Hats off …err…… ‘Caps off’ Himesh!. Review on Himesh Reshammiya

I was walking along SM Street … was a very noisy evening…and I was hearing some catchy notes from an audio shop… then Himesh’s crooning (shouting?) “Dil ki swarg deewaron pe …… Naam hai tera tera….”!

Weeks later, back home…. I heard my cousin’s 7-year old boy singing “tera tera tera surrooo…ooo…ooor…….”!

I was wondering how his singing- cum -slogan shouting becomes such popular even in our south India! What is the mantra that this “toppykaaran” chants while singing?

( That seven year old calls Himesh ‘toppykaaran’ or thaadi kaaran = ‘toppywaala’ or thaadi waala).

When I heard his earlier songs like nikamma kiya, chura liya hai tumne and songs of Tere Naam, I felt just another Nikhil-Vinay or Sajid- Wajid who blindly follows the song patterns of Nadeem Shravan and Jatin Lalit. And I didn’t even dream such a makeover for Himesh Reshammiya. ‘Aashiq banaaya aapne(remix)’ sounded really good and the rhythm was captivating …I really liked the song and thought that it was an accident. But this guy continued to make such songs and their videos reminded us that of aashiq banaaya. The promotional remix cult started by “Woh lamhen” (Jal \Zeher\ Anu Malik) became the monopoly of Himesh . Now other musicians like Pritam follow his path.

What makes him different?

His ’mukhdaa’s. Once heard, one cannot easily forget the opening lines of his songs. He makes them so catchy that they stay on your mind for a long time. Forget about the antaras or the rest. You can clearly remember the opening tune of each of his songs. This is an unmatched achievement. One may say that he is too repetitive but still you are going to hum his new song. Even when I hate some of his songs, I used to hum them. Then I say …oh I was humming that topy kaaran’s song, which I don’t like!

Whether it is aashiq banaaya , aapki kashish, tera surroor, nam hai tera, teri yaad na aaye , jhalak dikhlaaja , zikr karen ,zara jhoom jhoom or the latest afsaana banaake ,ishq kiya and aey meri tamanna…. all the tunes are captivating.

What is wrong?

Himesh Reshmmiya definitely has the ability to package his songs well and that is the primary skill required by a popular musician. But he aims only at the market and that makes him repetitive. Thus Himesh gave bakwaz songs like “I love you unconditionally”, “Allah kare” and “hum ko deewana kar gaye”.

He should try to find more rhythms, new voices and different tunes. (like what he did in Chup chupke) Then he will be loved and remembered for a long time unlike Viju Shah who rocked the nation by Guptand then locked himself in his own cove.

I like……to hum these songs ….

1.aashiq banaaya aapne(remix) (Film: Ashiq Banaya Aapne)

2.afsana banaake bhool na jana…(Film: Dil diya hai)

3.tumhi se yeh dil mera karta hai kyun itna pyaar (this is a different song from Himesh . Film: Chup chupke .Singers : Vijay Yesudas and Shreya Ghosal )

4.mausam hai bada qaatil (another good song from Chup chupke . Singer : Sonu Nigam)

5.aey meri tamanna , bin tere kahin na aaye mujhe sukoon (Film : Rocky . I like only these two lines and hate the rest)

1. tum dil mein shaheed hue ahista ahista… (I like this song for its lyrics and that immense agony in the tune)

7.jhalak dikhlaaja (remix) (Film : Aksar …very rhythmic)

8.loot jayenge ( Film: Aksar .very nice with Kunal Ganjawala’s voice)

9.shub-e-firaq hain (Film: Chup chupke)

10.tu yaad na aaye aisa koee din nahin (from album ‘Aapka surroor’)

11.tu hi tu hai meri manzil (Film : Aksar)

Himesh is not only a musician but also a good actor. See him crying in the video of ‘tu yaad na aaye’ .Very natural.

So….

Himesh Reshammiya is really a phenomenon in the Hindi film music scene… whether it is good or bad, that will be decided by time.