‘Victoria No.203′ Music Review by Gianysh Toolsee

Reviewed by: Gianysh Toolsee
Reviewer’s Rating: 5.0 / 10

http://www.planetbollywood.com/displayReview.php?id=083107013618

Viju Shah – once widely known for his prolific arrangements and techno-centric orchestrations for movies like Yudh, Tridev, Mohra, Aar Ya Paar and Gupt has been lying very low during the last couple of years. His music is a blend of electronic sounds, sharp techno samples, new age sounds and world music samples – which are all incorporated into melody. He also regularly flirts with the new trance and club European tracks which have a strong addiction to beats.

However, one seldom asks why has Viju Shah completely disappeared and been doing medium budget movies? His last releases include couple of good songs like ‘Koi Aayega’ (Asambhav) which has a very ‘Modern Talking’ influence and also the unsung ‘Fitna Dil’ (Shikhar).

Victoria No.203 was originally composed by Kalyanji-Anandji in 1972 and the music rights are with HMV. For this official remake, since two songs of the movie have been retained, Saregama-HMV has acquired the audio rights. Viju Shah is the son of Kalyanji and matters are quite emotional here as it is Amit Kumar, who now renders one of the song previously sung by his father; The Great Kishore Da.

Obviously, Viju Shah has little to do in this another version of ‘Do Bechare’ as the core melody has been retained and only the arrangements have been altered. The always dependable Amit Kumar and the now rarely heard Udit Narayan replace Kishore Kumar and Mahendra Kapoor respectively. The composer incorporates new arrangements with the usual chorus, the tabla beats, the saxophone and some quite zingy sounds. It does not completely have this ‘Viju Shah’ stamp on it but the new version manages to achieve an average status due to the singing of the veterans – which are very choosy currently. Varma Malik’s lyrics have been kept more or less the same and at some places, rap portions have been included. One thing is sure: Amit Kumar should sing more!!!

Viju Shah recreates ‘Thoda Sa Thehro’ by adding a very chill-out prelude – which creates a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere right from the beginning. Once the mood is set, one is amazed to hear the texture in Shreya Ghoshal’s uplifting vocals. Replacing Lata Mangeshkar in a much popular number is a huge task and it’s quite difficult to compare both voices as the current version relies more on singing for this current generation. Shreya Ghoshal carries the song extremely well on her shoulders adding the required teasers with the ‘Na Na Na’ and ‘Aah Aah’ where needed. Beautifully and expressively penned by Indeevar, due to the rehash of this tune by these top-shot composers of Bollywood over the decades, the seductive beauty of both the lyrics and the tune have faded away. Highlights include Viju Shah stamp in orchestration and arrangements and the really unusual singing patterns by Shreya Ghoshal, who rarely goes into the territory of such numbers.

Thanks to Viju Shah for bringing this purely romantic tune of the 90’s and everything about ‘Deedani’ – the arrangements, the orchestration, the singing and the lyrics are straight from the last decade. Surprisingly, the talented duo of Shaan and Shreya Ghoshal does full justice to this sweet ballad which contain shades of many popular numbers. Shreya Ghoshal goes high-pitched at some places while Shaan is very relaxed in his rendition. A very ear-pleasing number with a shinning singing performance for those looking for a much 90’s old charm!

‘Zindagi Aa Gayi’ is simply one of those numbers which go in no directions, even with a talented singer like Zubin Garg, who is hugely wasted in this fast-paced rhythmically composed number. With lyrics by Chandrashekhar Rajit, the track is bland due to repetitive dhol beats which play on continuously without following the voice. Wrong execution!

An arrhythmic jumbling of electronic keyboard pulses combined with the zingy and techno sounds form the base of ’Victoria No.203’ – which is mainly a thrilling theme song. Well these are clearly the characteristics of Viju Shah’s arrangements and he maintains a good standard with the track. Dominque renders in a semi-trance mode, with her voice heard much in the background and she still makes an impact. Once again, this is a 100% Viju Shah number with his trademark quasi weird sounds heard indecently in ‘Kisi Disco Mein’ (Bade Miyan Chote Miyan). Well in this one, such quasi weird sounds are vocally refined and are fortunately heard mostly in the background! Have a listen!

The other version by Annika is differentiated by a stronger singing performance where much emphasis is placed on the female vocals. Both tracks are written by Asif Ali Beg.

The soundtrack of ‘Victoria No.203’ quite surprises as it is a honest assignment from Viju Shah. From the lovely ballad of Shaan and Shreya Ghoshal to the yesterday year’s superhit ‘Do Bechare’, the soundtrack sticks mainly to the theme of the movie and avoids any unnecessary remixes. More concrete melodies are always expected from this composer due to his track record. Viju Shah has consistently given these same kinds of songs over the last few years in his assignments. In this particular one, the arrangements and orchestrations are neat, clean and mostly carry his usual stamp. The point is that he is still on the verge of surfacing with a smashing soundtrack and he is clearly not in his usual form here as well.

Bring on the ‘Prithvi’, ‘Tere Mere Sapne’ and ‘Vinashak’ melodies with the more sophisticated sounds and surely, Viju Shah will be back in the league. The highly acclaimed Mithoon (Bas Ek Pal, Anwar, The Train, Aggar) was recently asked in an interview (Courtesy: Rediff, May 2007) which composers he liked the most and he named Viju Shah as one of them, besides A.R Rahman.