Hijack

HIJACK is an action thriller with lots of drama and so it certainly provides ample scope to its new music directors Justin-Uday and the lyricist Kumaar to enchant us music lovers with some racy, thrilling music. The musical success of most Abbas Mustan and Sanjay Gupta films (irrespective of box-office success) is a testimony to the above stated fact. The EROS Entertainment presentation HIJACK has Shiney Ahuja playing the main lead and one must add here that the actor has been associated with some chartbusters and quality music in the past. Be, it HAZARON KHWAISHEN AISI, GANGSTER, WOH LAMHE or BHOOL BHULAIYYA, songs featuring Shiney have clicked in a big way. So, let us see if the trend continues and also checkout what the new team has in store for us.

Single string guitar strums and Abhijeet style singing by Kay Kay (in the beginning) commences 'Aksar', which features as many as four times in the album. The start gives the impression of a mushy love ballad but it later changes gears and converts into a breezy romantic track. And needless to add that it is in the same corridor (not copied though) as Shiney's hit track 'Kya Mujhe Pyar Hai' from WOH LAMHE. The new composers certainly know their music and it shows through the superb orgasmic guitar strumming which can be likened to the legendary Dire Straits. It relies heavily on guitar and when it hits the high string shriller notes, it is a treat.

The 'unplugged' version is another delightful acoustic outing with the arrangements being light and more reverberating. Shaan is exemplary in a track which is once again guitar dominated (in the background) along with some plates and bead sounds.

Racy rhythm, lots of guitar strumming in the background and membranic thumps (via electronic percussions) add zest to the 'remixed' version which is suitable for clubs and discos.

Shaan gives his own distinctive touches to the 'sad' version aided by some slow drawl violin. The following guitar piece (which is simply superlative) and Shaan's 'full of feelings singing' with subtle nuances and voice modulation takes the song to a new high. His distinctive trademark croonings standout and the best part of the 'sad' version is that the racy and breezy original has been slowed just appropriately to make it a delightful hearing experience.

Next up is 'Dekh Dekh', a deadly and rhythmic dance track which has the queen of item number Sunidhi Chauhan holding center stage along with Suraj Jagan and Joi. The song will definitely be patronized by the GenX if promoted well. Sunidhi is in full form in a song that brings the thrill aspects of the movie to the fore. The song in part reminds us of (may be unintentionally) Mithun Chakraborthy's 'Yeh Raat Mein Jo Nasha Hai' (KASAM PAIDA KARNEWAALE KI) and also incorporates Pritam's style! The heavy use of western music addendums like drums, plates, synthesizers lend the desired thriller touch and makes the listener (as the lyrics say) 'Move your body'. The only minus point is that the tune is a much heard before one and so are the lyrics.
The 'club' version is not much different from the original expect for the same old quickened pace, dispersed vocals and sounds.

After some thrills and frills its prayer time through 'Koi Na Jaane' which is another superb offering by the new finds Justin-Uday. Shilpa Rao commences the number with a unique blend of Arabic style opera singing (if we may say!) and shows why she is such a class act and at the same time effortless. Wish the composers had made her sing more than just the opening lines. After that Kay Kay takes over and his singing is mesmerizing. The lyrics are situational, as the protagonist's plea for divine intervention in times of stress and fear has been penned in a very professional manner. The composition is on the same lines as 'Teri Hai Zameen' from THE BURNING TRAIN.

Sound of an aircraft taking off and the mandatory police warning 'anything you say can be held against you', kick starts the 'Hijack Theme'. If the expectations were for an instrumental one is in for a surprise as the 'Hijack Theme' is more of a theme song which is totally hard rock based. So naturally lots of western musical instruments (electronic plates, calypso drums, guitars and its variants like base and crunch) have been used to give a thrilling, pulsating touch to a track which will most likely be used in the background during heavy duty action sequences. The lead singers Suraj Jagan and Uday do a good job. The English portions of the singing which form a part of the 'mukhda' is heavily inspired from Jim Morrison's 'Let It Roll Baby Roll' style with base, slurred vocals.

On the whole, new composers Justin-Uday may not have chartered a path-breaking course with HIJACK, but have definitely managed to bring a whiff of fresh fragrance via their new arrangements and compositions. Yes, they have taken some inspirations but 'Aksar' and its versions; along with 'Dekh Dekh' and 'Hijack Theme' have the potential of getting popular, if publicized properly.