Sheesha music: sensous, sentimental and sensible

Film: Sheesha

Producer: Guddu Dhanoa

Director: Ashu Trikha

Music: Sen Brothers

Lyrics: Maya Govind, Dev Kohli, Yunus Khan, Nida Fazli and Guddu Dhanoa.

Sheesha (glass, mirror) is yet another of those films, which appears to be directed towards sensuality and sexuality. Neha Dhupia continues to tread on the path that she chose, with the film Julie, wherein she played a call girl. Surprising, in comparison to many such other sex films released in 2004, Julie did well at the box office. So, taking a hint that, maybe exhibitionism works better in Bollywood than acting skills, Neha signed up with producer Guddu Dhanoa and Director Ashu Trikha, for Sheesha. In one of her interviews Neha Dhupia had said that in Bollywood, only 2 things sell—Shah Rukh Khan and Sex. Hence the film. The film stars Sonu Sood, last seen (and appreciated by many) as Abhishek Bachchan’s elder brother, in Yuva. The producer of Sheesha, must be extremely satisfied with the performances of the lead pair, for he has cast them yet again, in his next venture called Siskiyan, to be directed by National Award winning director, Ashwini Choudhary. Sheesha’s by-line, incidentally, is ‘Some mirrors lie’.

The album of Sheesha has a total of 10 numbers, of which 5 are original, 4 are repeats of these original 5, either as slow versions or in an instrumental form. One number, not credited to any singer, is the Sheesha theme.

The album opens with Kunal Ganjawala singing 'Yaar Ko Maine', the lyrics of which are penned by Maya Govind. The song starts with some whisperings, in a male voice. This is a good number, in the format of a ghazal. It’s a song that is sung at a high pitch, and Kunal matches up to his earlier hit song from Murder ‘Bheege Hont Tere’. There is a similar motif to both these songs, where the singer describes how his love (or lover) kept him awake the whole night. The lyrics are also very good with words like ‘Pyaar hi pyaar kiya, pyaar ne sone Na diya’ and ‘Dhadkan no ki wohi raftaar ne sone Na diya’. The song has simple accompaniments on the keyboard, tabla and violins. Kunal is soon emerging as a very good singer, with a voice that is rich, versatile, elastic and booming. This song is repeated twice, once in an instrumental form, and the other in the voice of Madhushree.

The second number ‘Assi Ishq Da Dard’ is sung by Richa Sharma and Shehzad, and written by Dev Kohli. The song starts with the famous lines, last heard in Bobby-- ‘Beshak mandir, masjid Thodo’. This song has a Punjabi folk music like feel to it, and has a lot of Punjabi words thrown in. It’s a song of sorrow and longing, wherein the singer cries out for her beloved. The song has some lovely lyrics like ‘Kya Khel Ishq ne khela Hai, Kya Gham ka laga yeh mela hai, Dil Mera kal Bhi Akela Tha, Dil Aaj bhi Mera Akela hai’, and is a semi-classical song. Richa Sharma’s voice reminds you of some such similar songs sung by Ila Arun, in earlier films. She has a good voice, but one which is suited to folk and Punjabi pop music rather than to traditional Hindi Film playback. This song is also repeated, once in an instrumental version and once under the title of Moods-Sheesha, in Richa’s voice with a wonderful alaap in the beginning. Many a times, the tune reminds you of the Mohammed Rafi classic ‘Hum To Chale Pardes, Pardesi Ho Gaye’ from the film Sargam.

The third song in the album is ‘Main Ho Gaye’ by Alka Yagnik and Shehzad. Yunus Khan has written the lyrics of this song. This song is a Punjabi-Bhangra pop song, very much like what one would hear in the albums of Daler Mehendi or Gurudas Mann. The song is ideally suited to a Mehendi ceremony or a marriage, as it a song of ‘ched-chaad’ and ‘shararat’ between boy and girl, with the girl insisting that she has turned eighteen, and the boy should now come to her home with a ‘palkhi’ and baraat. The song is filled with clichéd words like ‘soniya, soniya’, which have become so common nowadays. Alka sings in a very high-pitched voice, something one has heard from her many years ago. Her voice gives the impression that the singer is a young girl, and full credit to her for managing to sound like an eighteen year old.

After a few repeats, the next number is called Sheesha, Theme music. No singer has been credited this piece, and understandably so, for this piece is one in which one hears a lot of erotic groanings, moanings sighings and whisperings, set against a rapid background music, all of which leaves no room for imagination. It’s pretty obvious what must be going on, across the screen, as this is being played. This tune is pure erotica, something which one must have heard years ago in the English number ‘Love to love you baby’ and recently in the video ‘Kaliyon Ka Chaman’. If you let your imagination get the better of you, whilst you are listening to this small piece, nobody can blame you. One only wonders--how did this one get across the censors??

‘Yaar ko Maine’ appears again, this time around in the voice of Madhushree. The lyrics are quite different, and so we can safely call this a separate song. Madhushree is fairly good with the vocals, and here also some of the lyrics are very good. Perhaps Shreya Ghosal or Sunidhi Chauhan might have sung this song more effectively, but overall one should not have any complaints against Madhushree.

After a few more repeats, one comes to the next song, which is ‘Muje Jeena Sikha Do Naa’. Shreya Ghosal and Kunal Ganjawala sing this song. This is one more beautiful, melodious song, which is a dialogue between the lovers. The Sen brothers have used the flute a lot in their background music, and even in this song, the flute is put to good effect. This again is a very high-pitched song, and both Shreya and Kunal perform admirably, managing to sound extremely seductive and inviting. The song reminds one of ‘Jaane Do na, Pass Aao Na’, picturised on Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia, years ago, in the film Sagar. “Hoto Ko Hoto Se, Seene do, Saason Ko Saason Me Jeene Do’ run the lyrics. This song emphasises the love, oneness and coming together of lovers. Though the content of this song is sexually oriented, it sounds pure and pristine.

The last song in the album is titled ‘Kar Mundiya’ and is sung by Sonu Kakkar (Of Babujee Dheere Chalo fame). The lyrics of this song are written by the producer Guddu Dhanoa himself, and have a generous smattering of Punjabi. It’s an extremely fast number, with loud accompaniments, almost drowning out the singer’s voice many a times. After a long list of melodious songs in the album, this one does look out of place, and grates on one’s nerves. But most definitely, the youngsters, and those not very classically minded will love it, for its high energy level, and this song will be heard at most marriages and ‘Dandiya’ functions, in the days to come. The song is a situational one, and is probably picturised as an ‘item’ number. Sonu Kaakar has an amazing voice for such numbers, though whether this number will fetch her the same response as her earlier one did, is a moot point.

Overall, this is definitely one of the better albums one has heard this year. The Sen brothers have made most of the songs high pitched and semi-classical, and have given very good arrangements. Also, in their venture, they have been ably aided by some wonderful lyrics, and some very efficient singing. This album should strike a chord with most discerning listeners, and one hopes that for the sake of good music, this album does well.

Rating: * * *

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Sheesha