Music Review: Ishq Forever

Album:Ishq Forever
Composer: Nadeem Saifee
Music: Zee Music
Rating: 2.5
Nadeem Saifi and Sharavan Kumar were a hit pair way back in the 90s. Whenever you think of them, you think of the unforgettable songs from films like ���������Raja Hindustani���������. Nadeem returns after a long hiatus, this time alone, and his music doesn���������t have half the same magic as before.It���������s not bad music but it���������s far too dated to strike a chord. The title track, sung by Jubin Nautiyal and Palak Muchchal, is passable. Though the feel of the music is very 90s, the composition is weak and doesn���������t try anything new. The only plus here is that the composer���������s focus is on the tune, vocals and lyrics. There is no unnecessary use of techno beats to make it sound hip. ���������Expectation,��������� sung by Neeti Mohan, is underwhelming from the word go. Her upbeat rendering is the only saving grace but the song tries its hand at too many things and dismally fails. The rap bit in the song doesn���������t help either. Next, we hear Nakash Aziz croon ���������Happy Birthday���������. Nadeem fails to give us a solid birthday anthem. Though ���������Kill Dil������������������s ���������Happy Budday��������� and ���������ABCD 2������������������s ���������Happy B���������day��������� tried their best, it���������s better to stick to ���������Baar Baar Din Ye Aaye���������. The only time we see the brilliance of the composer, is in the song ���������Ishq Ki Baarish���������. Shreya Ghoshal and Javed Ali give it their best. Shreya���������s singing has the skill of Alka Yagnik���������s voice and since Nadeem-Shravan have used Alka in most their songs, the comparison is inevitable. Palak collaborates with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for ���������Bilkul Socha Na,��������� which is salvaged by Rahat���������s powerful singing. This song is bound to get you nostalgic. Nakash���������s energy from his famous song ���������Saree Ke Fall Sa��������� is completely missing. It is a mediocre composition that the singer fails to rise above. But the best track from the album has to be the heart wrenching ���������Mere Ankhon Se Nikle Ansoo���������. Rahat and Shreya create magic in this number, which is straight from the heart. The party number ���������Oh My God��������� is cool and Siddharth Mahadevan, along with Sarosh Nanavaty, pulls it off without any drunk or obscene references. Overall, it is a neat album but misses the spunk that Nadeem-Shravan���������s brand of music is known for.