Courtesy:IndiaFM

Thursday, May 11, 2006

It seems to be the season of singles. While Sandeep Chowta has gone full throttle to promote his lively-n-mischievous single 'Mallika I Hate You' that comes in various versions, composer duo of Vishal-Shekhar have now come up with a thoughtful qawalli track for this week's release 'Tathastu - So Be It' that comes from the 'Dus' team of producer Nitin Manmohan, director Anubhav Sinha and lead actor Sanjay Dutt. Completely different in terms of look, feel and mood of 'Dus', 'Tathastu' starring Ameesha Patel in the female lead is an emotional drama about a father who wants justice for his dying son. Since the subject of the film is such that it doesn't really warrant an item song or a romantic number, 'Tathastu' is a near songless film with only one qawalli that is primarily situational. Rest of the album is a compilation of other popular qawallis composed during the last decade.

The 'qawalli' in picture is 'Allah O Ali' that is sung by Hamsar Hayyat. A chief qawall at Nizamuddin mosque, New Delhi, story goes that Vishal-Shekhar had a tough time locating him. One of the friends of the composer duo had his collection in a CD and on hearing it, both Vishal and Shekhar along with director Anubhav Sinha got excited and decided there and then that Hamsar had to be there in film's music! It was a long process of searching him but luckily he was traced!

Coming back to the qawalli written by Panchi Jalonvi, it appears to be the one that befits a dramatic junction around a film's climax. With lyrics praising the almighty and giving one to HIS wishes, 'Allah O Ali' is a pacy rhythmic track with meaningful lyrics that should make an impact on screen while the narrative is on. Set in a mood where the lead protagonist is looking at HIM to grant his wish and look after the well being of his family, 'Allah O Ali' also appears in a remix version.

On reading the credits itself, one wonders if a remix was actually required for a song belonging to this genre. Moreover the track's mood is pensive and it seems awkward to hear it with additional beats around it to facilitate some additional spice. Amit Das rearranges the number and though his intentions seem to be at the right place as he prevents himself from going overboard, the final thought still remains that it was rather unnecessary to come up with this version at all. One would want to hear the original number with an authentic qawalli flavor any time.

Rest of the album is entirely made of qawallis ranging from superhits 'Tumse Milke Dil Ka' [Main Hoon Na] and 'Tum To Thehre Pardesi' [Mohd. Aziz version from the album 'Bewafa Tera Masoom Chehra], a couple of decent hits like 'Teri Jawani Mast Mast' [Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya] and 'Tere Husn ka Jaadu' [Tere Husn Ka Jaadu Chal Gaya], remix version of the under promoted 'Mere Saath Chalte Chalte' [Humko Deewana Kar Gaye] and some other known numbers like Shubha Mudgal's 'Ali Ali' [Nazar], Sabri brothers' 'Ek Mulakat Zaruri Hai' [Sirf Tum] and 'Mubarak Eid Mubarak' [Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge].

All in all, 'Tathastu - So Be It' turns out to be a decent compilation of 'qawallis' that should be promoted more on the face value of the entire album rather than just 'Allah O Ali' that appears in the film. Though the qawalli by Hamsar Hayyat is catchy, the concept of a single has yet to catch up with the Indian audience and it won't be a bad idea to start featuring the remaining numbers in the album as well during the promotion. It has a potential to be popular in the interiors where there is good demand for 'qawalli' compilations.