In his 'Ballad Of The East And West', Rudyard Kipling wrote- 'Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till earth and sky stand presently at God's great judgment seat.' However, it did happen rather recently and the impossible was achieved, not once but twice, interestingly in the Hindi film industry, and by the same team! Yes, the culmination of intellectually satisfying cinema and mass entertainment was achieved two times in the iconic films – MUNNABHAI MBBS and LAGE RAHO MUNNABHAI. With two unifying factors; humanity and non violence (Ahimsa), Sanju's 'Jaadoo ki jhappi ' and 'Gandhigiri' bonded Indians, cutting across all divisive forces. And the same team, consisting of producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra, director Rajkumar Hirani, composer Shantanu Moitra and lyricist Swanand Kirkere , the team who gave us cult movies like MUNNABHAI MBBS (music by Anu Malik) and LAGE RAHO MUNNABHAI, and are back to bring us an all out entertainer, aimed mainly at the youth and in particular the campus crowd. And naturally when the lead actor is Mr. Perfectionist, Aamir Khan, things simply reach dizzying heights, as he is always associated with good quality films with chartbusting music. The music of both MUNNABHAI MBBS and LAGE RAHO MUNNABHAI became quite popular, although the super success of the films played an important part in making the compositions popular with the audience.
In case of MUNNABHAI MBBS, it was an 'in form' Anu Malik, whose compositions fitted beautifully into the narrative. However, the audio of LAGE RAHO MUNNABHAI by Shantanu Moitra did not get the same patronage and popularity as that of the first part. In fact there were a lot of 'inspirations' in two tracks 'Pal Pal' ('Theme For A Dream'- Cliff Richards) and 'Aane Chaar Aane' ('Chala Jaata Hoon' – SHABASH DADDY, 'Sare Ke Sare'- PARICHAY), and the best number, 'Bande Mein Tha Dum' was merely a tribute to the legendary patriotic song, 'Aao Bachchon'. So, without wasting any more time let us check out the music and see if the Moitra-Kirkere team can come up trumps in terms of the audio album this time around and give us beautiful original scores like in PARINEETA!
The album opens with 'Aal Izz Well', a song that has the capability of becoming a college anthem due to a lot of reasons – a) The first and most important one being it's totally 'bindaas', chilled out rhythm that rocks to the core. b) Secondly the most interesting part, the lyrics by the multi faceted Swanand Kirkere which just like the rhythm is something that the youth will simply freak out on as its full on humour and evokes laughter. Must add here that they are very apt and identifiable and at the same time they give that feeling of inspiration and hope without being preachy, a difficult task indeed, but achieved to perfection by Swanand , 'Confusion hi confusion hai, Solution kuch pata nahin, Solution jo mile toh saala question ka ab pata nahin.' c)
Next is the excellent rendition by Sonu Nigam, undoubtedly the best singer that Bollywood has to offer and giving him solid support is Shaan and the lyricist Swanand himself, as they put in all emotions to chart out a number that will sooner or later become the favourite of the youth and the children as well. d) Last but not the least, the light music arrangement in the background where the fusion of Hindustani and western music has been brilliantly achieved.
Thus we have an all out entertainer, which as we have predicted will surely become a campus anthem, such will be its popularity, especially since its picturized in a zany manner on Aamir Khan, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi.
The song also appears as a remix version 'Aal Izz Well Remix ' by Dj A-Myth/Darshan and it's a nicely done up track with a lot of variations in terms of background music and singing, more of English rap included.
Next up is the only romantic track of the album, 'Zoobi Doobi', and taking us through this groovy number are the singers best adept at rendering love ballads- Shreya Ghoshal and Sonu Nigam. A jazz style composition, more on the lines of the rocking fifties, and therefore the orchestra too has been set keeping in mind the retro style of the song, as can be heard by the use of lots of bead sounds, saxophone, trumpet and drums.
Even the singing by Sonu and Shreya, their voice modulations ring in that evergreen era where Shammi Kapoor's romantic songs ruled the roost. Shantanu showed us his hold over retro music with 'Kaisi Paheli Zindagani' (PARINEETA) and once again he has brilliantly handled the song. Swanand's lyrics add that charm that was required to make it into a classy love song. 'Jaisa filmon mein hota hai, Ho raha hai hoo bahoo' The only dampener – it has unmistakable traces from Aamir Khan's very own 'Mr. Lova Lova' (ISHQ) and Abhishek Bachchan's 'Bure Bure/ Bore Bore' (BLUFFMASTER).
'Zoobi Doobi Remix' is by Dj A-Myth/Darshan who does well to keep the track light and the fun element alive by just adding heightened rhythm and pace.
Now, for the performances. Santa Khan has done it again. Three Christmas hits in a row: TAARE ZAMEEN PAR, GHAJNI and now 3 IDIOTS. It's sad, that like Santa, Aamir comes only once a year. But like excited kids, Aamir has created an air of expectancy for his audience for his next visit. Ho Ho Ho… he is surely going to have Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra jingle all the way to the bank.
To knock off almost 20 years and pass off as a 24-year-old is a herculean task, one, which the diminutive Khan does with aplomb. Watch him to believe it. I mean, you do not see any persona of the Aamir of old in any angle, in any shot, in any dialogue delivery. A complete, brand new Aamir. You look for flaws but find none. Truly, a mark of a genius. The odd way in which he walks with his feet slightly apart is a delight.
Sharman Joshi is excellent too. Madhavan could have taken his role more seriously and tried to fit in as a college student. Kareena, though does not have much of a role makes an impact while Mona Singh who makes her big screen debut does not get enough scope to show her talent. The one who steals the show with Aamir is Omi, the over zealous student who mugs his way to the top. This character is simply hilarious. In fact, it's a serious focus on how most students actually are today.
Boman Irani as the college head for once is not loud and over-the-top. A clever make-up and twist of the tongue is what sets him apart from his other roles, which have become monotonous.
There are many scenes that will grip you and others that will have you laughing silly. Like the last scene and the scene at Teacher's Day when Rancho changes the script.
Go watch it… I'd say please watch it… The duo of Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani now has Santa Khan for company.
Ratings : 4/5
