3 Nights 4 Days

Daboo Malik: Three Stars Ya Four!

Music Review: 3 Nights 4 Days
Composer: Daboo Malik
Label: SaReGaMaPa
Rating: 3/5

While for the most part, he’s been overshadowed by his elder brother Anu, composer Daboo Malik has steadily been making his mark within the music industry for a long time now. With films like Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar and Kisaan under his belt, Daboo now returns with his latest release, titled 3 Nights 4 Days, which is releasing on 9 October 2009. And he does quite well for himself…

Directed by Devang Dholakia, 3 Nights 4 Days is a youthful flick starring Anuj Sawhney and Hrishita Bhatt along with a host of newcomers; and like the film, its soundtrack, with Daboo at its helm, is similarly geared towards the youth in the listeners.

Khawahishein, the opening number of the album, sees Sunidhi and Daboo himself on vocal duties. A bit too heavy on the techno sounds and beats, the song works nonetheless, as Sunidhi Chauhan works her magic. While Daboo is average as a vocalist, son Amal Malik’s fast-paced arrangement ensures that the song doesn’t slag when he’s on the mic. Not exactly the one that’ll turn into a club anthem, Khawahishein is still a good start.

Sheesha brings Neeraj Shreedhar to the mic with Sunidhi. A fast-paced track again, Malik gives this one a bit of a Middle-Eastern feel, in tune and vocals. While the Hin-glish lyrics are a bit jarring, the groove of the track is quite captivating.

Amal Malik sounds a bit too much like a karaoke singer on the under-produced Jaane Yeh Kaisi, which might just be the weakest link on the album. Something in the vein of the numerous Atif Aslam tracks doing the rounds of Bollywood, the song is hampered by Amal’s less-than-competent vocals and doesn’t garner a second listen from the audience.

Daboo does well to pick up the slack with Har Mausam, the only ballad on the album. Akriti Kakkar and Soham sound perfect on the vocals and the soft, toned down arrangement adds to the mood. Malik’s composition also accommodates lyricist Panchhi Jalonvi’s English interludes and makes sure that the track stays in a listener’s mind for a long time.

Shaan and Sunidhi come in strong on Dosti…Forever, the peppy follow-on to the previous ballad. The foot-tapping composition and the light arrangement use the two singers’ voices perfectly and make the track a very catchy listen.

Macha Shor, which could be called the title track of the album, brings back Amal Malik to the mic, along with Shweta. The Mediterranean sound and the fast-pace help the track and Amal sounds much better than his previous track. The Hin-glish lyrics, with its Spanish sounding interludes, penned by Amal himself, are catchy, and when the track ends, one could be surprised to find oneself asking for more.

The remaining tracks, Marianne’s Sorrow, Dosti Theme, Retro Party3 Nights 4 Days Theme and are all instrumental or semi-instrumental shorts. Marianne’s Sorrow is a short instrumental track arranged to sound a bit foreboding, Retro Party isn’t much more than instrumental stock music drawn and arranged from the ’80s. Dosti Theme and 3 Nights 4 Days Theme are simply short, reduxed versions of Dosti…Forever and Macha Shor respectively and could be considered fillers on the album.

Overall, while album has its weak points, especially some of the choices for vocalists and the lyrics, they are outnumbered by the strengths of the album. Daboo Malik’s compositions are all well-etched and arranged and while there isn’t a lot of variety to it, 3 Nights 4 Days is a commendable effort from the composer.

— Nandan Kini