On the same path as Rock On!!, Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt’s newest offering Jashnn tackles the issues of fulfilling one’s dream of becoming a rock star. Where Rock On!! focused on the relationships within a rock band, Jashnn follows the story of an ambitious individual and the music within. The film stars Adhyayan Suman (Raaz 2 – The Mystery Continues), Sahana Goswami (Rock On!! and Firaaq) and Anjana Sukhani (Salaam-e-Ishq) and is directed by Raksha Mistry and Hasnain S. Hyderabadwala, the directorial duo behind Emaraan Hashmi’s The Train and The Killer.
Jashnn has music by the Sabri brothers Toshi and Sharib of Raaz 2 – The Mystery Continues fame, showcasing the talents of K.K, Shaan, Shreya Ghosal and debutante Nouman Javaid. Made under the banner of Visheh Films, Jashnn is slated to hit the silver screens on 17th July 2009.
Narzein Karam kick starts the album with Shreya and K.K behind the mic. Essentially a romantic number in a contemporary form with excellent vocals by Shreya and K.K and admirable lyrics by Kumaar, the song chronicles the age-old symptoms of love. The usually traditional Shreya sounds pleasantly modern while K.K is brilliant as always. The composition is endearingly intense with equal parts in loud dramatic music and soft romantic melodies. A remixed version of the song appears later on in the album which that would have been fine, if not for the irrational use English lyrics, but unfortunately a perfectly well composed remix goes to the dogs.
Clearly meant to be a show stopping number, Aya Re fails to rouse up the crowds like it was meant to do. K.K. has sung so many songs like these, that he can sing one with excellent precision in his sleep so one cannot point a blaming finger at him. ‘Nazrein Karam’, which was not meant to be a concert number had better music than this one. The composition is weak and mediocre, the music nothing like a crowd-pleasing number. Kumaar’s amiable lyrics desperately try to save the song but fail miserably.
Written and sung by newcomer Nouman Javaid who shockingly sounds like Mohit Chauhan, Dard-e-Tanhai is a hauntingly beautiful yet sad number. Javaid is impressive. His voice is intense, full of emotion and unfaltering. Musically the track is brilliant, especially the piano portion in the later part of the song. Noumad’s skills with a pen is as good as his vocals, the lyrics are pain struck yet beautiful. Arguably, the track may seem slow to some and this is where the well composed remix comes in. The remix enhances the song to the right extent without drowning the feel of the song.
Tere Bin is your typical post 90s Bollywood romantic number by the dependable Shaan and Shreya. Nilesh Mishra’s lyrics are strictly okay, in that they are not mediocre but not enlightening either. The music is beautiful and melodious but it sounds like all those romantic numbers one has heard before. Nonetheless, it is right up the romantics’ alley.
Another Nouman vehicle, Main Chala, is an extension of ‘Dard-e-Tanhai’, only slower and not as powerful. Nouman once again proves his skill as a singer and a lyricist. Musically, the track is well composed; the brilliant use of the acoustic guitars has to be commended, as do the violins in the later portion of the track. The track starts off on a low note but becomes intense as it nears its end. Nonetheless, as mentioned it is a mere extension of ‘Dard-e-Tanhai’ and has nothing new to offer. The unplugged version at the end of the track though title ‘Main Chala’, is actually an unplugged version of ‘Dard-e-Tanhai’ where the leading words have been substituted for “meri tanhai”. It is very short so not much can be gained from it. Nonetheless, it is beautiful.
The Sabri Brothers’ Aish Karle starts off well, and makes one believe that an awesome number awaits them, but it fails to do so. It’s meant to be a carefree, slightly rebellious youthful number and the lyrics reflect this brilliantly, but the main flaw of the song seems to be the music which is an unsavoury mixture of sounds. Also the Sabris seem to have intense vocals (recall the amazing ‘Maahi’ from Raaz 2 – The Mystery Continues) and their talents are just wasted on a rather mediocre number. On the brighter side, as far as show stopping numbers go in this album, ‘Aish Karle’ is slightly better than ‘Aya Re’.
On the whole, Jashnn is an honest effort but unlike its title, it is no cause for celebration. There are some good numbers such as ‘Dard-e-Tanhai’ and ‘Nazarein Karam’ that deserve the storage space on you iPod but apart from that it is rather ordinary.
