After Aashayein, which disappeared rather quickly, Nagesh Kukunoor is back with his latest offering Mod, starring Ayesha Takia (Wanted and Dor) and VJ turned actor Ranvijay Singh.
The music of Mod has been composed by Tapas Relia (Hanuman) while Mir Ali Husain has penned the lyrics. It features the vocal talents of Shreya Ghosal (Bahara – I Hate Luv Storys), Shankar Mahadevan (Desi Girls – Dostana), Vijay Prakash (Fikrana – Blue) and Shivam Pathak (Indian Idol 5).
Mod turns to audiences 14 October 2011.
The album commences begins with Tu Hi Tu, a romantic duet between Shreya and Shivam Pathak. It is a melodious, evenly paced contemporary number sung to perfection by young Shivam, whose vocals are a nice blend between Javed Ali and Mohit Chauhan. He sings with Shreya who is many years his senior but he shows no signs of this. Shreya has previously excelled in numbers such as these and Tu Hi Tu is no exception. Husain’s lyrics are simple, beautiful and effective as is Tapas’s music. The track’s unplugged version by Vijay Prakash is equally beautiful. Naturally, it is quite vocally potent but you do tend to miss Tapas light contemporary music from the original version at times. Regardless, both versions are very good.
Ai Meri Janniya is a beautiful waltz-esque number sung by Shivam, who vocalises Husain’s somewhat common lyrics in a beautiful and elegant manner. The number is excellently composed and kudos to Tapas for including the piano which is subtle yet elegant and definitely the USP of the song.
Chand Pal Ke Humsafar is by far the best track of the album and this is solely because Shankar Mahadevan sings it. Sure enough Shreya is there as well and compliments him in an effective and efficient manner, but Shankar is the definite show stealer. Shankar kicks ass in loud dance numbers but songs such as Der Lagi (Zindagi Milengi Dobara) and this really showcases how fortunate the Indian music industry is to have a talent like his. His emotionally powerful vocals do justice to Husain’s lyrics, which are rather novel in their subtleness. Usually melancholy numbers such as these have big powerful dramatic words but Husain, as with the preceding numbers, manages to convey the same emotions effortlessly with simple lyrics.
Aaj Main Jawan Gayee is the album’s only fast-paced song, and while it might not be so easy on the ears, it has potential to prove its merits within the film’s narrative as the track’s premise is rather situational. The track is sung by actor Raghuvir Yadav (Aaja Nachle), Hamsika Iyer (Chammak Challo), Hrishikesh Kamerkar, Ninad Kamad and Shreya Ghosal who all portray their various characterisations well. If picturised with the same character-driven enthusiam, the song will be a delight to watch on screen. The album ends with an entirely unneeded remix Aaj Main Jawan Gayee that doesn’t achieve anything that the original version did not.
In summary, Mod is a decent effort by Tapas Relia and Mir Ali Husain to create a simple yet beautiful album that is easy on the ears. Chand Pal Ke Humsafar is definitely Mod’s crowning glory but Ae Meri Janiya and Tu Hi Tu are close runnerups. Since it mainly features slow romantic numbers that may not be appealing to all but for those who prefer such numbers, you won’t be disappointed. Mod has to be applauded for effectively showcases the brilliant young talent of Shivam Pathak amongst the greats, Shankar Mahadevan and Shreya Ghosal. In short, Mod is a decent listen and does not deserve to be ignored.
