I'm Back To Save the Day

I apologize for the long absence, but something has brought me out of hiding. Something so insidious that it needs to be addressed immediately. Before I get to it, however, quick summary of events since we spoke last: Bohemia's album sucked, 8x10 Tasveer failed at the box office, DJ Desiplaya is a pretty awesome DJ, and the Bollywood strike is pissing everyone off.

Now, to the important stuff. Buzz18.com published an article yesterday entitled "Akshay Needs to Start Worrying!" It harped on his recent box office flops and asserted that he was "arrogant" and made people in the industry "cringe."

Let's start with the first point - the flops. CC2C and 8x10 flopped, no arguments there. They were not necessarily bad box office performances, just not as good as he usually does. However, to use this and say it is the "beginning of the end" of his career is absolute rubbish. Even the great Amitabh Bachchan has had flops, yet he has the status he does. The industry has ups and downs for everyone, that's the way it works. You can't name one actor that hasn't had at least a few failures at the box office. His upcoming films, such as Blue, Kambakkht Ishq, and De Dhana Dhan will almost certainly get him back on the winning streak.

The claim they made of Akshay being so arrogant that he make's people cringe is baseless. Any interview of people that have worked with Akshay, including directors, producers, and co-stars, have nothing but pleasant things to say about him. They all feel that he is professional and a pleasure to have on set. Check out Stardust. Check out Filmfare.

Buzz18.com is ignorance at its best.

Tracks to End March with a Bang

As March comes to a close, I thought I'd let everyone know what they should be bumpin'.

AG Dolla just released another single off of his upcoming album, Mr. Shah, entitled "Here Tipsy." I've got to say, I really love AG's constant sampling of Bollywood tunes. He's done a few from Devdas, and now he took Lata Mangeshkar's beatiful vocals from Guide's "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki."



RDB has released another track from their free album, RDB Exclusives, this time a remix of Lil Wayne's "A Milli," entitled "Paisa (A Milli)." This track is ten times better than the original song and has some hard hitting bhangra beats I've been wanting to hear for a while. They even resampled the voice saying "A Milli" repeatedly to be Desi. Keep it comin', fellas, although I hope the entire album isn't just Weezy remixes. Download the track for free here.

Up and coming Vancouver based artist Aman Panesar has done a track called "Nakhre" with some MCs named EV, Advo, Faze, and Tumbiwalla. The song is over the "I Need A Girl Part II" beat and is straight up addictive. It reminds me a little bit of the P. Nox produced "Pyar," where G-Deep flowed over Baby Bash's "Suga Suga" beat. The MCs in this tune are pretty decent, but the Punjabi vocals are what make it worthwhile.



By the way, hasn't this 50 Cent and Rick Ross thing gone way too far? If you're unaware of the situation and have absolutely nothing else to do, take a look at this for a recap. It basically started with a Rick Ross song calling out 50 Cent in January, which led to a response by 50, and the feud has gone on til now and is really just a waste of time. Both parties are even making horribly unentertaining cartoons to take shots at each other, and it's just proof of where hip hop lies. Instead of making good music, they're putting their time into something so utterly juvenile.

Go Get the 8x10

We've finally got the soundtrack of Akshay's upcoming thriller, and my first impression was that the music was very fitting to the movie in the sense that it is experimental. This is not your average Bollywood soundtrack, and that's because this is not your average Bollywood movie.

We start with "Nazaara Hai," performed by Vishal Dadlani, and it's got a hard rock tone to it, reminiscent of Lucky Ali's "Maut" from Kaante. Interesting sound and deep lyrics make this a memorable one.

We move on to the romantic "Haafiz Khuda," sung by Mohit Chauhan & Tulsi Kumar. It's an extremely relaxed song, not for the clubs, but definitely for the living room.

"Aaja Maahi" by Neeraj Shreedhar and Tulsi Kumar is a beautiful tune, something on the calibre of Aladdin's "A Whole New World." I'm of the opinion that any Neeraj song has got to be a keeper. Play this one when your girlfriend is in the car (or the couch).

Next is Bohemia's "I Got the Picture." You already know my feelings on this one, and if not see an earlier post entitled "Bohemia & Akshay At It Again." Excellent song with excellent lyrics, although I still wish Akshay rapped in it as well. Good career choice for Bohemia, especially before the April 9 release of his third album, Da Rap Star.

Another duet from Mohit and Tulsi, "Kuchh Is Tarah," brings a feeling similar to "Haafiz Khuda." Definitely sets a chilled out atmosphere.

The rest are remixes, give them a miss. Keep an eye out for the film though, releasing on April 3. The soundtrack has got a variety, from a hip hop tune to an adrenaline inducing hard rock jam. Worth the purchase.

Bobby Deol's Ek: The Power of One

The new Bobby Deol starrer, Ek - The Power Of One, is set for realease on March 28. Bobby Deol hasn't had the best time, box office-wise, in the last few years, but I still think he's an excellent actor. His performance in Soldier with Preity Zinta made the movie as entertaining as it was, along with good action and a killer soundtrack. But seriously, I'm tired of Bobby Deol's name being dragged through the mud. Movies like Bichoo and Baadal had good roles by Bobby as a solemn, angry, protagonist. I suppose in recent years he hasn't had the best movies, but I believe Bobby has potential. Apne was a damn good movie, but I think his choice to do the guest appearance in Dostana was a bad idea. Everyone wanted Priyanka to end up with either John or Abhishekh (I know I did), so he set himself up for hatred by coming in the middle. That wasn't necessarily because he's Bobby Deol; I think anyone in that role short of Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, or maybe Hrithik Roshan would have been the subject of hate.

In any case, Ek's soundtrack is pretty good. We start off with "Sambhale" by Sunidhi Chauhan and Sukhwinder Singh, which sounds like it should be exemplary but is unfortunately average. The disc says rap by URL. I think it's safe to say we could have gone without URL's contribution.

Not to worry, we move onto Shaswati's "Sona Lagda," a really sweet tune that makes you forget all about the previous one. I'd pass on the "Kilogram Mix" that comes later, though. It's full of cheap lines like "Make me hot...all night long..." and ruins the beauty of the original.

"Tum Saath Ho" by Abhijeet and Shreya Ghosal (who's song "Jaddhu" by Shayal I've been playing nonstop) is also a nice number, and something about Abhijeet in this song brings me back to the 90s.

I think "Bang Bang" is the track to remember from this flick, with a feel in the spirit of the Rock On soundtrack. In any case, take a look at the trailer and let me know what you think.

Snoop Dogg Fails To Deliver A Second Time

After the success of "Singh Is Kingg," Snoop Dogg decided to ride on the success of Slumdog Millionaire for his new track, "Snoop Dogg Millionaire." I'd say the only positive thing on this track is the background vocals by Tanvi Shah. Producers Chase & Status failed to produce even a halfway decent beat -- it's actually abysmal, especially on the chorus. Even though Snoop's flow is pretty good, the horrible beat removes any chance this track had of becoming a success. Good thought, though, Snoop. Maybe next time.

Bollywood Beats

Mehul Shahs' Bollywood Beats is set to premiere on March 29 in Dallas. The film features music by The Bilz & Kashif, including the oh-so-addictive "Turn The Music Up" from their upcoming album, Breaking Barriers. From the trailer, looks like we can expect a fairly entertaining flick, reminiscent of American Desi and American Chai. I don't think any Desi crossover film has been able to touch American Desi, though, except maybe for Dude, Where's The Party? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for supporting these crossover endeavors, but movies like Green Card Fever and ABCD are really just abysmal attempts at cinema. Bollywood Beats looks good enough for at least a few chuckles, though. What do you guys think?

Bohemia & Akshay Kumar At It Again

The 8x10 Tasveer title track just released, this time with rapping solely by California based Desi Hip Hop artist Bohemia. While it is an excellent song with a catchy beat and lyrics that fit well with the psychological thriller idea of the movie ("Aadmi khilona duniya ke khel mein"), I can't help but be disappointed by one factor - why don't Akshay and Bohemia rap together? Their first collaboration, "C C 2 C" from Chandni Chowk To China, was basically a solo Akshay Kumar performance (although there is a separate version rapped by Bohemia). Then this track comes along, rapped solely by Bohemia and lip-synced by a pretty hardcore looking Akshay Kumar in the music video. Why don't the music directors ever have them rap two verses in the same song, similar to the "Singh Is Kingg" formula with Akshay and Snoop Dogg. Both are skilled in Punjabi rapping, and they have good chemistry, so it only seems logical that they would rap together on the same song. Maybe next time.

The video has Akshay proving once again that he moves with the times and pulls it off better than any Bollywood star of his generation. Poor Bohemia was not to be seen in the video, maybe because of the seizure he looked like he was having in the "C C 2 C" video. He looks normal in his own music videos, and as soon as he gets a chance to be in a Bollywood video, he acts like he has epilepsy; he was trying to hard to be a "gangsta," and looked like those annoying Desi kids who wear clothes ten times bigger than their actual size and walk like they have a limp. Anyway, check out the track and let me know what you think.