For my maiden voyage as a blogger, I decided to review someone else's maiden voyage as a director. And what better debuatante director is there besides Mr. Ajay Devgan? Yes, you heard me right. Ajay Devgan, possibly the most down-to-earth, laidback Bollywood actor/husband out there, is making his directorial debut with the watery U Me aur Hum. Not only does he direct and star, he cast his most gorgeous and talented wife, Kajol. These two have an electric chemistry both onscreen and offscreen. I think they're the cutest and awesomest Bollywood couple out there (besides Mr. and Mrs. Rai Bachchan, of course). Wait! It gets better. The music is by the eclectic Vishal Bharadwaj, whose Omkara was both a cinematic and musical masterpiece. Ajay Devgan has shown, by not picking typical composers like Reshammiya or Pritam, that this movie will be something not so typical. Munna Dhiman does the lyrics, another good choice. Sure, I don't know who he is but that's good: it shows that Ajay Devgan did some research and found the right lyricist. I'll just say it now: this soundtrack is a masterpiece. The opening track of this CD is the brilliant Jee Le. With a Spanish influence, this track is a thrilling listen. It builds momentum from the get-go and never stops. Okay, fine, the Spanish lyrics are lame and have horrible grammar but it's fine. Adnan Sami provides awesome vocals. He delivers a very strong performance. And he is to Ajay what Abhijeet is to the King Khan. And then there's Shreya Ghoshal, who just overwhelms you with her full-throated rendition. This girl is so versatile, I just don't know what to do with myself. The lyrics are conversational and very catchy. This song is a great opener to a great soundtrack. 10/10.
After such a exciting dance number, comes a very sweet love song: the title song. A solo by Shreya Ghoshal, the song is slow and calm. The lyrics are simple and romantic. The English lyrics should seem tacky but they don't. I don't really know why. They fit. Maybe it's the cruise setting. Shreya Ghoshal totally changes everything you've thought about her with her life-changing rendition. Vishal keeps the instrumentation at a minimum with the focus being on Shreya and Dhiman's lyric. I must mention the way Shreya sings the title line. Fantastic. 10/10.
This brings me to the third track. This one is also a solo but not by Shreya but by Sunidhi Chauhan. It's called Saiyaan. The lyrics are too, too good. "Maine toh maanga tha... saheli jaise saiyaan" goes the first line. The girl is describing her saiyaan but in such a unique way. The lyrics again are very conversational. The rhymes are simple but not simplistic. Vishal's music is so different. It goes from electric guitar to tabla in such awesome transitions. Also, there is Sunidhi's showstopping rendition. She is just so at ease and unassuming. This song is my favorite from the album. 10/10.
The fourth song also gets full marks for lyrics. Though sometimes the words are hard to comprehend, what you can understand is good, really good. Phatte is a chedh-chadh song between husband and wife, listing each other's faults and habits. Sunidhi and Adnan have a good vocal chemistry and they are both experts at this kind of song. After three strikingly original compositions, however, Vishal's music here is a downer. I mean, it's not bad but just not as good as Jee Le, U Me aur Hum or Saiyaan. I think what will pull the song up is its video. Kajol and Ajay will set the theater on fire with their awesomness. 8/10.
This movie is about a cruise ship. So it needs a song for the hero to sing while intoxicated. Dil Dhadka Hai is that song. Adnan, Shreya and Sunidhi sing this very loopy song. The music has a strong and complex instrumentation with simple lyrics. Again, the words are conversational and realistic. I know I say this a lot but there's just something about UMAH's music that makes it very relatable. The three singers are awesome in their vocals. Sunidhi provides only support to Shreya and Adnan who are the real stars. 9/10.
The title song is reprised. Unlike other "Part 2" compositions, this one is not a sad version but just an even mellower male version, sung by Mr. Bharadwaj himself. I find his voice very soothing and beautiful. His rendition of O Saathi Re from Omkara was spell-binding and this is no different. The music is simple which is not surprising. Many composer-singers (the good ones--not Himesh) want the focal point to be their voice and not their music. The lyrics are just a continuation of Shreya's version. It's hard to say which is better: they are literally equally good. A perfect ending to a perfect album. 10/10.
Ajay Devgan's directorial debut will be awesome. I just know it. A stellar album, a stellar cast, a rather original setting and a rather original plot can only add up to be one thing: a stellar and original film. Much praise to Ajay Devgan for avoiding the cliches and giving us a fresh debut.
U Me aur Hum rates a 57/60.
