AUDIOSCAN
Bappi is back

There was a time when the domination of Bappi Lahiri in film music was complete, so much so that almost every second movie boasted of his name. Suddenly, the man who wore golden rings as big as his goggles vanished from the scene.

Some months ago, when he released a private album, we predicted that a film project was in the offing. Well, here it is. The change that has come about in these years of absence is that the shrill instrumentation has made way for low-key romanticism. In fact, in the opening number, Hote hote hote pyar ho gaya, the instrument that dominates is the tabla. In fact, the style is so different that had his name not figured in the credits, it would have been difficult to guess that this is a Bappi Lahiri creation. The only song that picks up some pace is Surma surma mohabaat ka, which comes at the very end.

In all the eight songs, Lahiri has used only two singers, Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu. He has really worked hard on this comeback album and the effort shows. One trick he has applied is to put the singers a little farther from the mike than is normally done. This has given a haunting touch to their voices. Kumar Sanu even sounds different.

Another noticeable feature is that this is a rare cassette in which no song is repeated.

If pace is what you long for, nothing could be as gratifying for you as this Daler Mehndi album. After trying his hand at soulful numbers off and on, Daler has come to the conclusion that his songs sell only if they scorch the dance floor. To keep the speed devils in good humour, he has sung all these nine numbers at a breathless clip.

All songs have been written and composed by Daler himself. So you have lyrics like Number one papa, pape da Rabb rakha. Oye oye is non-stop and the dhol beat is on a high. That is not all, even the cover has been designed by him and so are the costumes.

There is a bit of English crooning in the beginning of Hauli hauli nacch lain de before the lyrics go pure Punjabi. But numbers like Shaam se maine poochha and Humne pakar li hai are in "Punjabi-Hindi". — ASC

This feature was published on October 9, 2004