 A successful stand up comedian. A TV host. A talent hunt show judge. A much in-demand Bollywood actor. And now a singer/performer. The kind of hats Shekhar Suman has been wearing, especially during last 5 years, has not been any mean achievement. With KUCH KHWAAB AISE he looks at coming behind the mike. In this endeavor of his, he gets support from lyricist Shyam Raj and composer Aadesh Shrivastava. Do they give him the kind of songs which would have him scale the heights in the music world to? Let's hear on the album to find it out.
The album begins on a high quality note as Shekhar Suman comes with a prologue in the form of 'Preface: Kuch Khwaab Aise'. He lets his heart out as he narrates (and not sings) his 'khwaab'. There is a certain Yash Chopra musical feel to the entire two minute piece as piano plays in the background while Shekhar does his monologue act. The track ends with an array of violins coming together which give a Bollywood feel to the entire scenario.
First song in the album makes an appearance in the form of 'Mere Gham Ke Daayre Mein'. While the composition is soothing and extremely easy on ears, what impresses most are Shyam Raj's lyrics as they are dipped in emotions of selfless love. Shekhar Suman is not a bad hear at all as he seems quite comfortable while signing this romantic track. He may not be the most controlled behind the mike while his voice too may have a rough edge at places, but what cannot be denied is the fact that he sounds original without aping anyone.
Lyrics are again the strength of 'Dil Ki Nazar Se' which boasts of strong poetry. Aadesh's music is soothing and doesn't get into an overdrive by means of arrangements. With just a few musical instruments taking the song forward, especially the guitar, it is left to Shekhar Suman to do all the singing. He is decent yet again though it takes a while to get adjusted to his voice.
50 seconds into 'Deewana Deewana' and you are in a mood to move to a new song right away. His voice just doesn't suit the genre of this song which requires the singer to be all passionate and intense. Shekhar Suman does try to fit in the bill but his voice is just not the kind which could do justice to a song like this that could have been better sung ay high pitch. Also, for the first time, even lyrics are hardly original and fail to hold your attention.
Next track 'Tujhe Dhoondhon Har Mehfil Mein' is the poorest of all to arrive as this time around even the composition and arrangements are low grade with just no redemption in any deep corner. In fact as one survives to hear the song after the first minute, it starts sounding like poorly orchestrated live performances that happen in the nook and corners of small cities during festive seasons. The song tries to be all fast paced and exciting but both Shekhar Suman and Aadesh do a shoddy job overall to make a complete mish-mash of affairs.
By the time 'Rubaroo' comes, you know that 'Mere Gham Ke Daayre Mein' and 'Dil Ki Nazar Mein' were a mere flash in the pan. An attempted item number which has now also found its way as a music video, it tries to be all hep and cool though with hardly any positive results. Also, it is hardly funny to see Shekhar Suman trying to be oh-so-youthful while acting in the video. One could have ignored the video if the song had anything to hum around but then a poor composition hardly helped by Shekhar Suman's average singing doesn't help the cause.
Shekhar Suman makes an attempt to change genres and even gains courage to croon a 'qawalli'. Thankfully the results this time around are not as banal as they were in the last few tracks due to which the song is tolerable at the least. The track does veer towar
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