Raja Natwarlal: Music Review

 Music Composer: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Starring: Emraan Hashmi & Humaima Malik

The music of Raja Natwarlal has high expectations from the beginning. The Hindi music album not only has Emraan Hashmi's name behind it, but also South Indian music director, Yuvan Shankar Raja's. To raise the bar even higher the film's namesake the critically acclaimed, Mr.Natwarlal, which had a weighty music score with, Pardesia. Raja Natwarlal, starring Emraan Hashmi and Pakistani actress, Humaima Malik, is a romantic comedy, so expect a fusion of fun and passion. 

Raja Natwarlal's soundtrack begins with Bollywood's favorite singer, Arjit Singh, singing Tere Hoke Rehengay. This song starts slowly at first with a slow piano and slowly melts into slow electronic beats. Our music director sticks with the usual Hashmi style of his former K.K songs, with the "Ooo ooo" that we saw in "Zara Sa" from Jannat 2 and "Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai" from Gangster. This songs toggles between dramatized keyboard, electronic beats, and guitar, and evolves into a Western classical song as the percussion picks up. There is quite a variety of instrumentals in this songs that are brilliantly swirled together with Singh's strong vocals, leaving nothing wanted. A truly unique song. 4.5/5

Yuvan Shankar Raja really brings in the South Indian flavor into Dukki Tikki. This fun dance number is exactly something you would expect to see in a comedy. Expect an interesting video paired with this one. Complete with whistling and horns, this song is one of the more pleasant different sounding songs that Mika Singh has done before. 5/5

The unconventional qawwaliesque number Kabhi Ruhani Kabhi Rumani is by far the best song on the Raja Natwarlal soundtrack. Intricate classical instrumentals pair beautifully Benny Dayal's voice to breathe life into the song. Just like Tere Hoke Rehengay it transforms dramatically, but in a more refined elegance. The slow tabla playing in the back with skillful chimes and piano sets this song apart from the typical qawwali number. 5/5

We have found Raja Natwarlal's item number in Namak Pare. Our music director is again able to offer something new to the table, utilizing popular singers Mamta Sharma and Anupama Amod in a different way. This song fuses Western instrumentals, classical Indian instrumentals, and the classic South Indian song. Anupama's voice works well to complement Mamta Sharma's voice, although he doesn't get much in. From the beginning this song is able to hook the listener. 5/5

The songs of Raja Natwarlal takes an unusual turn with Flip Your Collar Back. It is very catchy, and offers variety like its predecessors, but the hook of the song doesn't seem to work exactly. Perhaps because it gets really gritty and annoying with the "Flip your collar back off to the sides". This song seems like it could potentially turn into a popular dance craze, like Dhinka Chika, but it does not play too lightly on the ears. 2/5

Tere Hoka Rehengay (reprise) is sung by Shweta Pandit. This song tends very acoustic, and the softer beats allow Pandit's voice to shine brighter through. This song is refreshingly a lighter take on the original song, and besides the lyrics is not very similar from the original. As good as, if not better than the original song, this song truly shines as one of the masterpieces of the soundtrack. 5/5

Raja Natwarlal's soundtrack is by far one of the best of this year.The precision of the soundtrack surpasses all of Emraan Hashmi's previous soundtrack With almost every song having the potential to become a hit, this movie should propel further in cinema. Yuvan Shankar Raja does an amazing job of pulling all different types of genres and musical elements together to create a skillfully produced album. 

My Picks:  Kabhi Ruhani Kabhi Rumani, Tere Hoke Rehengay (reprise), Dukki Tikki, Namak Pare, Tere Hoke Rehengay 

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Sexuality In Bollywood: Evolution of Female Desire- Part Two [The Bhatts]

Sunny Leone and Randeep Hooda in Jism 2

Similar to the directors of The Dirty Picture, filmmakers like Pooja Bhatt, and her father, Mahesh Bhatt, have tackled a dark side of sexual desire, touching on the bodily needs of both hero and the heroine. Pooja and Mahesh Bhatt try to experiment with the heroine’s sexuality in Jism 2 [2012], with the introduction of the Indo-American pornographic star, Sunny Leone. In Jism 2, Leone seduces an assassin to retrieve important information for the police. The assassin and a police officer both play her love interests in this movie. Leone is able to believably express herself as a strong heroine with her own desires onscreen, because of her previous work in pornography.   Jism 2 creates aesthetic view of sexuality when new talent combines with the fresh, natural scenery of Sri Lanka. Stunning cinematography and careful boundaries to prevent intimate scenes from becoming crude set this film apart from other Bollywood movies related to this genre. Leone plays a character that is in complete jurisdiction of her own sexuality and is able to manipulate it in whatever way she wishes.  In Jism 2, Leone is able to illustrate the shift to a more mature sexual identity of Bollywood heroines.
      

Emraan Hashmi and Jacqueline Fernandez
Murder 2

Murder 2 [2011], another Bhatt production, has a more multifaceted view on sexuality. This film not only addresses escalated carnal cravings, but also focuses transvestites, and prostitution.. Even though these different sexual elements are explored in various ways, they end up intertwined with each other in the end. In Murder 2, Emraan Hashmi plays a former cop who is sent to investigate the disappearance of prostitutes in the area. Although Hashmi and his girlfriend, Jacqueline Fernanadez, engage in a few rounds of sexual intercourse in the film, he remains emotionally detached from her due to personal reasons. She, on the other hand, tries desperately to expand their physical bond with concepts of romantic love.  On the opposing side is Prashant Naryanan, a transvestite who brutally murders prostitutes. Driven by his uncontrollable physical desire, he decides to become a eunuch. The manner which Murder 2 presents sexuality on three different platforms is an unusual, but daring feat for a director. There is a thoughtful depiction of human trafficking, and an attempt to realistically portray the emotional and carnal needs of men and women in contemporary relationships. However, the sexuality of the transvestites is not as tastefully explored as others.  Narayanan is portrayed as a psychotic killer who has deviated from accepted social norms. Meanwhile, his transvestite friend’s character is illustrated as crooked and overly dramatic.


Check Out These Articles From Sexuality in Bollywood Series:
Sexuality in Bollywood: Evolution of Female Desire Part 1
Sexuality In Bollywood: Return of the Vamps

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BollywoodBegum claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

Sexuality in Bollywood: Evolution of Female Desire Part One

Zeenat Aman in Satyam Shivam Sundaram

As vamps dissolved in popular cinema, the lead heroines’ sexual identity was given more space to evolve. The heroine was stuck in between being modest and being sensual. Essentially, she had to be sensual enough to lure the audience in, but not too sensual or she would seem to be an unfit companion for the honorable hero.  Zeenat Aman beautifully expresses the duality of modesty and sensuality in her role in Satyam Shivam Sundaram [1978]. Aman is a quiet village girl that although initially rejected by her husband, remains a dutiful wife. As the daughter of a Hindu priest, she is also depicted as a virtuous woman who spends a majority of her time visiting and maintaining a Hindu temple. However, her religious devotion is given dichotomy of both virtue and sensuality.  Aman also presents her sexuality in her general appearance. She wears traditional saris, but wears no blouse underneath, leaving her breasts visibly veiled under thin cloth. However, Aman’s  religious, obedient wife persona, balances her refined sensuality. This heightened sense of the heroine’s sexuality has been taken further in modern Bollywood movies.

Compared to modern Bollywood films, Zeenat Aman’s sexuality in Satyam Shivam Sundaram seems subtle. It has been more acceptable for leading ladies to both express their carnal desires very openly. Unlike Aman, they were no longer mainly objects of sexual desire, but possessed a sexual desire of their own. This sexual expression of the heroine has been tactfully addressed in some contemporary films, such as blockbuster The Dirty Picture [2011]. The biopic starring Vidya Balan is inspired by the life of the infamous South Indian sex symbol, Silk Smitha. This audacious poster matched the audacity exhibited in the film itself.

The Dirty Picture has dual layers of sexuality. The first layer is her sensual image in her films, and the second layer is her personal relationships with men in the film industry. Balan has romantic relationships with all three men, and intimate relationships with two of the three. She jumps from one brother’s bed to the next, hoping to find love and acceptance. Sexuality both fueled and destroyed Balans’s career in The Dirty Picture. She is in continual pursuit to find her soulmate, but all she receives is lustful men who believe she is like racy image she portrays onscreen. By the time she realizes she loves Hashmi, a man who appreciate her for mind and body, it is too late. Even though this film is not abundant with much vivid sexual imagery, it achieves an intelligent portrayal of the pursuit of love and happiness.

Vidya Balan "The Dirty Picture"

Recent films, like The Dirty Picture and Jism,  have been able to express females as not only  being an object of desire, but having their own desires and acting upon them. Filmmakers like Mahesh and Pooja Bhatt have included several elements of female sexuality in their films, that will be discussed in my later article. What do you think of Bollywood's evolution of female desire? Do you think that Bollywood is becoming too westernized, or is Bollywood evolving as society becomes more modernized and submits to the changing social norms?

Look for more of Sexuality in Bollywood Series in the Future.
BollywoodBegum

Article ©BollywoodBegum2013. All  Rights Reserved. 

BollywoodBegum claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai: Film Review

On the cusp of the release of Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Again/Dobara, I figured I would watch the first Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, a seventies era film.This movie is rumored to be loosely based on real-life gangsters,  Haji Mastan and Dawood Ibrahim.What drew me to this movie was: Emraan Hashmi, Kangna Raunat and the soundtrack. After the disaster that was Himmatwala this year, I didn't really want to see Ajay Devgan's face again, but I reluctantly dug into the past and pulled this movie out.

 Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai begins with a cop, Agnel Wilson (Randeep Hooda) who tries to kill himself by driving his car into a river. When he is taken in by his commanding officer for questioning he narrates our movie to us. It begins with a young orphan,Sultan Mirza, (later played by Ajay Devgan) who shovels coal for just a few rupees a day. Pretty soon he begins to smuggle for rich men, and then bham, he is now the biggest underworld don.

Our little gangster has a crush

Sultan is a benevolent don. He divides Mumbai into four regions, refraining from giving one person total power. He also does not smuggle contraband, so therefore he is looked at as having higher integrity than the others like him. Our big bad white suit wearing gangster Sultan, however has a childlike crush on leading actress Rehana (Kangna Raunat). He does ridiculous, but amusing things to get her attention. He buys a guava for 400 rupees and presents it to her, he waits for her for 18 days at her favorite restaurant, and he even eats bitter gourd for her. What a guy! So they eventually fall in love, hence Rahat's Tum Jo Aaye Zindagi Mein. Their love story is the cutest part of the movie, but its fades away so quickly as Agnel closes in and our second star, Shoaib Khan (Emraan Hashmi) surfaces.

So we see our Dawood Ibrahim, Shoaib, as a bratty child in the beginning, starkly contrasting Sultan's demeanor at a child. He is a defiant, hot-blooded young thing who likes to steal change out of pay phones with his chubby accomplice. He threatens the man who reports him and takes him to his police officer father. When Shoaib grows up he is an even more disgusting person. He harasses customers at the store where love interest, Mumtaz (Prachi Desai) works and commits with robberies.

I think you should dress up like Dimple Kapadia from Bobby. Do it.

 His police officer dad for some ridiculous reason asks Sultan to take take Shoaib under his wing. This when the trouble starts in Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai. Shoaib's character is barely endearing besides the scene where he buys Mumtaz liquor and a snack mix with his first paycheck, claiming that this is what he does with his friends, and he doesn't know what to do for girls. So, basically Shoaib being the disgusting person he is, tries to overthrow Sultan to take over power.

The events in the Once Upon a Time in Mumbai pan out realistically and the acting is top notch. The women unfortunately aren't essential to the plot, but they did add some romance and release of tension. Ajay Devgan is easily the most likable character. It is almost as if he was tailor made for this role. The best part about Sultan's character is that he was flawed, but still lovable. Hashmi's character, on the other hand, was so easy to hate and so hard to love. So in the end, the music was fabulous, the plot moved quickly, and the acting was great. The downside was that all police mama drama gets a little boring sometimes, but give it a chance, you won't regret Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai, like I regretted Himmatwala.

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Ghanchakkar: Music Review

Music Director: Amit Trivedi

Starring: Emraan Hashmi & Vidya Balan

Every time a new Emraan Hashmi album is released I am one of the first people to get it. Like others, I believe that no matter who composes the soundtrack or directs the movie, anything with Emraan Hashmi will have good music. My evidence is based upon  non-Bhatt banner films like Dil Diya Hai and The Dirty Picture. Let's get started with Ghanchakkar.

Its a comedy staring Vidya Balan and Emraan Hashmi. It's their second time on the silver screen, after The Dirty Picture. Our director this time is Raj Kumar Gupta, who made Aamir and No One Killed Jessica. The music composer is for Ghanchakkar is Amit Trivedi, who has brought us unique arrangements in the past from  films like Dev.D, Ishaqzaade, and Aiyyaa.

Staying true to it's tittle, the soundtrack of Ghanchakkar is crazily good. The arrangements and combinations are totally out of this world, and its surprising that all of these different elements work so pleasantly together on the ear. We have a mixture of mainly old school disco, electronica, and traditional sounds.

The first track on the album is Lazy Lad sung by Richa Sharma. This song has an interesting blend of  upbeat traditional and county sounds, like the banjo in combination with the dhol. Like the other tracks in Ghanchakkar, Lazy lad is very desi with a lot of clever English words thrown in the middle. It's a fun song where an annoyed wife nags her husband in a million clever ways.

Next is our qawwali track, Allah Meherbaan, by Divya Kumar. This probably the best song on this soundtrack. The qawwali style fuses really well with the electronica sounds, it also sounds like a deliciously good remix of a old school qawwali. The background beat carries the song so well, and catches the listener's ears from the first second.

"You kinda look like that guy from The Dirty Picture" 

Our third track is Ghanchakkar's title song, Ghanchakkar Babu sung by Amit Trivedi himself. The song lyrically and musically makes no sense, but that's what makes it so entralling. It works. It Trivedi's voice captivates the listener immediately. This hilarious song has an old school disco beat that you would hear in seventies Bollywood, complete with trumpets. The only hang up I have about this song is the intermittent female voice saying "Yeah Yeah Yeah" among other things. I really felt the song could do without. Next we have Ghanchakkar Babu the remix. This is just a sped up version with an additional beat. Unless you want to party with this, stick to the original version.

Allah Meherbaan Still

The last track Jolu Ram by Altaf Raj. This piece has a classical, as well as disco arrangement  and delightfully sounds as if it was crooned by a drunken man. We have interludes of the man speaking reminiscent of the popular song, Kolveri Di. The song like Lazy Lad and the others are dotted with English pieces which further enhance the songs. We have all kinds of fun words like dal makhani, digestion, and frustration thrown into Jolu Ram.

Ghanchakkar is definitely a quirky ride.  It is exactly the type of music you would should be in every Bollywood comedy. Not only is it hilarious, it is pleasant to listen to. So much of this soundtrack will have you smiling. There is not a bad song in this album. I really wish there was more on this album. Four tracks and a remix are too little. Once again, Emraan Hashmi doesn't fail to disappoint. Good job Trivedi. Remember to not forget this one!

My Picks: Allah Meherbaan, Lazy Lad, Ghanchakkar Babu, Jolu Ram

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