Bluffmaster

Producer : Ramesh Sippy
Director : Rohan Sippy
Starring : Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Riteish Deshmukh, Nana Patekar
Music : Vishal-Shekhar

The soundtrack for director Rohan Sippy’s “Bluffmaster” has been in the news for its use of old Bollywood numbers remixed by British Asian band Trick baby and, of course, Abhishek Bachchan’s singing debut on the track “Right Here Right Now”.

So let’s get the big question out of the way first. Can the Little B sing? Well, he has a voice flatter than a flat tyre, but “Right Here Right Now” works simply because he has little to do and Vishal-Shekhar’s catchy arrangements and Sunidhi Chauhan’s strong vocals are there for him to fall back on.

As for the remixes – which range from Trick baby’s reworking of comedian Mehmood’s memorable “Sabse Bada Rupaiya” to Sameeruddin’s speeded-up take-off on Kishore Kumar’s “Do Aur Do Paanch” – some work and others just don’t make the grade.

Trick baby is a British Asian crew led by the duo of Saira Hussain and Steve Ager, who describe their music as an “East-West sound clash” influenced by modern dance music and Bollywood music.

Well, their influences are clearly on show in the album’s opening track – the heady remix of “Sabse Bada Rupaiya” that retains the late Mehmood’s vocals while layering it with massive bass beats. Very dance-able indeed.

Saira Hussain will never go down as a great vocalist but she does a workable job on “Indi-Yarn”, Trick baby’s breakout track that marries samples from “Eena Meena Deeka” and “Shaayad Meri Shaadi”, and “9 Parts of Desire”, inspired by Imam Ali’s saying that nine of 10 parts of desire had something to do with women.

Remixer Sameeruddin’s reworking of “Do Aur Do Paanch” simply doesn’t cut it, with Kishore Kumar’s vocals being virtually unrecognizable. The musical piece “The Getaway Theme” produced by him also seems to owe a large debt to A.R. Rahman’s trademark sound.

The standout track on this album is Sweden-based Iranian singer Arash’s “Bure Bure/Boro Boro”, a happening song that merges Middle Eastern sensibilities with a bhangra beat. And it also helps that Arash does have a pretty good voice that is reminiscent of Cheb Mami.

A word of caution for Trick baby fans, however. The band’s tracks on this soundtrack are merely the same ones found on their album “Hanging Around” and there is only one new track – the remix “Parde Ke Peeche”.

Get this one only if you’re looking for some good dance music, or if you can’t wait to hear Abhishek’s singing debut – especially the hip hop mix of “Right Here Right Now”. Otherwise, you can safely give it a miss.