Fanaa music: Disappointing

Sukanya Verma | April 19, 2006 13:58 IST


The thing about hype is, it only exceeds.

Take Fanaa for instance. It's got Aamir Khan. That is enough to get the audience interested.

Kajol is his leading lady. That it happens to be her comeback film post-Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham only adds fuel to the hype factor. There is no way this hype will stop from building if it happens to be a Yash Raj film directed by one of its protégées, Kunal Kohli (Mujhse Dosti Karoge, Hum Tum).

Fanaa is right there in terms of all the promotional publicity surrounding it. But its soundtrack is a stinging disappointment. Jatin-Lalit's music hardly takes the uncharted route and is mostly pleasing. Here, in trying to do something different, J-L ends up dishing an uninspired score, which can be rated above average at best.




The album opens with Shaan and Kailash Kher's contrasting vocal presences in Chand sifarish. Well versed and rhythmic in melody, the vibrant number is an instant hit on the senses. Incidentally, the song features a whistle theme, which is the tune of the unused Yaara yaara from Hum Tum. Chand sifarish is featured once again in a zippy and rocking avatar as the club mix version, Fanaa for you by DJ Aqueel.

The first thing that strikes you about Mere haath mei is the arrangement by Salim-Sulaiman is clearly inspired by A R Rahman's style. Listen to it and you'll know what I mean. Be patient on this one, though. Rendered soulfully by Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi Chauhan, the romantic rhapsody takes its own sweet time to grow on the listener. But the occasional voiceovers by Fanaa's lead protagonists -- Aamir Khan and Kajol -- grate on your nerves.

It's time for filmi jingoism in the form of Des Rangila. Basically a functional composition it is never close to extraordinary. The vibrancy and richness of Prasoon Joshi's pen particularly stand out. Even so the lacklustre Rangila relies on fancily uttered Vande Matarams, by the chorus, to force a listener to pay attention.

Unhurried and mild in its tempo and mood, Dekho na's diluted mushiness fails to ignite sparks. The strains are too sombre and hence become too bland for their own good.

Hum Tum's idle track Yaara yaara gains more mileage here. It is transformed into a full-blown fresh act with a new name, Chanda chamke. Babul Supriyo and Mahalaxmi Iyer along with Khan, Kajol and Master Akshay Bhagwat enthusiastically perform this tongue twister of a melody. Though limited musically, Chanda is entertaining nevertheless.

The lounge mix, Destroyed in love is a scattered compilation of bits and pieces of Fanaa songs. It is neither unconventionally experimental nor conventionally tuneful.

The subject of Fanaa is not fluffy. It's the love story between a terrorist and a blind woman after all. J-L's soundtrack fails to have intense character or lend passionate nuances to this complicated romance.

Rediff Rating:


2/5

I absolutely hate it how actors these days are growing their hair out and thinking it makes them look younger or better. Note: the style only works on SOME people.

Aamir looks like Tom Hanks in those photos. Which is not a good thing. Now SRK is next in Johar's KANK, in which he looks absolutely ridiculous.

the funny part about that is that it is absolutely true. though i think shahrukh could pull it off given the right role (KANK is not it), aamir definitely looks like tom hanks in da vinci code. also i read somewhere that in fanaa, the trend of aamir khan dying will continue as a hat trick from Mangal, RDB, and now Fanaa. i mean can't you just see Kajol destroyed in love pulling the trigger on aamir.

I noticed even long time ago, even without long hair, Aamir is hugely inspired in acting front from tom Hanks!! Long hair are to be HYPE these days, not to look younger imho!

Aamir looked atrocious in RDB imho!

Long hair it all started with John Abraham, now Rampal, Rajpal, all Laloo Panchoo have long hair! I am to see GURU BACHAN MAHARAJ with a HYPE KOOL LONG HAIR AVTAAR and not to mention ANIL KAPOOR will follow too

i wouldn't say that John Abraham started the trend exactly. it wasn't like he grew his hair out, it was already there. but yes, to that extent he did "start" it. tom hanks...aamir khan; yup there's an inspiration but my liking of tom hanks as declined ever since he just started to change his voice and that guranteed him an oscar. his role in da vinci code has me turned away from that movie. i thought they could've chose someone better. anyway, as far as aamir khan is concerned, he's getting applause so why should he complain. and as for the hair, it's a working formula--so they're running with it.

"What the hell, you shot me!"

"Sorry, I'm blind."

The music is nothing special. I thought Chand Sifarish might be good, but the best part was in the trailer.

I think it has a pretty good soundtrack, except for Des rangila.

Imho too, soundtrack is no masterpiece, has lots of nostalgia and for garden variety film soundtrack, cuts pretty well.

I am pro this film for Kajol's come back film.

It is so amazing to see that how an average partly inspired compositions could turn out to be relatively fresh/enjoyable stuff just because of fresh arrangements, kudos to Salim Suleman who arranged the entire album, except DJ AQEEL's remix. They made sound JL's antiquity style/otherwise stale compositions into fresh, happening and enjoyable imho.

I personally liked all the tracks, including, desh and tongue twisters too..

I feel like a complete goober over how much I'm looking forward to this one. Little girls like Kareena simply cannot fill Kajol's shoes, IMHO. And even Aamir's WORST movie is better than the average movie.

Fanaa is releasing in a big way in US-Canada this week. It's also showing daily at Ontario Palace I-Max, Toronto and also in 'A' theatres in Ottawa Montreal.

I have a question: In the past, as far as I can remember and noticed, Yash Raj produced films have been, old style, high on surround emotions, but audio has primarily been front channels only even if playing in DD-THX theatres. Did anyone notice otherwise ??

http://in.rediff.com/movies/fanaa.htm



With 1000 apologies to ali bhaii I do agree she(Kajol) does look better than before

When I saw "Salaam Namaste" back a few months ago here in NYC, it was definitely Dolby Digital EX. Plenty of surround action in the rear speakers. The theater even advertised as such.

Thanks Ajy1. Too bad our local DD theate didn't provide rear speaker action for Salaam Namaste. It could be mismatched theatre audio system and film print format. Let's hope Fanaa plays with proper sound. (Mangal Pandey had excelent surrond sound, but it was not YRF production, just YRF release.

Out of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, Ottawa got the best theatre for Fanaa and is the only hope where we may get proper audio. It's playing in Silver City (DD-THX) theatre. Next best is Montreal AMC and Toronto got Albion Woodside.

But, may be, Toronto may be the best place to watch Fanaa, if TV-Radio adverts are correct that it's also playing at Ontario Place Cinesphere I-Max ??

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P.S. At the time of initial posting, for some reason like weak keyboard battery, not all letters were getting in the text and hence funny write. I tried correcting it as much as I noticed and still some major errors remained making the post hillarious. Hopefully, it's fixed now ??

** BEWARE OF SPOILER!!!!!!!

Aamir isn't Dil Se enough

Raja Sen | May 26, 2006 20:38 IST


Trust Yash Chopra to take on Marlon Brando.


Brando, that most insouciant of great actors, contemptuously once said that all producers do is casting. What else is there? By this regard, this Friday's Yashraj release is right on the money. It stars Kajol, India's numero uno actress of the 90s, opposite Aamir Khan, who, after Rang De Basanti, is enjoying more box office buzz than ever. But as Fanaa defiantly emphasises, a mere casting coup does not a good film make.




Having said that, the actors do quite well, for the most part. Kajol isn't given too much to do, but she's the one who infuses a spirit into the film. Aamir performs manfully, but the script requires him to lay the histrionics on thick, and he obliges. The flaws lie in the words, and the man wielding the megaphone.








Kunal Kohli's last film, a romantic comedy ripped charmlessly off from When Harry Met Sally relies on touch-and-go encounters, on happenstance and serendipity, which is all very well if you like that sort of thing. This time the director tries to make his film about something, turning it into an impossible love-conquers-all-in-the-backdrop-of-nukes mish-mash. And it turns out to be a damp squib, essentially because he continues to stick with a contrived string of absurd coincidences that somehow worked for him earlier.


The film starts off alright. Kajol, not sure exactly where the national flag is -- she's blind, you see -- is facing a different direction as the kids sing Saare jahan se accha (immediately after it plays instrumentally in the credits) and a helpful teacher points her the right way. She breaks into a grin and you can't help but smile. The actress has immense screen presence and a very contagious enthusiasm, and while she may play a sightless girl, her eyes continue to brim with life.


Her name is Zooni Ali Baig, and she's the girl you met in DDLJ, only blind. This one too waits for her prince as she takes trains to distant lands (Delhi, in this case) with friends prettier than her (one in particular, playing Bobo, pretty much makes up for a lot of the first half) and waits for signs. Her parents, Rishi Kapoor and Kirron Kher, are a warm old couple who spend their afternoons spouting lines of shayari and nostalgically recollecting their first meeting. Zooni's heading to Delhi with her friends to perform at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, (or some such. You'd be best advised to stop noticing the details right from the start) hence the teary goodbye.


Zooni's prince turns out to be Rehan Qadri, cockiest of tour guides. Aamir enters the film a la Raja Hindustani, spread-eagled roguishly atop a bus. Leaping down to flirt with the ladies, he falls to his knees, and Zooni's sure he's the one. Rehan looks haggard and his look is extremely unflattering, to say the least. Lucky for him Zooni is obviously not the most superficial of girls.


The two fall instantly in love and embark on Jatin-Lalit's repetitive songs, and while he suddenly goes from charmer to distant don't-believe-in-love mode (with a bizarre Lara Dutta cameo thrown in), they do share some sparks -- albeit encumbered with sudden spurts of shayari every couple of lines.


She gives him her heart with complete abandon, and he, after some initial 'love ain't my thang' bits, picks her up (yes, literally. Aamir never ceases to surprise) and decides that since an eye-operation is possible, Zooni should chance it. She does, and before her folks hurry up and arrive, the only kind of blind she is, is 'in love'. If these lines sound painfully trite, its because I'm trying to comprehend the kind of scenario that must have – on some level -- sounded like 'a good film' to the people who hastily decided to jump into it.


But while the first half is predictably cheesy, you don't mind it much. Kajol has an effortlessly effervescent screen presence and Aamir conjures up moments where he rises above the trappings of the script, borrowed liberally from Bollywood hitmakers of every era. You decide that the film is building up towards something – but you're wrong.


The second half is chock-full of twists, and so one can't delve into much discussion regarding plot. Suffice it to say that there's an extremely GI Joe kind of terrorist chaos afoot, and an enterprising group of baddies have actually stolen enough parts from India, Pakistan and a couple of neighbouring countries to piece together their own nuclear missile. Yes, you read that right.

The film is a scrapbook of Bollywood cliché. From little kids who spout over-precocious emotionally manipulative lines to clueless intelligence officers seemingly lacking in common sense, everything's taken from somewhere else. But moments aren't assembly-line creations, and the film never ends up being compelling.


The characters are written too feebly to elicit any involvement, and while you're excited the first couple of times Aamir tosses back a one-liner, it isn't enough. By the time Rehan and Zooni are drowning in the seas of high drama, you really don't give a damn about what happens to either of them. You like Zooni, sure, but that's simply because it's Kajol. She's given tragically little to play with, but her very Kajol-ity (forgive me, it was a really long film, but you know what I mean, I'm sure) makes the character almost work.


Rehan is a bit of a stretch, even for Aamir. The character passes through entirely connected phases, from focussed determination to carried-away schoolboy lover, and his motives are so unclear it's ridiculous. And it really doesn't seem like an Aamir kinda role. The actor has to be charming and dark, romantic and sinister, and the unsubtle script and director seem to want him to turn into a visibly intense maniac as well as an action hero (which our tiny little man has never quite been, God bless his soul). Ironically, when he rushes onto the scene exhausted and heaving, nostrils flared, he ends up looking like he's playing at a bad Shah Rukh impersonation.

Another massive Fanaa flaw is its length. Obviously a man not accustomed to the finer points of editing, Kohli lets his film stretch windily on. For a cliché-ridden predictable movie rife with inconsistency, this is not such a good thing. A little kid pipes up and says something about Rahul Dravid, and you smile indulgently, before he brings in a 'Mr Dependable' analogy that makes you wince. The script is so contrived it hurts, and despite a slew of good actors -- Tabu does well, and Shiney Ahuja appears for a second or two – the anti-terrorist scenes bring up thoughts of Ajit and a young Dharmendra. This movie makes Dus seem realistic in comparison.

While one can forgive the lack of credibility, the denouement is such a massive hoax that it seems impossible not to complain. Everything comes together (and apart) in with an extremely melodramatic series of coincidences, and maybe Mr Kohli should stick only to romantic comedies.


But you'll watch it because you're still curious, and don't believe me. And the filmmakers will make tons of money. And I won't. But when you're plodding through the unending climax, willing the end-titles to appear, remember -- I warned ya.

Rediff Rating: