Rating: 3 on 5

We still can’t get enough of Beedi from Omkara, Vishal Bhardwaj’s last film. And now he is back with another edgy album in the form of Kaminey. Our favourite is undoubtedly Dhan Te Nan. Songs are situational as was the case with some songs in Omkara which made sense when the visuals cropped up. The lyrics are funny, thought-provoking and risque. The variety on the album ranges from soft rock to retro and hip hop and folk. Kaminey is an album not in a hurry, but you are bound to think before you leap for it.

We are addicted to Dhan Te Nan. One feels like jiving away the minute you press play. There is a variety of instruments and sounds and the orchestration is splendid. The song is reminiscent of Cash’s title track but much better. Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie, and now Vishal Bhardwaj. The club video bathed in red light has Shahid looking 'jhakaas' and in full form to defiantly belt out the number. It’s a rocker, this number smokes a gun. Sukhwinder Singh and Vishal Dadlani have superb vocal chemistry and the lyrics by Gulzar will surprise you. Before you know it, you will be singing Dhan Te Nan, all the time. It’s the craziest, most unusual and foot-tapping song of the year! Retro at it's best.

Pehli Baar Mohabbat has romantic song expert Mohit Chauhan lending his soothing voice to it. The piano notes at the beginning is like a gentle symphony to an orchestra. However, the song peddles plebian romance with lyrics not scaling any new heights, even when Mohit cries out in the crescendo that he has loved one last time. With lyrics like 'gilahri ke jhoote matar khaye the' one wonders how Bhardwaj tries to spin romance around something so earthen that could have used the devise of a sutradhar narrating a tale; comic in tone, and ticklish to strum up.

Vishal Bhardwaj lends his wispy vocals to the title track which is soulful and soothing. We expected the title track to be a fast paced number but the song is the complete opposite of that. The lyrics are all about kaminapan (meri aarzoo kamini, mere khwaab bhi kamine). It has a tinge of sorrow duplicated in effect with the use of the trombone interplay. This song might throw you back to O Sathi Re from Omkara. Ever wondered if a cuss word song could ever be this moody and contemplative? Oh kaminey!

Kailash Kher and Sukhwinder Singh team up for Fatak (not faatak but fut-ack) the music of which we have come to associate with 'kathputli trance' if you care to tune in to the nuances of arranged folk music borrowing from live puppetry form. We thought the music in this track would burst at its prophylactic seams but this one is like a water filled balloon plopping without a splosh. Ghalib's 'Yeh Ishq Nahin Asaan' couplet is interspersed with limerick-like pin-prick advise on condoms and safe sex. Clearly, the pen is mightier with the sheath!

Raat Ke Dhai Baje is clasped by Rekha Bhardwaj’s unmatched seductive vocals and Sunidhi Chauhan follows suit. 'Dil ne kaisi durgat ki,' Gulzar saab, junta might ask, what is this durgat? Vishal Bhardwaj let's us down with the shehnai meeting the drums in this unusual song, which in its effort to break down style, has Suresh Wadkar pitching in perhaps his first dance number. The song is broken in so many bits, one wonders what it wanted to be; a dance number, an ambient song, or a mish mash or sounds from all the instruments in the music hall.

The Go Charlie Go theme is good enough to be a classic, at par with the James Bond and Mission Impossible themes. The Dhan Te Nan bit adds a wicked feel to it. With the police siren and electric guitar strings, it’s retro, noir and intriguing. Strangely, we felt it was a sort of mad caper tune mocking The Pink Panther series. In good fun we say, Kaminey is not taking itself too seriously, the film will support this.

Label: T Series
Genre: Hindi Film
Composer: Vishal Bhardwaj
Lyrics: Vishal Bhardwaj, Gulzar
Price: Rs. 160