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Chords & Notes

ANTARMAHAL

Shemaroo, Rs.249 (Set of two CDs)

It's a beautiful, heart rending saga of old times of West Bengal when girls before reaching their teens were married to rich zamindars more than double their age. This AB Corp and Puja Films presentation by director Rituparno Ghosh narrates the tale of a small Bengali girl played by Soha Ali Khan who is married to a zamindar twice her age played by Jackie Shroff. She is forced into marital rape, feels attracted to a poor villager played by Abhishek Bachchan and vice versa, while the British rulers that never forget to make friends with these zamindars add to her plight. Many ideas and concerns are woven into this film. Loosely based on "Protima", by the 20th Century Bengali writer Tarashankar Bandhopadhyay, the film's cinematography by Abhik Mukherjee is a pleasure to view. A beautiful film and a must watch.

LAMAHE

T-Series, Rs.135

This latest CD offering, somewhat overpriced one thought, from T-Series, comes as a sore disappointment, considering the fact that it is Abhijeet's show all the way. He has sung all the songs and has even composed music for each one of them. Abhijeet, who has been around for quite some time, and who gave us such popular songs as "Chalte, Chalte", "Chand Taare", "Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaoon", etc., is blessed with a wonderful voice, which he manoeuvres well when it comes to singing at a high pitch. Yet he has not been able to work his magic in any of the songs, all of which are supposed to be romantic numbers.

The CD opens with the song "Main Rahoon", a forgettable song. The second one "Yaad Piya Ki Aaye" is a poor attempt at fusion. The song "Khwabon Mein Aana Jaana... " is somewhat passable. None of the other songs are really worth a mention. The music lacks zing and seems quite repetitive. Even after listening to the CD twice, it is difficult to recount even a single song. As the album ends with the song "Alvida", one almost heaves a sigh of relief. Indeed it is time to say Alvida!

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