Is there a sign of NO ENTRY already in front of music of WELCOME?

If industry insiders are to be believed, there is trouble brewing around owning the rights of superstar Akshay Kumar's next big release WELCOME. No, it' not the case of numerous music companies making a beeline to acquire the rights of this Firoz Nadiadwala production. In fact it's just the other way round with rights changing hands. Reason being the speculation in the trade that the music of WELCOME isn't quite the kind that promises to set the charts afire.

Details the source, "As a film WELCOME is quite safe due to master of promotion Firoz Nadiadwala, director of NO ENTRY Anees Bazmee and to top it all Akshay Kumar being at the helm. It is a fifth row in a hit waiting to happen for Akshay. The same cannot be said about the music though which is unfortunately quite 'thanda' in appeal."

What could be the reason behind this? After much persuasion the source divulges, albeit with some hesitation, "Immediately after NO ENTRY, Anees got started with WELCOME. This was around two years back. It was during the same time that the work on music began. Audience taste is very unpredictable and it keeps changing every 6 months. So imagine how acceptable would the music be which was composed such a long time back?"

"Also, it is common news that all was not well around getting the overall soundtrack in place", the source adds, "While Himesh Reshammiya created a couple of tunes, soon Anand Raaj Anand was roped in to finish the soundtrack. He created three more tunes. Now obviously these two people come with different styles, so the overall treatment and continuity is bound to be impacted."

Such are the kind of vibes around the music of the film that the rights have already changed hands. "That's true", confirms the source, "Earlier the music rights were with T-Series. Later, even the music company realized that Akshay's WELCOME may not quite do turn out to be another BHOOL BHULAIYAA, so it pulled off the deal. Last I heard, TIMES MUSIC came into picture to acquire the album's rights."

If the music indeed sounds outdated in WELCOME, it would be for the second time that Anees Bazmee would face such a situation. Earlier his NO ENTRY too took some time to hit the marquee due to which Anu Malik compositions weren't quite accepted with open arms. Later when the film proved to be a blockbuster at the box office, the music too became a success with it's title song being played across music channels till date.

One waits to see if WELCOME sees at least a similar fate at the music stands, if not better, with news like this making rounds.

Starring Akshay Kumar in the lead along with Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Firoz Khan, Katrina Kaif and Mallika Sherawat, WELCOME is in the making for close to two years now and is finally expected to release in December this year.

In 2007, WELCOME would be Akshay's fourth film to release after NAMASTE LONDON, HEYY BABYY and BHOOL BHULAIYAA. Incidentally, each of the three films has turned out to be big success at the box office.