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Music Review: ‘Raaz 3’

After two successful films with ��Raaz�۪ (2002) and ��Raaz ��� The Mystery Continues�۪ (2009), the series now continues in 3D with ��Raaz 3�۪ due for release on 7th September. Vikram Bhatt has taken the directorial reigns back in his hand after delivering ��Raaz�۪ in 2002 and then handing over to Mohit Suri for the 2009 follow up. Mahesh Bhatt who has been the common factor to all the��three projects so far is leading as the Producer on this anticipated horror project with Mukesh Bhatt. Bipasha Basu is back in ��Raaz 3�۪ as well but as the negative lead this time opposite Emraan Hashmi. Esha Gupta – who made her debut with Hashmi in ‘Jannat 2’ (2012) – completes the love triangle with the difference.

The trailer looks good and every bit as��scary as one would expect a Bollywood 2012 movie to be. However,��there is��not even the smallest sample of the films music. Considering both previous ‘Raaz’ titles delivered super hit music, ��Raaz 3�۪ has similar expectations with mellow romantic hits. It is then disappointing to see newcomer Jeet Ganguly�۪s name along with Rashid Khan as music directors who have both put out flop soundtracks so far including the recent release ��Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi�۪ (2012). They thus have a lot of prove over the next 6 songs.

'Raaz 3'
'Raaz 3'

The fabulous voice behind Guzarish from ��Ghajini�۪ (2008) and Jashan-E-Bahaara from ��Jodhaa Akbar�۪ (2008) opens the soundtrack with a song called Deewana Kar Raha Hai. The song ticks all the expectation boxes for a beautiful, mellow, soulful and romantic number for ��Raaz 3�۪. Javed Ali�۪s vocals make you want to fall in love. The rendition is pure with depth, emotion and clarity. The lyrics and music by Rashid Khan are simple and effective making this a music listen and a song that will fill the radio play charts with many requests in those love hour shows. Simply beautiful!

Mahesh Bhatt�۪s every project has to have Pakistani singers and his love for the voice of Shafqat Amanat Ali is evident in Zindagi Se. His powerful and clear vocals have a vibrant feel pretty much of a rock singer with a classical touch to it. The character of the song truly suits his rendition making this a pleasant listen comparative to the earlier song. Lyrics by Sanjay Masoom, who made his debut as a lyricist with ��Jannat 2�۪,��are pretty much a poetic genius -��especially the later part of the song. Ganguly does a good job on the composition of this song doing it justice and giving it the perfect romantic feel.

Rafta Rafta is the voice of KK starts off sounding like an average song with a clich̩d 90s feel from previous Mahesh Bhatt films with modern instrumentation and good guitar work mixed with flutes. Lyrics by Masoom do pick up the song if you pay careful attention to them but the average overall composition and KK�۪s vocal performance make it increasingly difficult to take good notice of this song.

Oh My Love is a romantic ballad duet between two vocal giants ��� Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal -��that sounds like Nigam�۪s pop song Deewana in parts. Nigam�۪s vocals are spotless as ever and in his true style. Ghoshal does a great job keeping up with Nigam making this a beautiful romantic number for the modern age with the subtleties of great lyrics by Masoom that would make one fly in love. The words used to depict the emotions are mesmerising to make one go weak��at the knees. The music is repetitive and a let-down but keeps up with the theme of the song.

After Oh My Love, Shreya Ghoshal�۪s Kya Raaz Hai is a big disappointment as a below average song. The composition, instrumentation, lyrics and vocals are all purely average lacking creativity and talent. Ganguly delivers a below average title song mixing in Arabic flavours for no reason with Zubeen Garg brought in just for a couple lines. Kumaar delivers possibly his worst lyrical work.

Khayalon Mein starts off in style in Ghoshal�۪s voice once again giving her a chance to shine and redeem herself but the lyrics by Kumaar are still very average. More so the music by Ganguly is nothing short of terrible. By this point it is clearly evident that he has run out of gas and creativity altogether.

FINAL WORD

The overall soundtrack for ��Raaz 3�۪ is��a disappointment.��If compared with the previous two ��Raaz�۪ projects then the music of ��Raaz 3�۪ has pretty much lowered the brand standards drastically. Although good vocal performances at the start of the album, by the third song one can clearly hear the music flair disappearing. Lyrics by Sanjay Masoom and Rashid Khan�۪s surprise impressive work on Deewana Kar Raha Hai are the only highlights of the album. Jeet Ganguly really needs to up his game and come up with a hit-making formula quick before his dull compositions destroy his career. Zindagi Se and Deewana Kar Raha Hai are the clear recommendations for the UK audiences.

BizAsia Showbiz��Rating ��� 5.5/10