8 x 10 Tasveer

8 x 10 Tasveer, an eagerly anticipated thriller, has an unusual combination. Nagesh Kukunoor, the director, who is considered a sensible film-maker, has critically acclaimed films like Dor, Iqbal, and the trendsetting Rockford to his credit. On the other hand, we have Akshay Kumar, who is a mass hero, well known for his mindless & logicless comedies. However, there's one thing that's common to them. Their last films (Bombay to Bangkok, CC2C) fared miserably at the box office.

Coming to the music, you have the duo of Salim-Sulaiman, who're on the top of the world with two back to back super hits, Fashion and Rab ne bana di jodi. So you expect them to be in terrific form.

Now, the big question. Is 8 x 10 Tasveer "picture perfect"? At least musically?

1.Nazaara Hai : This looks like the unofficial title song of the film and is sung energetically by Vishal Dadlani. Heavily depending on the electric guitar, the song holds your interest throughout and will be liked best by rock enthusiasts.

2.Haafiz Khuda : Sung by the masakali man Mohit Chauhan and the Himesh patronized Tulsi Kumar, this track is somewhere in between Masakali and Kuch Khaas, Mohit's earlier hit with the music director duo. It's soft, melodious and lilting, but lacks the class of the above mentioned songs.

3. Aaja Maahi : Neeraj Sridhar has had great success singing for Akshay Kumar(Heyy babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyya title tracks were sung by him). Unfortunately, he shouldn't have been chosen to sing this otherwise good semi-rock song with a catchy chorus. His voice sounds fake and lacks depth. Keep off melodies, man!

4. I got the picture : Once again, Akshay calls on Bohemia after they combined in CC2C. I'm generally not a rap fan, and it's no different for this song. There's no scope for innovation here, just the same old plain boring rap.

5. Kuchh is tarah : Ditto song no:2, haafiz khuda, with different lyrics and with Tulsi kumar sounding a bit better. Looks like the music director duo ran out of ideas!

Well, so there's nothing great in the album, though it does have a couple of good songs that will last for quite some time. Probably the duo is tired after the 2 big albums they gave and are taking some rest.