/> Rating: **

EXPECTATIONS
'Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye' was a number originally composed by Jatin Lalit more than a decade back for Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge.

While the composer duo has split, Lalit Pandit gets behind the scenes composing for this romantic comedy cum fantasy flick that also sees guest compositions by Siddharath Coutto.

Though one doesn't really carry much expectations from the soundtrack of this film due to it's low key promotion, one is still ready for some kind of surprise considering PVR Cinema being the producers here.

MUSIC
Sound of exuberance is heard in 'Pahle Toh Meri Inn Ankhon' which takes a peppy route and expresses the emotions of this young woman who seems to have found wings to fly around.

Though it starts off quite well and has a good 'mukhda' to it, it becomes all too predictable and almost like a commercial as it moves on. Starting point for a song is good again in case of 'Sehmi Sehmi' but surprisingly the tempo isn't sustained from start to finish of the song.

A number about the emergence of a girl who was just within herself before the entry of the angel in her life, 'Sehmi Sehmi' ultimately manages to maintain a constant mood throughout even as one senses vintage Jatin-Lalit in the sound. However, the 'remix version' of this song was completely unwarranted!

An inspirational track, 'Kabhi Kabhi' composed by Siddharath Coutto is set in rock genre and just like the score of Rock On, it's popularity would depend upon it's placement in the film and picturisation.

However, one of the better tracks to come in the album is 'Kab Talak' (again by Siddharath Coutto) which is slow moving and is the kind that has to be heard in absolute silence with dim lights altogether.

Set as a jazz track, this one is purely situational and should help the narrative to move on.

Soon after though comes the most boring song of the enterprise. There is nothing wrong in a track being slow or sad but still musically it should sound good.

However, Lalit Pandit comes up with 'Pathraon Ke Bane In Shahron' which perhaps could be one of his most underused tunes over last couple of decades that he has been on the scene.

The best is thankfully reserved for the end with 'Zindagi Me Nayi Bat Hone Ko'. Straight out of a Karan Johar or a Yash Raj film, this delightful feel good number could well have been lapped up by a Shah Rukh Khan starrer and went on to become a huge hit.

An 'instrumental' that comes in the end makes for a good end to this album which has it's peaks and lows but still manages to somehow stand on it's feet in the end.

LYRICS
Javed Akhtar is the prime composer of 'Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye' that also has Renuka Kunzru and Rohit Bhatia as the guest lyricists who contribute with a song apiece. Javed saab's writing for 'Pahle Toh Meri Inn Ankhon' isn't really the kind that couldn't have been delivered by a lesser lyricist and one expects a lot more in songs to follow.

'Sehmi Sehmi' though goes quite well with the film's theme and gets the point across in the simplest way possible. Surprisingly though, his lyrics in 'Pathraon Ke Bane In Shahron' are downright average and don't manage to create any pathos whatsoever.

However, 'Zindagi Me Nayi Bat Hone Ko' much more than just compensates for it and is heartfelt as it goes with the emotions of the protagonist who is seeing a change in her life.

Renuka Kunzru, who played the delightful 'Mala' in Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na writes 'Kabhi Kabhi' which is about making one's life extraordinary by fighting against destiny and paving a path by your own self.

Rohit Bhatia too writes something different from routine with 'Kab Talak' and tells the tale of a woman who simply loves the very essence of singing and giving her heart and soul when behind the mike.

VOCALS
Shreya Ghoshal is nice in her rendition of 'Pahle Toh Meri Inn Ankhon' but the tune itself is just about ordinary that doesn't really give her a challenging enough platform to do anything extraordinary.

Shaan isn't in his best form for 'Sehmi Sehmi' which is surprising because he is seldom out of sorts in his rendition. In comparison, Runa Rizvi is reasonably perked up.

Surprisingly, Alka Yagnik comes last in the scene and one can immediately feel that how much she is missed in the current music scene! It's strike two for Shaan as he falters even in 'Pathraon Ke Bane In Shahron', a sad track where he merely seems to be going through the motions and waiting to walk out of that exit door of the music studio!

Anushka Manchanda goes full 'rock on' for 'Kabhi Kabhi' and though the number won't turn out to be yet another hit in her young career so far, she is still reasonably charged up while rendering this one.

Caralisa Montiero gets to croon 'Kab Talak' which is a performance oriented number. She does well, just as she has been doing with all the opportunities being meted out to her in last 2-3 years!

New find Aishwarya, a mail singer, gets the best deal though with 'Zindagi Me Nayi Bat Hone Ko', a number which is the best of the enterprise. He has a soft-n-silky voice, the kind that should work well for him in the world of playback singing.

OVERALL
For PVR Cinemas, the music of Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye won't result in a Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na or a Taare Zameen Par moment. Still, as a part of the film, a couple of songs like 'Sehmi Sehmi' and 'Kab Talak' should do well.

Even though a 'Pathraon Ke Bane In Shahron' brings down the tempo, 'Zindagi Me Nayi Bat Hone Ko' more than just makes up for it. An okay album.