Film: No Smoking
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Producer: Kumar Mangat and Vishal Bharadwaj
Music Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
Lyrics: Gulzar
Rating: 3.5/5
The promos of No Smoking may hint that it maybe one of those off beat films low on music. However, it scores high in the latter department bundled with beautiful compositions, one-of-a-kind music and matchless vocals. Though we’ve heard these crooners’ peculiar style, this album presents them in a new packaged avatar! It bears the class which was amiss from the Hindi film music scene for quite some while.
Unquestionably, one will fall in love with ‘Jab bhi cigarette’ for its splendid blend of spell binding music and Adnan Sami’s unbeatable vocalization. It’s descriptive, exuding the sensation of dying thanks to smoking. Gulzar saab’s lyrics will surely incite one to give up the cancer stick in no time. It’s got the punch with brooding words like ‘jab bhi cigarette jal thi hain, main jalta hoon.’. Vishal’s music is swank and swish. It sounds like the background score of a mid-seventies English detective flick!
The most anticipated item number of the film, featuring Bipasha Basu, Phoonk De has a good Indo-west blend with a Punju tadka, but with a difference. Rekha Bhardwaj’s sultry voice breaks the contemporariness of the music and gives it an emotional touch. The hitch – lack of clarity in bits and pieces. That apart, it’s another brilliant composition with lyrics adhering to the theme.
Two tracks down; and they do total justice to the theme. Kash Laga is rendered by three maharthis of the music industry. Sukhwinder Singh, Daler Mehendi and Vishal Bharadwaj come together for Vishal’s third composition. This one’s got the spark of Indian-ness, both in music as well as lyrics. You hear it once and you are lured to rewind and play again and again. This one’s an addiction, just like smoking!
The name may sound funny, but the song is just the opposite. ‘Ash Tray’ is a serious one and sends across a message. The music piece will actually make one feel grim , as if someone’s dying. Deva Sengupta’s grave voice certainly adds to this situational track. The chorus has an overpowering effect which makes this song a winner.
Another version of Phoonk De by Sukhwinder Singh has its own charm. And ditto for Sunidhi’s version of Jab Bhi Cigarette, the trance mix.
