Music Review
My Name is Anthony Gonsalves

Showbiz, Return of Hanuman, Bombay To Bangkok, Sunday, My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves - What's the common factor in each of these films? Beyond the fact that the soundtrack of each of them has recently arrived on the stands, they all are Hindi films that have an English title. This pretty much signifies the fact that English titles are there to stay!

Coming to My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves (MNIAG), it is a film by E Niwas which has been in the making for long but would now have a unique distinction of bringing to Bollywood it's first newcomer of 2008 - Nikhil Dwivedi. Pritam has given music for this film that has lyrics by Sameer. While Pritam has been the most successful composer of 2007 so far, he also has to his credit some duds. One wonders which category would the soundtrack of MNIAG fall into since it was composed by Pritam long ago. As it turns out in the end, it's the latter!

 It's a good beginning to the album though as 'Tum Mile' marks the opening of My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves. With ever dependable and versatile K.K., at the helm, 'Tum Mile' turns out to be an instantly catchy love song, which brings a smile on your face on the very first listening. The song has a kind of feel, which Anu Malik successfully created with his music in the mid and late 90s. Sunidhi Chauhan makes a rather belated entry in this duet, which is dominated by KK to begin with.

Later in the album, 'Tum Mile' finds a deserving repeat entry, though in a 'remix version', and catches your attention from the very first second as the club feel takes over. As the song reaches mid-way, you are convinced that this is one of those remixes that you don't really mind hearing and want to take it to the dance floor!

'Tere Bina' is a dance track, which is a kind of number, which seems to have been composed with minimum stress on getting something new in place. This Sunidhi Chauhan song is set in a Western mode and has some routine tune, orchestra, arrangement, and singing coming in place. It may have been a decent outing for an average composer but doesn't stand out as a product from Pritam who has given some exceptional tunes this year!

Sunidhi gets to sing third straight song in succession in the form of 'Ya Baba'. This is the very same track that has Hrishita Bhatt making her debut as an item girl and desperately looking forward to a change in image. The song has a Pritam touch to it but belongs to a bona fide 'heard-before' category hence not at all succeeding in making you stand up and take notice.

The only way it may have been noticed was if accompanied by an eye catchy choreography or presence of a bigger star but that is not quite the case. Somewhere in the middle of the song, Shaan also croons a line or two but hardly makes his presence felt. 'Ya Baba' is the second straight instance of an average sounding track arriving in the album. However, yet again it's the 'remix version' which makes an even better impression, just as was the case with the opening number 'Tum Mile'!

Aah, so here we may have Amit Kumar on the credits for the song. Can we have one more 'Dil Mein Baji Guitar', which was a chartbuster track by Pritam and Amit Kumar last year? Sadly 'Jaane Maula Jaane Khuda' turns out to be a number which everyone associated with would want to forget as the song turns out to be a poor inspiration from music set on a Goan beach. Yet another instance of 'let's-just-go-ahead-and-make-a-song' kind of a number that seems to have been made in a hurry and soon forgotten.

Later Remo Fernandes, the man who is tailor made for songs like these, is roped in to croon 'Jaane Maula Jaane Khuda'. Still, the damage done so far is to such an extent that this version doesn't sound convincing either and everything from the basic tune to the pitch as well as singing turns out to be a turn off!

By the time 'Allah Beley' arrives, there is absolutely no interest left in the album, which stays on to be indifferent ever since 'Tum Mile' came and made some impression. A sad track, 'Allah Beley' is rendered by K.K. who actually can't do much to salvage this number which just hangs on lazily without doing anything that could sustain a listener's interest. The song may just about fit into the film's background during some of the pensive moments but that's about it.

Pritam has dominated most of 2007 with number of chartbuster tracks in albums like Life In A...Metro, Jab We Met, Bhool Bhulaiyaa and more. Sadly, he won't have similar results in My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves that would sit at the bottom of his repertoire.