Music Review
Mission Istaanbul

Apoorva Lakhia certainly likes to make movies with strong men in tow. Ek Ajnabee, Shootout At Lokhandwala and now Mission Istaanbul - 'macho' has been the keyword in each of the films made by the young director. If Shootout At Lokhandwala was his biggest film till date, Mission Istaanbul seems to be taking a step forward with global terrorism as the theme.

Just like SAL, Apoorva ropes in multiple composers for Mission Istaanbul too with contribution coming from Anu Malik, Shamir Tandon, Chirantan Bhatt and Mika Singh. With expectations of a zany score with strong Western and Turkish flavor (due to the setting of the film), one plays on the soundtrack of Mission Istaanbul.

The mood is set right at the beginning of the album with a female voice taking you right into the by-lanes of Turkey. Rendered by Kunal Ganjawala, Gayatri Ganjawala and Raaj, 'World Hold On World Hold On', which is written by Shabbir Ahmed, is a decent hear with composer Shamir Tandon fusing Western arrangements into this theme song. A young number which moves at a good pace, albeit reminding of the style from the 80s, it should be a decent watch on screen though it's 'remix version' is fair for a club outing.

There is added fun in the offering with the arrival of the title song 'Mission Mission'. Written and sung by Hamza Faruqui, the young man who has earlier been heard in Aggar, 'Mission Mission' could have made for a much better experience had it been supported by a better music video. In any case, the song in itself is an out and out club track which goes well with the theme of the film and creates a high voltage impact. There is certain ferocity in the way Chirantan Bhatt composes the tune of 'Mission Mission' which deserves to be heard at a high volume.

Remember the sound of 'Kaho Na Kaho' [Murder]? On the same lines is 'Jo Gumshuda' which has composer Anu Mallik at the helm. After a preamble by Ege, it is left to Shaan and Mahalaxmi to carry the melodic mood of the song forward. With a trademark Anu Malik stamp to it and strong Turkish flavor incorporated in the overall arrangements, 'Jo Gumshuda' is a quintessential Bollywood track which should do well as a filler in the film's narrative but restrict it's presence to just about that. However, the moment the song's 'remix version' kick starts, you know the kind of difference the presence of a certain Emraan Hashmi would have made to the song!

Neeraj Shridhar - Now this name spells magic, especially after delivering a dozen odd chartbusters with Pritam in the recent times. Something similar can be expected from 'Nobody Like You' which has a huge team of artists coming together. While Chirantan Bhatt creates yet another catchy tune after 'Mission Mission', Hamza Faruqui, Ishq Bector come up with a mix of Hindi and English lyrics. While Ishq adds on his trademark (and impressive) rap, Anoushka joins him and Neeraj to come up with a new age song with a Western base to it. Now this is one song which would help the album sales in a big way if an eye catchy music video is created around it! The belief is only strengthened once the 'remix version' of the song is heard.

Javed Ali, who was quite brilliant in 'Kehne Ko Jashn-e-baharaan Hai' [Jodhaa Akbar], is back to the playback singing stage with 'Yaar Mera Dildaara' which is on the same lines as 'Mehboob Mere' [Fiza]. With both Javed and Sunidhi Chauhan coming up together for this number with Sufi overtones, 'Yaar Mera Dildaara' by Sameer is a just about decent tune with nothing exceptional to write home.
 

Mika Singh is seen in a triple role with 'Apun Ke Saath' for which he wears the composer, lyricist and singer hat. While Virag Mishra is his partner in writing the lyrics, Pretty Priya joins him behind the mike. A theme song with 'Mission Istaanbul' as the key words incorporated in the lyrics, 'Apun Ke Saath' has a rap-n-reggae touch to it and is mainly a theme number which should be heard as a part of the film's background score.

The good part about Mission Istaanbul is that for most part of its duration, the soundtrack sticks on to the film's theme. Also, the sound remains consistent throughout due to the Western/Turkish mood of the film. The team of composers in Mission Istaanbul isn't out to create an exceptional score but going by the kind of setting that the film provides them, they do reasonably fine with staying consistent.