out of

Producer: Venus Records & Tapes
Director: Mansoor Khan
Music: Anu Malik
Lyrics: Sameer, Nitin Raikwar

Reviewed by: Anjali Abrol
dilwaliji@indolink.com

Josh has been three years in the making and makes for an interesting cast and story. Going off the theme of copying, Josh is a lift off of Westside Story, so who better to lift tunes for the remake than Anu Malik himself? Now, one mistake that Anu Malik made sure not to repeat in such a hyped-up and much-awaited for, big cast flick is singing any of the songs himself. That itself is enough for me to buy the album off the bat. Now the singers are a good variety, ranging from Udit to Alka (the traditional voices) to more pop-like (non-traditional) singers of Hema Sardesai and Abhijeet, and fresher voices of Suresh Peters and Mano, to the most interesting singer of all, Shahrukh himself. The vast group of singers allowed for Anu Malik to play around with the types of songs and the end result is an album of slow romantic as well as catchy, fresh songs. As a sidenote, it seems that the picturization of these songs will be excellent and will in turn, boost the popularity of the songs (namely Sailaru Sailaru and Apun Bola).

Sailaru Sailaru, one of the most catchiest songs out right now, is rendered by the unusual but infectious voices of Suresh Peter and Mano. These guys fall into more of the non-trad. voices (e.g. Sandeep Chowta) that takes a little getting used to, but the song is well-sung. This is one song that people will either hate or love...those who prefer more of the traditional voices of Udit and Kumar Sanu may find the song a little hard to get used to. The music contains a variety of beats and is fast-paced, and the background score seems to be partially lifted from Anu Malik's own Khauff score, O Gori Tu Chali Kahan. Listen closely at the consistent beat to catch it. This is definitely Top 10 Hit song potential. I would guess that this is one of the main songs of the film, and one of my favorites of the album. Hit! Contagious!

Hai Mera Dil is a nice slow duet by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. Apparently it is also a copy of an American song, Sealed By a Kiss, but also sounds familiar on the Hindi song front. Either way, it is pleasant and well-sung by Udit Narayan, who is a nice change from Kumar Sanu (who has been overexposed in Anu Malik's latest songs). No offense to Kumar Sanu fans out there. I take it the song will catch on more after the release of the movie. Nice

My other favorite song of the album is Apun Bola, sung by Shahrukh Khan and Hema Sardesai. He joins the actors-turn-singers bandwagon, comparable only to Aamir, Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Govinda, Sunil Shetty, Mugambo (Amrish Puri) and some. I must say that as off-key as he may be, I still do like his unique voice. Apparently, he spent hours trying to perfect his song, and more recordings were taken than were necessary, according to Malik, and Shahrukh preferred the low-key publicity out of fear of audience response. But hey, it's still fairly listenable and very Shahrukh-like. This does not mean he should sing ALL of his songs from now on! The song has a very subtle and simple yet very catchy beat. I would imagine that the song picturization will be excellent. This song will also climb the charts. Hit!

Mere Khayalon Ki, sung by Abhijeet, is a very subtle, sweet love song. It sounds like a 'Chandrachur for Aishwarya' song. It is nicely sung and adds dimension to the album. Nice

Hema Sardesai and Jolly Mukherjee join Abhijeet for the next song, Zinda Hai Hum To. It sounds like a mix of the 80's club songs with a bit of Ricky Martin mixed in (which I guess would fit the Indian version of Westside Story, so the music, though lifted, fits with the theme of the movie...so Anu Malik is forgiven for the Latino lifts) Why the 80's Amitabh Vinod Khanna club music, I don't know... Good!

Hum To Dil Se is another sweet duet by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. The main tune instantly reminded me of a song (whose movie I cannot place) which goes something like this: Dil deewana na jaane kya ho gaya, kuch (or kya?) ho gaya meri jaan... There is also an old Amitabh song from which this tune was  lifted, as well as the theme song from Koyla. But again, that's a part of Anu Malik's "charm" and "style". Nevertheless, the song is pretty good and sung with emotion. Nice

The last two songs are instrumental versions of Hum To Dil Se and Hai Mera Dil and make a nice listen.

Overall, this album is worth the CD. Among the latest Anu Malik releases (Hera Pheri, Jung, Hum To Mohabbat Karega), this is a definite buy! This is finally one album of late that I can say makes a good, consistent listen (as compared to having to fast forward through average or below average songs to get to the good ones). Perhaps some will think the album is overrated, but the film will (or should!) meet the hype.