Film: Traffic Signal

Music director: Shamir Tandon

Rating: 2.5/5

The music of Traffic Signal is nothing phenomenal; it’s a run of the mill soundtrack.

What is rather clever about the album, however, is the way existing songs by Jagjit Singh, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Chitra and Kailash Kher have been added to complete the soundtrack. The old songs are smartly placed amidst the new tracks to provide the album with a sense of balance. Don’t worry about not being able to get yourself a copy of the music; chances are it’s going to be on the shelves for a long time.

Hypnosis:

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan will always be remembered as a music maestro whose tunes will live on forever. It is certainly smart; adding timeless music in this rather tasteless set of tunes. ‘Tere bin nahin lagda’ is the twelfth track in the album, and worth the wait.

The other reason to buy this album besides Khan’s song is to hear Chitra and Ustad Sultan Khan sing ‘Piya basanti’, a song that oozes timeless romance.

In Tune:

‘Na jis din teri meri baat’ has been recorded in two different versions, both of which are great tracks, but the track sung by Bhupinder singh is far more appealing than the one sung by Kunaj Ganjawala and Yogita Pathak. It is a romantic song, ideal for times when you are lovesick or haven’t seen the love of your life for a while.

‘Aai ga’ sung by vaishali is the lavani song that everyone seems to be waiting for. The song is rather well composed and mixed. It is a song that you would enjoy dancing to at a wedding (if they do play it). The ‘lackhak’ in Vaishali Samant’s voice is enjoyable. The remix of the same song is irritating, however, and sounds as if the DJ caught up with his sleep while remixing it. It has monotonous beats and somehow just doesn’t have any appeal.

‘Dilruba’ and ‘Albela Saajan’ from Kailasa; Kailash Kher’s album feature as the sixth and eleventh song respectively in the CD. Both are tracks that have been heard and appreciated already. So, the lesser said, the better. The songs are bound to do well commercially if promoted well and and could well become the anthem for the entire movie.

‘Haath Chute bhi toh Rishtey nahi chuta karte’ – this ghazal by Jagjit Singh from his album, Marasim is also present in this soundtrack. The awesome combination of Gulzar’s lyrics and the depth of Jagjit Singh’s voice in this song makes it worth listening to, over and over. Just right to put on, on a rainy day on the porch, with a cup of tea in your hand.

The other Jagjit Singh ghazal, ‘Din kuch aise guzarta hai koi’ is just about fine. The lyrics however, are magical and speak of Gulzar’s talent, yet again. Play this song after ‘Haath chute’ and you’ve got yourself crying on that porch, still sipping your tea.

Out of tune:

The spirit of Traffic Signal is the first track of the album and I am not sure I would want to watch the movie if that is indeed the spirit of the movie.

This track is noisy, loud and painful. If you’ve bought the soundtrack, you’d want to start listening to it from track two.

‘Yehi zindagi hai to kya zindagi hai’, is a soothing number sung by Hariharan and Sangeeta Haldipur. The song gets a tad bit annoying with the repetition of ‘Yehi zindagi hai to…’ over and over, to which Hariharan adds a ‘yo’ touch, by unnecessarily modulating his voice. You could even like the song after listening to it, but you do wish that Hariharan would woo us with that almost hypnotic voice and forsake the experimentations.

‘Signal Pe’ is a peppy track for sure, but is not music. Filled with dialogues, the song covers the various things that happen at a signal. You are better off going down to the signal and checking it out for yourself. This “song” is humorous and if taken well by the youth, can become a hit of sorts.

With a clutch of golden oldies that you probably already own and a bunch of meaningless ones you probably wouldn’t want to own, the music of Traffic Signal is strictly so-so.