Dil Dosti Etc Music Review: Different Sounds of Youth

Dil Dosti Etc, which is a Prakash Jha production directed by debutant director Manish Tiwary, is an interesting album. The music of the album has been given by Siddharth-Suhas and the band called Agnee. There are new faces in the film as well and the musical tracks of the film carry this novelty through.

The album opens with Dum Laga composed by Siddharth-Suhas and sung by Suraj Jagan and Hamza and the composers. The number is a very typically college campus kind of song. It's been written more like a tale about college from a student's point of view. The number has been written by Ram Goutam, Prashant Pandey, Siddharth and Suhas, and seems to be quite situational. It has a wonderful carefree feel about it which is brought in by the strumming of the guitar in the beginning. Suraj's voice does the rest. The contents of the song are such that anyone who is in college or has been in college, will immediately take to it. It is part gossipy and is all about love and love affairs among other things. The lyrics are quite clever and capture a certain mood and time in the life of a youth. The rhythmic number expresses it quite well. The number has a remix version done by DJ Phat, which is quite like the original, except for a few additional dialogues woven into it. This is by far the best song in the album.

Agnee composes the next number called Lamha Ye Jayega Kahan, which is sung by K Mohan. He has a soft, melodious voice and manages to carry the song through with his soulful rendition. The number is not your normal filmy number. Lamha and Dum Laga are diametrically opposite numbers but complement each other very well. Lamha is stronger on melody while Dum Laga has a stronger rhythmic quality to it. But the numbers do complement each other as they can be seen as different phases of a journey. This is another number which lingers on in memory.

Sunidhi Chauhan makes her appearance in this album with Siddharth-Suhas' Sambhalo Dil Ko. Sunidhi's vocals are used to good effect by the composers in this song which is strong on rhythm and funk. Sunidhi's voice lifts the song and gives it a slightly out-of-the-ordinary touch.

The next number composed by Agnee is a surprise. You don't expect to find a classical number in a young, contemporary album like Dil Dosti Etc. This is an absolutely different genre and Agnee has got it right with their choice of singer. Aarti Ankalikar's deep, resonant, husky tones give More Baanke Chhaliya a truly authentic mujra feel. The singer last created the same magic in Shyam Benegal's Sardari Begum under the composer Vanraj Bhatia. A situational number, this has been flawlessly rendered by Ankalikar but will probably have very limited appeal.

Siddhart-Suhas's club-bhangra number Man Moniye, is the last in this album. The song begins on a high and continues in this vein throughout. What is refreshing about Man Moniye is that despite being a typical bhangra number, the young composers are able to inject a fresh effervescence quality to it. Siddharth-Suhas are able to take the conventional bhangra and tweak it ever so slightly to get a punchy Man Moniye. This number should have you wanting to hit the dance floor with a vengeance. This too has a remixed version, tweaked by DJ Phat again. The remixed version keeps the fun going.

The music of Dil Dosti Etc is catchy, young and should do decently well if promoted properly. It truly sounds fresh and youthful. This album has something going for everyone, beginning with Dum Laga and culminating in Man Moniye.