AUDIOSCAN
Lata on veena
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MANY of Lata’s memorable songs have been played on different instruments. But it is not easy to recall any attempt to do so on veena. Veena prodigy E. Gaayathri has made this unique effort in this album, with cathartic effect.

The lilt, caress and the supple feelings which are the hallmark of Lata’s singing are done full justice in the tonal richness of the Indian instrument which comes closest to the human voice. The gentle touch of Gaayathri does justice to the voice of the Nightingale.

Among the 15 songs featured in the album are Ab to hai tumse har khushi apni (Abhimaan), Tera mera saath rahe (Saudagar), Dikhayi diye yun (Bazaar), Sun sahiba sun (Ram Teri Ganga Maili) and Milo na tum to hum ghabrayen (Heer Ranjha).

Gaayathri is popular among music lovers of South India. This is, perhaps, the first time that the Hindi belt is being exposed to her talent.

The album is the fourth in a series of the Music World label and follows Lalitha Sahasranamam and Kanakdhara Stotram, Saundarya Lahari, Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam and Bhaja Govindam by Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam.

If you happen to insert this cassette in your player B-side first, you may think that you have picked up a remix album, because the side is cramped with three such numbers.

Only when you flip side you realise that this is the music of Manisha Koirala’s home production written and directed by Srinivas Bhashyam and starring Manisha and Sushmita Sen. Sandeep Nath’s lyrics have been set to music by Bapi-Tutul.

This is no highbrow stuff but a fun-and-frolic cassette which will sell mainly because of the title song rendered by Sunidhi Chauhan. The plain truth about lust for money strikes a familiar chord. The male version by Hamza Faruqui does not leave a similar impression.

Ila Arun’s Demand is predictably double meaning stuff. But Bindaas (Vasundhara Das), Rukte chalte (Shankar Mahadevan) and Yadon mein (Shreya Ghoshal and Shaan) do not stoop to that level.

Then there are Helen’s dance mix (Swastika, Vivek Mushran and Pandit Sukhdev Chaturvedi), Sab se bada rupaiya (Jojo) and Hai re hai tera goonghata (Kunal Ganjawala and Sowmya Raoh).

Private albums by artistes who also claim to be composers and lyricists are viewed with suspicions because most of these are half-baked inanities. But this attempt by Avadhoot Gupte is quality stuff. His voice is mature and so is the music rendered by him.

Actually, he seems to have worked on popular Marathi numbers and transferred them into Hindi. Whatever it is, the beat is infectious.

Vaishali Samant joins him in two duets.

Chandrashekhar Sanekar has contributed lyrics of Ladki Qarai hai.