Heroes, directed by Samir Karnik, boasts an all-star cast and also an all-star team of music directors for the soundtrack. Not only did the director rope in the great duo of Sajid-Wajid for 2 tracks, he also brought in the wonderful Monty Sharma to be at the helm of 3 tracks. The album is a mix of many different beats and many different styles – not a cohesive album, but it was not made to be so. The album has 5 original tracks and is filled out with versions of songs, which seems to be a standard nowadays, but those versions have a few surprises: read on to find out what I mean.
The Heroes Theme has a very soft beginning Piano line that is wonderful. The piece then takes a total turn to a rock guitar jam, which is also great, that transitions into something else again – a very suspenseful sound with a fast pulsing undertone leading you to a climax … almost. It transitions back to the soft piano again but this time with chorus picking up the melody line along with a string section joining in as well. It gets back to the wailing rock riff with the throbbing under beat, and the addition of a violin makes it feel like it is building to something very strong, but it fades again to the simple piano. All the sections are wonderful, and together as a song it is interesting, although such an eclectic mix of two styles is very hard to rate. It will have to be seen in the context of the film to make more sense of why they chose to do it this way.
Sajid Wajid composed Mannata, and at the mic are Sonu Nigam and Kavita Krishnamurthy. The song has a beautiful musical beginning that leads into a typical Bollywood ballad once Sonu Nigam begins to sing. Listening to the song, I imagined the scene as the hero and heroine are either in the snow in Switzerland or seen in a lot of half shots singing to each other. Though on seeing the promo I found out I was totally wrong but it still a wonderful picturization. Both voices are fantastic, with Nigam standing out singing the track wonderfully, of course. The orchestration is great, with a terrific musical interlude. There is a very pretty melody line that runs throughout the track. It is a wonderful song that is very enjoyable to listen to and makes you smile! A highlight of the album. A second version Mannata (Lover’s Paradise) is a completely different instrumental version with a lot of electronica beats added in, though the original’s pretty melody line is retained in parts. It is a good song that can stand on its own, but the original is much better, so just put that one on replay.
Monty Sharma composed the bhangra Badmash Launde. Shail Hada, Parthiv Gohil and Rekha Rao are heard on the track. Though it has some very nice vocals and good music, the track does not strike a good note. There are too many voices and it just seems like none of it fits together. There are also the horrible English lyrics that are devastatingly bad. It may fit well into the film, but it is not a song I would listen to again. The other version Badmash Launde (Blasted) is more of a dance mix, but I would skip this one too.
Makhana, composed by Sajid Wajid, is another Punjabi-beat filled number. Get your Bhangra moves out to jhoom to this song. Sukhwinder Singh, Soumya Raoh & Wajid, sing the track terrifically and with great energy. There is a really great chorus with cool inflection and a bit of a rock flavor thrown in the back music, but this track was again brought down by English lyrics. I do not understand why so many composers feel they have to include English lyrics. Most of the time it does not make it cooler, it just makes it bad. Overall, it is a pretty good song – it has some surprises that take it up from your average bhangra beat. Makhana (Killer) has a very cool beginning that makes you think you are going to hear a totally different song, but then it becomes just a really fast paced version of the original and is a track better just to skip.
Monty Sharma also composed the music for all three versions of Wat’s Up My Bro but each one is unique. Kunal Ganjwala sings two of the versions. The original version is a full-on rock jam that is great in its basic form, but it is a rock song that got lost in trying to be different. The jam loses some of its rock cred with the addition of the chorus, both male and female, and the trumpet line that did not fit the mood or the beat at ALL! The performance by Kunal Ganjwala is the USP of the song and he his brilliant on the track.
Ganjwala is also heard on the Wat’s Up My Bro (Cruiser) version. Cruiser is the perfect name, because you will definitely want to jam this at 11 while in your car. I actually liked this one better because it did not have the extra chorus and trumpets. Bilkul give this one a listen.
Then we have Wat’s Up Bro (Slow), which has Shail Hada doing the vocals. Of the three, this is my favorite by far. A lovely, though seemingly mournful, violin section starts the track off, then Shail Hada’s voice comes in and enhances the melancholy feel. This is a total different piece and it is fabulous. Shail Hada’s voice is perfect for the song and he has such a wonderful tone throughout. The music is outstanding and the orchestration superb. When I was listening to it I thought, ‘OK, here is a great, great song’. Can you tell I loved it? It is sad to think that this song may get lost, because it is one of 3 versions of the same song, and you might skip it thinking there probably are just a few different beats thrown in. But don’t do that – it is probably the best on the album!
Though very short, Gurbani must be mentioned because it is 35 seconds of the gorgeous a Capella voice of Shail Hada. It is brilliant, so do not miss it!
I do have to mention that on all the tracks there is a problem, and that is the sound mixer went a little too heavy on volume of the back beat so that the singer’s voices are sometimes drowned out, but that is being picky. Overall, Heroes is a good album with the original version of ‘Mannata’ and the three versions of ‘Wat’s Up Bro’ standing out. The other tracks, except for ‘Badmash Launde’, are fine as well, so you definitely should give the album a listen.
