Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Javed Akhtar are back together again after Dil Chahta Hai. The mood-swing from frothy to sinister is palpable. The lyrics, with their disconcerting references to dark brooding aspects of man`s appetite are woven by the composing trio in tightly structured dirges of passion.Kamal Haasan does a Tamil-Hindi version of Jack Nicholson`s Joker from Batman without faltering in his sinister steps. Is there no end to this genius` enterprising spirit?

But let us not get carried away. The slyly resourceful soundtrack gives us no reason to dwell on the blast. It carries us forward on a variety of rhythms, all redolent of a sinewy aural leap into a sphere of untampered innovations. The love ballad, Koyal si mili sung by composer Shankar Mahadevan (he must be the only music director who sings and composes equally well) and Sujatha is so enchantingly paced, we feel we are flowing down a river that knows no destination. It flows because it knows no woes.

And the comedy song? Stringing together a series of jokes about unfaithful husbands, Hasde hasde makes us smile. Javed Akhtar really lets himself go in this one. Sample this - A wife asks her husband, "Prakash loves his wife so much, why can`t you do the same?". And Shankar Mahadevan replies, "Yeah sure, but first let Prakash go out of town." Incidentally, some jokes are different in the Tamil version of the track Siri siri siri. So guess who`s having the last laugh? Hasde? You bet.

But make sure you leave room for the chill that spreads through the three thunderous thematic pieces where the film`s leading man and his composers have a brawny ball creating a world of chilling derangement through super-swift arrangements. Listen to the rippling eruption of programmed paces in the haunting Dekho Abhay (Alavandhan in Tamil).

While the Tamil music on the Magnasound label makes the best of the vast resources of rhythms and moods, the Hindi soundtrack suffers for its unfocussed marketing strategy. While Side 1 is devoted to the music from Abhay, the second side gives us sub-standard Hits Of Kamal Haasan from films like Yaadgar and Sanam Teri Kasam.

Why? Did the music company think this outstanding soundtrack won`t sell on its own? Why this lack of confidence in a high-quality product? Haven`t Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy proved with Dil Chahta Hai that unbranded quality sells?