity. After Rang De Basanti this was the next much-awaited album but seems like the performance pressure proved too much for Jatin Lalit. Sonu Niigaam (I hate that name change!) and Sunidhi Chauhan couldn't have done a better job. Shaan and Kailash Kher did an excellent job with the Chand Sifarish number.

Here's my evaluation of the music album:

Chand Sifarish- The song Chand Sifarish is the best of the lot, with a catchy guitar and tabla gig which gives it the extra kick. Sounds like a fusion band number, but a pretty good composition. Probably would look much better with the picturization. This song was reproduced as a remix version at the bottom of the album.

Mere Haath Mein- Hummable, slow and melancholic romantic number. Good to hear the voices of Aamir and Kajol interspersed in between. This song captures the music of the mountains as the story is set in a Himalayan village.

Des Rangila- A typical Bollywood number this one. Going by the the lyrics of the song it seems like a Holi number sprinkled with a patriotic theme. A curious spray of tribal drums, and mridangam beats in between the dhol beats. A run-of-the-mill number with a deliberate attempt to make it sound like a patriotic piece by throwing in some 'Vande Maa Taram'in between and some national anthem tune in the end.

Dekho Na- A simple romantic song. A wannabe Rahman type number, but not quite. I would have preferred that Udit Narayan had sung this, not because Sonu Niigaam wasn't good- just thought he didn't quite fit in there.

Chanda Chamke- This one seems like a song that the to-be-lovers or disgruntled lovers would be singing on-screen as a handful of kids try hard to make the pair click; or an excuse to bring the lovers together by throwing in a bunch of kids. Not a piece to talk about too much.

Fanaa For You- And as usual the music director is playing it smart by signing in these DJs and creating their own remix versions before somebody else ripped off a more club type from the original. A good reuse of the original song with a profusion of foot tapping beats. I am sure that'll be the chart topper at the discs around the nation.

I would give the album a 3.5 out of 5 at this point.
Disclaimer: I might change my mind after a few more rounds on the songs- which might be a good sign.
Visit the official Fanaa site here.
All image credits go to Yash Raj Films.

So many of you are bound to chance upon this piece looking for info on Fanaa. What's your take on the following?
1. Traces of Jatin-Lalit's previous works (KKKG?) have trickled into the current one (Fanaa). Y/N?
2. Fanaa reflects their best work. Y/N?
3. Do you like the music in Fanaa? 1/7 songs, 2/7, 3/7 ... ?
4. War of the Khans- Fanaa vs Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. Which one will win?