Elaan

Producer : Ratan Jain and Ganesh Jain
Director : Vikram Bhatt
Starring : Arjun Rampal, John Abraham, Rahul Khanna, Amisha Patel, Lara Dutta, Mithun Chakraborty
Music : Anu Malik
Lyrics : Sameer

In years past, Venus has teamed with Anu Malik to create some great music in films like Baazigar, Akele Hum Akele Tum, Josh, and even Daraar. Now the two join hands in an action film entitled Elaan, a film directed by Vikram Bhatt that stars some of today’s hottest stars. Before listening to the music of this film, I was skeptical for many reasons – one being that Anu Malik recently has been a hit-or-miss composer and most of his latest offerings have been on the sub-par side, i.e. Bride and Prejudice, Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo, Chehraa, and Fida. Secondly, the film is supposed to be an action film and seemingly, music in the film would either be completely unnecessary or purely situational. These reasons aside, I kept an open mind and did my best to give the film a fair listen.

The album starts off with ‘Bechain Mera Dil Hai’, a romantic number apparently picturized on Rahul Khanna. Sung by the ever-dependable duo of Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik, the duet is decent. The tune is catchy, but is occasionally ruined by the chorus that croons English lyrics that are completely unnecessary. Udit Narayan sounds great, but not unlike anything we’ve heard from him before. Alka Yagnik, who is among one of my favorite singers despite her overuse, sounds a bit screechy in parts of the song as if she’s singing out of her range. Sameer’s lyrics are average, which only aid in making this song quite forgettable after a couple of listens.
The second song, ‘Dil Mein Hulchul’, is sung by K.K. and Sunidhi Chauhan and is filmed on Lara Dutta and John Abraham. The song starts off with K.K.’s vocals which ironically sound a bit like Sukhwinder Singh. Nonetheless, he sounds great and is perfect for the genre of this song. Sunidhi Chauhan does her best to provide some ‘oomph’ to the vocals and succeeds in making her voice sound seductive. Of the five tracks on this album, this duet was probably the best.
‘Anderlu Manderlu’ – no, I’m not drunk, But, maybe Sameer was a little out of his head when he wrote the lyrics to this horrible song. Not only are the lyrics completely incomprehensible, but the vocals are ruined with Anu Malik who apparently feels his voices is worthy of being showcased occasionally. The song is purely situational and does nothing to add appeal to the album overall. It also features Sonu Nigam, Sunidhi Chauhan, and Shreya Ghosal, all of whom are wasted. And as if one version of this song wasn’t enough, an even more cringe-worthy version is available as a remix.
The fourth track apparently serves as the title track. Called ‘Meri Zindagi Mein’, it is sung by Gayatri Iyer who provides enough vocal acrobatics to make even Christina Aguilera wince. Her voice is a bit on the husky side, but nonetheless appropriate for the feel of the song. As a plus point, the music of the song is quite catchy even if it is hauntingly similar to a James Bond theme.

Finally, the album ends with ‘Dua Karna’, a so-called item number picturized on one of the leading ladies, Lara Dutta. None other than Sunidhi Chauhan provides the vocals. Her voice and the fast-paced music make this song worth listening to once or twice. It is one of the better tracks on the album, but given what it has to compete with, that is not saying much.

Elaan is one of those films whose music is probably not going to be one of the selling points of the film. It serves its purpose of providing filler romantic numbers and an occasional item number, but beyond that does very little to offer anything ground-breaking. Unfortunately for Malik, this album is not another feather in his cap and only adds to the recent list of duds to which he has attached his name. For lovers of great music, if this album is missing from your collection, then you are probably better off without it.