After the enormous success of GHAJINI, Bollywood is reigning high and supreme with South Indian remakes. Boney Kapoor's WANTED joins this league by being an inspirational though official lift of Telugu super-hit POKIRI (2006) with macho-man Salman Khan leading the show. The box-office success of TERE NAAM (again a remake of Tamil hit SETHU) has made Salman the hot-favorite lucky mascot (with similar on-screen name ''Radhe'') for this ''remake'', with ace choreographer Prabhu Deva wielding the microphone for the first time in Hindi cinema. As predicted, Sajid-Wajid are the ''men of the show'' with the soundtracks that reflects the persona of the male lead and ushering out oodles of ''dhin-chak'' disco-beat ''masti'' for this spunky album. The duo have made themselves the hot-commodity for Salman flicks with chartbusting music (MUJHSE SHADI KAROGI , PARTNER ) but lately they are lacking the ire of making it big with average albums (HELLO, GOD TUSSI GREAT HO). WANTED can be termed as ''acid-test'' for them and big stakes are there for their supremacy in Salman's flicks. Can they deliver the needful with elan? Just get into the groove of it and find out the musical secrets of this ''most wanted'' album..
''Love Me Love Me'', the first bombastic blow of the album comes in typical Calypso-cum-reggae musical works in the voices of Wajid and Amrita Kak. Wajid impersonates Salman's style of snobbish diction, where there is immense wooing of girl in Jalees Sherwani's cheery ''filmi'' wordings. Sajid-Wajid's composition is heavily loaded with repetitive rigorous drumming that sets rhythmical beat patterns for the song with impressive electronic flute in its prelude. Amrita Kak's demure rendition has innocence but it's all-together a ''dhin-chak'' type of dancing track that rules from its first beat in this musical love track.
''Love Me Love Me (Mama Papa Remix)'' has that adrenaline rush that energizes the tempo to extreme in its accelerating ''n'' exciting guitar strumming, booming drumming in rush of DJ spins and scratches. This remix has got that firestorm of emotions with impressive Latino emceeing and together they pile up a hot-stopper for the dancing floors. Go for it!
Remember Kamaal Khan? The first voice chosen as Salman's on-screen vocal impersonation that got thunderous applause in ''O O Jaane Jaana'' (PYAR KIYA TO DARNA KYA -1998) makes a cool rejoinder of affairs in belligerently peppy duet ''Ishq Vishq''. Once again, it's the punch-line (''O-Oh-O-Oh…'') that gets major spotlight throughout the track along with synchronized flows of conventional percussions, synchronized piano chorals and electronically prolific rhythms. Sunidhi Chauhan's sultry paced voice along with sensuous back-up vocals of Suzanne D'Mello adds up as seductive associate with Sameer's routine wordings playing to the catchiness of the composition.
Nothing can stop this catchy number to be hip-shaking as mood goes out for full blast in ''Ishq Vishq (remix)''. This comes out in ''beach-party'' disco-binge style of works where tempo is accelerated in giving it outrageously flashy outlook. Catchy!!!
Sajid-Wajid's romantic composure has always been affluent on instrumentals and rhythmical flows and they carry their gentility of expressions in album's most melodious track ''Dil Leke''. The song comes out as the finest by the conglomerate of Shaan and Shreya Ghoshal in the last few heard albums as their soothing voice permeates substantially within textures of supple arrangements. Arun Bhairav's predictable wordings may not have heart-piercing feel but the subtleness of flute notes and prolific ''sitar'' displays adds to the serene quotient of this lovable track.
It's ''remix'' is breed apart from the original composition where the tranquil decorum is occupied with loud disco beat fillers adding up to the dancing fervor on floors with predictable bedlam of DJ spins and thrills. Lovable!!!
There are songs, which bamboozle you just like the bullets and it is only in the last 10 minutes that there is some semblance of sense. One performance that will ease the pain is that of Prakash Raj who plays the international Don Gani Bhai. This guy is superb. Manjrekar, too, as the bad cop, steals the show.
As for the story, you are still trying to figure that one out even after the movie is over.
Wanted: A tighter script. Wanted: Better editing. Wanted: A smooth flow of scenes. What you get instead is a 'leave-your-brains-behind' fare replete with frenzied plots, typical of Bollywood films of an era gone by, which cared two hoots about script or screenplay.
But Salman Khan fans need not fear, WANTED is all about the Khan. Here he is on a killing spree. One after the other, bad guys get bumped off, either to a bullet or to his fist. Last week BAABARR, did the killing, this week it is Radhe (Salman Khan) who works for moneybhai (meaning, he kills for money). And he kills with passionate glee!
There's also Gani bhai, Golden and Datta Pawle who do the killing. They are hardcore underworld characters who feed the cops and bleed the city. A bad cop is thrown in for good measure in the form of Inspector Talpade (Mahesh Manjrekar). Talpade decides which girl he wants to size up and does so in public! Of course there is also Ayesha Takia. Poor girl, she doesn't know if she is coming or going. I mean there are no links to her scenes and no meaning to her dialogues either. From a call centre where she works, she is either going to meet Radhe or to her aerobic classes. She has a kid brother who takes the 8pm local (empty). It is not clear whether he is going home or coming home!
There are songs, which bamboozle you just like the bullets and it is only in the last 10 minutes that there is some semblance of sense. One performance that will ease the pain is that of Prakash Raj who plays the international Don Gani Bhai. This guy is superb. Manjrekar, too, as the bad cop, steals the show.
As for the story, you are still trying to figure that one out even after the movie is over.
