| Director : | Sooraj Barjatya |
| Music : | Himesh Reshamiya |
| Lyrics : | Irshad Kamil |
| Starring : | Salman Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Armaan Kohli, Deepak Dobriyal, Swara Bhaskar and Samaira Rao |
Humongous expectations abound from maverick director Sooraj Barjatya and box-office king Salman Khan’s PREM RATAN DHAN for multiple reasons, and we need not state the obvious. After all the two are coming together after a long hiatus with a hat trick of blockbuster films like MAINE PYAR KIYA, HUM AAPKE HAIN KAUN and HUM SAATH SAATH HAIN behind them. Pressure is surely high on Himesh Reshammiya and Irshad Kamil to deliver big.
‘Prem Leela’ the song that pays eulogies to the holy love of the deities, Ram-Seeta, encompasses the spirit of pure love of the leads by following the example set by the Gods is in a league of its own. Grand musical arrangements and superb singing by Aman Trikha and Vineet Singh make in a unique number.
The title track ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ is quite a classy affair. The song starts on a sombre prayer (bhajan like) note picking up superb pace and absolutely dew fresh lovely melody, with scintillating back up female chorals. Palak Muchal comes up trumps with a fine rendition though the seasoned Shreya would have been a better choice, considering it was always Lata for the Barjatyas.
It’s a ghazal like start for ‘Jalte Diye‘ (which is in the same corridor as ‘Yeh Diya’ -DEVDAS) but later the situational track changes into a sombre romantic number, depicting the longings of lovelorn couples. Anweshaa, Vineet Singh, Harshdeep Kaur and Shadab Sabri render the number with elan.
‘Aaj Unse Milna Hai Hamein‘, Himesh Reshammiya seems heavily inspired by Nadeem-Shravan’s super hit title track, ‘Haan Maine Bhi Pyar Kiya’ in the ‘mukhda’ as well as the arrangements that hark back to N-S days of yore. Shaan renders the number with ease but his bad diction sticks out like a sore thumb, as he is a class singer.
The song sees another slower brief version in the form of ‘Murli Ki Taanon Si‘ by Shaan.
‘Aaj Unse Kehna Hai’ is another version sung well by Palak Muchal with Shaan (and Aishawarya Majumdar) joining in with the title track ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’.
‘Jab Tum Chaho‘ is again a trip down memory lane for Himesh as he ventures into the RD Burman territory via the evergreen classic ‘Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein’ (AJNABEE). The ‘nok jhonk’, ‘roothna manana’ number (sung by Mohammad Irfan, Darshan Raval and Palak) should translate superbly in PRDP with the ‘on-screen’ nerd Salman trying to woo Sonam.
The immortal Radha-Krishna light banter is depicted well through the naughty number ‘Halo Re‘ which unfortunately once again reminds of Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s relatively unheard of number ‘Ganga Ghaat Ka Pani’ (PONGA PANDIT). Aman Trikha renders the number with zest.
The ‘chhed-chaad’ number, ‘Tod Tadaiyya‘ is fun, exuberant but again with a heard before tune in the antara’ -Shammi Kapoor’s evergreen classic, ‘Aaja Aaja’ (TEESRI MANZIL). Himesh camouflages it with good background arrangements and nice ‘mukhda’. Neeraj Shridhar and Neeti Mohun put up a professional show.
The song that makes one pine for one’s childhood days, ‘Bachpan Kahan‘ is rendered with emotions by the composer himself. Irshad take a bow, lyrics are just awesome! Tune, yet again, heard before.
Summing up, Himesh Reshammiya has certainly come up with a score that befits the script and the Rajshri banner and our picks are ‘Prem Leela’, the title track and ‘Bachpan Kahan’. However, the many obvious inspirations come as a big dampener for such a prestigious project, as original and chartbusting melodies have been a hallmark of the Barjatyas from time immemorial. Having said that the audio will scorch the charts and make a mark with the audience who will throng the theatres this Diwali with PREM RATAN DHAN PAYO.
source: glamsham