Raqeeb: Pritam offers a mixed bag

One has come to expect above average, if not rocking, music from Pritam (Dhoom, Gangster, Woh Lamhe). However, his latest album, Raqeeb, is a mixed bag. Some songs will have you reflexively tap your feet, others will see you snooze, and a few will make you wonder whether this is an album belongs to a decade ago.

The album begins with the best song, Jaane Kaise sung by KK. In true Pritam-style, the song has an Indo-western feel to it. It begins on a nondescript note but really picks up after the mukhda. Above average music, singing, and lyrics make this the stand-out song of the album. KK's singing and Sameer's interesting play of words (Tera chehra sanam ik rubaai si hai; Mere dil jism o jaan pe tu chai si hai) will keep the music lovers happy. Excellent string arrangements will also please the connoisseurs.

Channa Ve Channa is fabulously sung by Gayatri Ganjawala (Kunal Ganjawala's wife -- talent clearly runs easily in this family!). Rare for a female singer, her voice has a fabulous 'throw' and she uplifts what would have otherwise been just a regular, fast-paced number. Though a good enough hear, the song does get monotonous after a bit. One wonders why perfectly nice-sounding songs these days must be interspersed with portions of incongruous English rap. On the downside, like all songs in the album, this one too has a heard-it-somewhere-before feel to it.

Sunidhi Chauhan redeems the sorry excuse for a song called Dushmana. Running at almost four-and-a-half minutes, this song is clichéd, with regular music and done-to-death lyrics. This is probably the title track of the film as the title, Raqeeb, finds its way into the song more often than once, true Sameer style. As with most fast-paced songs in our films, there is a monotonous drone of beats that forms the music throughout. One might prefer the other version of the same track, sung by Kunal Ganjawala.

Tum Ho sung by Tulsi Kumar and Zubin is the only duet in the album, and one of its big disappointments. It has a faded, old-time feel to it, which doesn't sit well with the other songs in the album. Neither the lyrics, nor the voice and music do anything to arouse your interest, and you are likely to press the fast-forward button on this one. The word 'fanaa' annoyingly makes yet another appearance in a song; this word will probably go down as the most clichéd word used in songs over the last two years.

Ditto the next song Qateel, which, as its name suggests, has some serious old-time, boring lyrics. The music is too plain and dreary. The only positive point was Alisha Chinoy's voice, which comes as a pleasant surprise.

Of all the songs, Channa Ve Channa and Jaane Kaise have been remixed, keeping the same voices (remixed by DJ Kiran, DJ G and Earl and Edgard D). Channa Ve is elevated with the remixing and danceable enough to play at a discotheque. The use of instrumentation, especially the use of 'reverse drums' adds to the fun.

Jaane Kaise's remix doesn't work, simply because the romantic feel of the song is more adaptable to the slower, more languorous version. Nothing much is added to the remix, and this unimaginative remixed track is just a speeded-up version of the original.

To sum it up, what works for the album is its range of fabulous singers from KK, Gayatri Ganjawala, Kunal Ganjawala to Sunidhi Chauhan and Alisha Chinoy. What doesn't work is a few disappointing tracks, mediocre music and lyrics, and the heard-it-before feel.

Rediff Rating: