Title: Victoria No 203
Singers: Various
Available on: Saregama

Thriller ‘Victoria No 203’ has been remade and the music director is Viju Shah, son of Kalyanji of the ‘Kalyanji-Anandji’ fame who had directed the music in the original film. Shah has worked on the music of ‘Yun Hota To Kya Hota’ and ‘Shikhar’ recently, apart from earlier films like ‘Andaz Apna Apna’, ‘Mohra’ and ‘Gupt’.
‘Deedani’ by Shaan and Shreya Ghoshal is a romantic track well sung with a ‘sugam sangeet’ sound to it, but it falls flat thanks to heard-before lyrics. ‘Do Bechare’ from the original Victoria, now sung by Udit Narayan and Amit Kumar has a rap touch though not to its benefit. But Amit manages to make an impression.
The seductive ‘Thoda sa thero,’ originally sung by Lata Mangeshkar, is rendered by Ghoshal who deserves praise but the track is not up to the mark when compared to the original. There are two versions of ‘Victoria No 203’, one by Dominique and the other by Annika. The tracks seem more of background scores to ongoing action in the film. Zubin Garg delivers a Sufi-influenced ‘Zindagi aa gayi’ where his voice is wasted on a song with average music.On the whole, thumbs down for the music of ‘Victoria No 203’. The CD is priced at Rs 150, and the music cassette at Rs 60.

Title: Apna Asmaan
Singers: Various
Available on: Saregama

It’s rare to have Leslie Lewis direct music for films, which makes you listen to the sound in Apna Asmaan intently. There are 12 tracks in this album with lyrics by Mehboob. ‘Katra Katra’ by Sukhwinder Singh is a pleasing and inspirational number with electronic sounds, but an earthy feel to it. There is a fast version of this song too. ‘Jhanana’ has Chitra behind the mike doling out a peppy track. There are six versions of the title track, all instrumental- titled ‘Dawn’, ‘Day’, ‘Twilight’, ‘Night’, ‘Midnight’ and ‘Dawn again’. The tempo and the combination of the musical instruments differ for each depending upon the mood that comes along with that part of the day. ‘Dil ka tarana’ is a romantic duet by Sunidhi Chauhan and Shaan.

‘Chanda’ a melancholic track by Ghoshal shows her voice off. Shaan’s ‘Shehzada’ is an indi pop track where you’re expecting “Oho ka zhala” to appear any minute.

The music of ‘Apna Asmaan’ is fresh! The CD is priced at Rs 150, and the music cassette at Rs 60.
Priyanka Haldipur

Album: Saravamangal Ganesh
Artiste: Lata Mangeshkar
Available on:  Times Music
Sarvamangal Ganesh’ is Lata Mangeshkar’s ultimate tribute to Lord Ganesh. It is a collection of potent mantras such as ‘Ganeshay Namah’, ‘Siddhivinayak Naman’, ‘Ganesh Mahamantra’ and ‘Ganesh Gayatri’, ‘Kleshanashak Sri Ganesh Mantra’, ‘Siddhivinayak Santati-Prapti’ and ‘Aashirwad Mantra’, ‘Shri Lakshmi-Vinayak Mantral Mahaganapati Moolmantra’ among others. The music of ‘Sarvamangal Ganesh’ is composed by Mayuresh Pai, a disciple of Suresh Wadkar. He has earlier scored music for titles like ‘Vaibhav Laxmi’, ‘Mere Sai’ and ‘Amrut Varad Ganesh.’ Sarvamangal Ganesh is his fourth album with Lata Mangeshkar. Lata’s voice has the power to evoke devotion.

Album: Ganesh Vandana
Artiste: Various
Available on: Times Music
Ganesh Vandana’, is a compilation of ten most popular and traditional ‘Ganesh aartis kile Sukhakarta Dukhakarta’, ‘Jai Ganesh Deva’, ‘Shendur Lal Chadhayo’ and others. The album is upbeat and uptempo and features legendary singers. The album presents devotees of Lord Ganesh an opportunity to begin every occasion, every project, every work, every sojourn and everything of any importance by paying homage and seeking blessings of Lord Ganesh.