The team of Shankar-Ehsan-Loy is one of the most talented music composers in the Hindi Film Industry. Not only do they come up with breathtaking melodies, their music arrangements and production values are always high class. After sweeping all the popular awards for ‘Kajra Re’ last year, S-E-L had an uncharacteristically low 2006. In spite of having three hit films ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’, ‘Don’ and ‘Salaam-e-ishq’ this is a year when they repeated themselves constantly.

I call it the ‘Kajra Re’ effect. For this number from ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ was so popular that S-E-L was expected to repeat its success. And then Himesh Reshammiya was churning out one hit after another during most part of the year adding even more pressure for being prolific. The preface of ‘Tainu Leke’ in ‘Salaam’-e-ishq’ has the same feel as the talkie portion in the beginning of ‘Kajra Re’. The title track of ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’ has a stark resemblance with ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ (specially the piano sections). ‘Mera Dil’ (Salaam-e-ishq) finds similarities with ‘Mitwa’ (KANK), ‘It’s the time to disco’ (Kal Ho Na Ho) is rehashed as ‘Where’s the party tonight’ (KANK) and there’s a bit of ‘Mahi Ve’ (Kal Ho Na Ho) in ‘Saiyaan Re’ (Salaam-e-ishq).

The only album that Shankar-Ehsan-Loy can be really proud of this year is ‘Don’. For they’ve reinvented their sound with this album. ‘Main Hoon Don’, ‘Mourya Re’ and ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ are splendid numbers with exceptional production values, cutting edge music arrangements and superb melodies. But the two remixes ‘Ye Mera Dil’ and ‘Khaike Paan Banaraswala’ let them down as they are several notches below the originals. Moreover, a couple of fantastic instrumental numbers from the album ‘Don Revisited’ and ‘Don The theme’ have been credited to unknown DJs who’ve done a fantastic job. So, on the whole, it’s not really a completely S-E-L album.

‘Dil Kya Kare’ and ‘Ya Rabba’ (Salaam-e-ishq) are two beauties that they can be really proud of but alas none of their albums this year has been exceptional as a whole something on the lines of ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ or ‘Bunty Aur Babli’. One expects Shankar-Ehsan-Loy will be back with a bang in 2007. For one expects nothing but the best from them. And hopefully the pressures from producers to repeat their earlier success wouldn’t bog them down.