Teen Patti

A situational soundtrack set in an out and out Western mood is what one expects from Teen Patti which has composer duo of Salim-Sulaiman coming together with lyricist Irfan Siddiqui. Though director Leena Yadav's last film Shabd had indeed boasted of a few good tracks by Vishal-Shekhar, there was more scope of coming up with commercially viable songs due to the romantic theme of the Sanjay Dutt-Aishwarya Rai-Zayed Khan starrer. Not that a plot driven film like Teen Patti can't be expected to have good music but then the job is only a little more difficult, unless a film has a film maker like Sanjay Gupta at the helm of affairs. This is the reason why one keeps expectations in check before playing on Teen Patti.

MUSIC
'Neeyat' is the song of seduction that marks the beginning of Teen Patti. Sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, the song surprisingly reminds of lesser heard 'Khatti Meethi' (Acid Factory) which was rendered by Manasi Scott. The similarity lies in the theme and placement though the setting is a little darker in 'Neeyat'. The song has a lazy feel to it and comes close to being the kind of number that plays in the opening sequence of Bond films. Erotic in the way it has been picturised, the song should work well along with the film's narrative and can be expected to pick up steam (no pun intended) if and when Teen Patti turns out to be successful at the box office. Later in the album, 'Neeyat' also sees a 'remix version' for itself where one can hear tid-bits of Amitabh Bachchan's voice. Also, there are added English lyrics by Ajinkya Iyer with Abhijit Vaghani pitching in as well.
Naresh Kamat goes on to sing a solo in the form of 'Intezar' (Arriving later in the 'remix version') which picks on momentum after an entire minute has gone by. As expected, the song has a Western setting to it and has carries an Indi-pop mood. There are quite a few variations that this situational track takes and while it may work at bits and pieces in the background, it can't be expected to be the kind of song that makes one form beelines in front of the music stands.

The songs of Teen Patti may not necessarily be carrying a chartbuster appeal to them but one thing that is noticeable is the consistent feel that the entire album carrying. There is no real jerk per se that one encounters throughout the album's duration and this is the reason why title song 'Teen Patti' doesn't cause any intrusion on its arrival. Salim Merchant reserves one of the better tracks for himself and renders 'Teen Patti' with the kind of attitude that does justice to a title song. The song catches your attention most at the point where 'Ikka, Baasdhah, Rani' is heard. If used judiciously right through the narrative of the film and attached at the crucial junctures, 'Teen Patti' (appearing later in 'remix version') should manage to hold one's attention.

There is a muffled sound of Amitabh Bachchan followed by a dialogue that begins 'Life Is A Game' which appears first in an English followed by a Hindi version. Yet again, the song has a Bond feel to it with Sonia Saigal coming behind the mike for the English version and later joined by Anushka Manchanda for the Hindi version. A theme track which is written by Asif Ali Baig, it may well be the one that plays in the opening credit rolls. The sound of violin which is interspersed in this four minutes piece is haunting and lends a feel of mystery to the mood of Teen Patti.

The album concludes with a two minutes piece by George Gershwin, 'Summertime'. Sung by Joe Alvares, this is the kind of number which one primarily finds in Hollywood affairs rather than mainstream Hindi films; 'Summertime' only carries forward the situational theme of the album.

OVERALL
As expected, Teen Patti remains Western in it's outlook and has its eyes on taking the narrative forward more than being the kind that is lapped up by the masses. With its intent and direction in place, Teen Patti doesn't throw any surprises and sticks to the requirement of the script instead of bowing down to commercial requirements of being a popular soundtrack that registers huge sales.

By Joginder Tuteja
bollywoodhungama.com