There was a period between the mid and late 90s when films revolving around the war theme were doing well at the box office. But since the time J.P. Dutta's LOC-Kargil bombed it has been only downhill for movies belonging to this genre. Hence it comes as a surprise to see a film like 1971 being made and now getting ready for release. Now one looks forward to the direction of Amrit Sagar to see how he has tacked the subject to give it a treatment which is exciting enough to make audience flock the theaters and appreciate the film. Akash Sagar is the composer for this film that has Manoj Bajpai, Ravi Kissen and Deepak Dobriyal in the lead.
Get on the folks and add on the whistles for the quintessential Punjabi number that has been titled 'Bhangra Pauna'. Written by Dev Kohli and rendered by Kailash Kher, what is noticeable about the song is that it is almost unplugged with hardly an 'orchestrated' instrument in the background. There is just the lead voice, some background cheers and natural sound created by objects that are available on-the-location which make 'Bhangra Pauna' a different hearing experience.
The remix version which comes later is much more conventional since it adds on the sound created by electronic instruments in the recording studio with some 'dhol' beats in tow. Overall an entertaining number that but naturally makes your feet tap along!
One of the best songs to have arrived this year, 'Sehlenge Hum' is an excellent number conveying the pain in a manner that would make your heart beat a little slower. Moving at a very slow pace with a guitar and later violin creating a mesmerizing effect, it is to the credit of Shibani Kashyap who does a great job once again behind the mike. A haunting piece of work by lyricist Zahir Anwar that should make for a great background piece if it appears at just the right emotional junctures of the film, one wishes that it was promoted much better since it truly deserves to be heard by those who believe in giving meaningful and in-depth numbers a hear!
The sound of harmonium makes one wonder about the genre of the song 'Saajana' which comes next. Even when Harshdeep Kaur renders the words 'Saajana Saajana' to begin the number, one is not too sure where the song is headed. It is only when the female chorus arrives does one get an idea that this is the song of homecoming where the females are waiting for their hubbies to come back from the war. A situational number by Dev Kohli, it is not the kind that you would be looking forward to playing on in your music system for hours at stretch.
An 'Arabian Sunrise' version of 'Saajana' comes later which is heavily spiced up with western arrangements and comes as a true 'Club Mix' version. Call it ironical but this is the one which sounds much better on audio and even reminds one of the sufi numbers that were heard in Vishal Shekhar composed 'Musfair' a few years back, most notably being 'Zindagi Mein Kabhi Koyi Aaye Na Rabba'!
