Zeher
Music: Roopkumar Rathod
Lyrics: Sayeed Quadri, Shakeel Azmi
SaReGaMa; Rs 55, CD Rs 125

Lately, all the Bhatt camp films have had some superbly different musical scores, rather heavily influenced by the Middle East/Pakistan/Bangladesh, roping in their singers, too. Zeher, too, has got immediate attention, including the legal kind. But that’s another story. Suffice it to say that it’s simple, maddeningly melodious and just-off-track, to make a real difference ? to the discerning ear as well as to the market shelves.

Basically, it has four songs with Agar tum mil jao being easily the outstanding one. The Side B four numbers are all additional versions of Side A, and three out of four versions are monopolised by Agar tum mil jao (one, a beautiful instrumental; and another ditto Udit version, amusingly renamed with the second line of the mukhda, Zamaana chhod denge hum). But though the clonish Shreya Ghoshal sounds frighteningly like Sadhana Sargam here, this is arguably her best rendition so far. Aiding her substantially is the masterly crystal-clink recording. Credit goes to Anu Malik once again, even if it’s called ?music recreated? by Anu Malik! Both lyrics are by Sayeed Quadri.

Woh lamhe, sung by Atif (?music recreated? by Mithun Sharma and Naresh Sharma), which also has a remix version by Suketu, is the song under a ‘lifting’ storm, too, but no doubt about its melody. The other two, Jaane ja by Udit and Shreya and Ai bekhabar by KK, both tuned by Roopkumar Rathod and written by Shakeel Azmi, keep the same tempo and mood of the first two, thus retaining the ‘whole’some strain and texture of the entire score.

Anil Grover

Sri Krishner Ballyaleela
Seema Acharya Chaudhury
Sagarika; Rs 35

It’s always been a blissful experience to listen to the life and activities of Sri Krishna. Moreso, in the voice of Seema Acharya Chaudhury, in this album. The Padaboli kirtan is one of the oldest forms of music in Bengal. Seema concentrates on the ballyaleela phase alone, giving the songs the typical diction and sound, and reveal tenderly how Sri Krishna as a child went about stealing butter but always managed to go unpunished. Only, the accompanying chorus needs to develop a little more harmony with her.

Madhuparna Das