I – Proud To Be An Indian is produced by actor Sohail Khan and directed by debutant Puneet Sira.  After a storm of Indo-Pak bashing films, it’s nice to see that the relation is starting to ease up a little, at least as far as the Indian Film Industry is concerned.  After films like Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya, the forthcoming Paap, and this film, I – Proud To Be An Indian, it looks like as if the Indo-Pak bhai bhai seems to be the hot thing.  All said and done, I-PTBAI has music by Daboo Malik and K.C. Loy, and is definitely something to look at!  See for yourselves… 

The opener, Ajnabi Tum Lagte Nahin, is an out-an-out romantic piece, and is one of the best of the album.  Daboo Malik opens this track with a pleasant piano melody and builds from there.  The melody is pleasant and soft and the lyrics, provided by Malik himself and Jay Verma, are nice.  The female vocals are captured by the current sensation Sunidhi Chauhan and the male reigns are handled nicely by Babul Supriyo, who seems to be a favorite now-a-days.  Definitely not a chartbuster of any sorts, but a nice number to relax to.  This piece is also featured as an instrumental with the sax and the flute in the lead.  

The next feature is Khata Nahi, sung by Krishna and composed by Daboo Malik.  Krishna was recently featured in the album Rudraksh and provides the same heavy vocals for this number.  The composition is pretty intense to say the least but fails to leave any lasting mark.  This is a purely situational piece that falls plenty short. 

Next up is Aaye Hum Aaye.  This piece from the very beginning to the very end has a Sandeep Chowta feel to it.  Either it be the optimum use of the electric guitar or the rough and tough vocals supplied as in Dum (Dum) or Gundha hai par Dhunda hai (Company), debutant composer, and lyricist in this case, K.C. Loy does a good job.  Kunal, also last featured in the album of Rudraksh, seems to be getting lots of offers lately and is the man in the limelight here, whose heavy vocals suit the song perfectly.  Good composition, good vocals, good lyrics….good song.  

The other song, in addition to Ajnabi…, that makes this album worth it is Khayalan Wich.  This piece is composed beautifully by K.C. Loy and O.Z. Jkeyz, and is rendered even more beautifully by debutant Rithika.  This Punjabi piece has a folksy touch to it, which makes it all the more appealing.  The piece is nicely penned by Jay Verma and the late Harcharan Dhilon.  This score is featured once again towards the end of the soundtrack. 

Sagayee continues the Punjabi flavor of the album and is created by all novices. Composed by Xinc, written by Deeplali (no, not Deepali) Deep, and rendered by Meshi (a male), the score has it’s freshness.  I would be going to far if I said this one had a bit of bhangra in it, it’s more of the traditional Punjabi style.  No doubt, this is a fresh piece but doesn’t really hold you in, let alone for five minutes.

Up next is the exquisitely rendered Andheron ko Cheer Ke.  The definite highlight of this piece is Kunal’s vocals.  Look out, after Ishq Kudhai (Rudraksh) and Aaye Hum Aaye, Kunal is proving himself big time.  K.C. Loy, who is able to switch from fast to slow tempo flawlessly, directs the music nicely.

Kaali Raat is K.C. Loy’s next composition and he does a great job.  He really shows you his ability to control his instruments.  He himself provides some very emotional lyrics about the new light of hope.  The rendition is taken up by Shrinivasan, who does his sincere best.  Unfortunately, his voice doesn’t suite this type of song at all, hence, putting a lot of pressure on the listener’s ears at times.  K.C. should have either gone for Kunal once again or tried maybe even K.K.  The good part is, the track only lasts about 2:30, so the vocals don’t do to much harm.  Besides that, the piece melodically, musically and lyrically is quite pleasant.

You can add Nach Kudi Punjabi to the list of Punjabi tracks offered in this album.  Lately it seems as if every film has at least one Punjabi tune in its soundtrack, but this is too much.  This piece has no appeal to it whatsoever.  Daboo Malik fails to close the album with a bang, instead he provides us with a Punjabi dud.  The piece is sung by Arvinder Singh and Sukhdev Singh, has lyrics by Kanwar Janeja, and has mixed rhythms thanks to DJ Rampa.  Verdict:  Awful!

 I – Proud to be an Indian obviously has a lot to offer in its music and as rumor has it, it should be a different kind of film.  Aside from Khatta Nahi and Nach Kudi Punjabi the music ranges from good to really good.  The album introduces a lot of new names, the most important being Mr. K.C. Loy.  Maybe he’ll start to get a bit more offers.  Hopefully this soundtrack will boost Daboo Malik’s name a little higher than where it has been the last few years.  I-PTBAI is definitely worth a buy.