This Warner Brothers’ Akshay Kumar- comedy is 2009’s first big release and the Hollywood company has left no stone unturned in making its music. No fewer than eight composers (two trios- Shankar-Ehsan-Loy and Kailash-Naresh-Paresh and two solo acts- Bappi Lahiri and Bohemia!) lend their musical touch to this soundtrack. The experiment largely pays off and the album comes across as cool, colorful and contemporary!

 

Shankar-Ehsan-Loy’s tunes are the real show-stoppers. The title-song Chandni Chowk To China is a crazy comic concoction, a catchy fusion of Indian, mock Chinese and western Hip-hop elements. Singers Neeraj Shreedhar, Shankar Mahadevan and Anushka Manchanda give it the requisite zip and zing to make it a potential chartbuster. In contrast, Tere Naina (Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal) is a superbly melodious romantic track, which at times reminds of Rahman’s musical style.

 

In Kailash Kher’s earthy folksy voice we hear S.I.D.H.U- a modern qawwali and Chak Len De – a Punjabi inspirational number composed by Kher along with his composing partners Naresh and Paresh. India Se Aaya Mera Dost is Bappi Lahiri’s lukewarm recreation of his own 1977 hit Bambai Se Aaya Mera Dost from Aap Ki Khatir. Akshay Kumar teams up with the Punjabi rapper Bohemia to render an enjoyable fun-rap- track C2C.