posted by: Sherwin Coelho Jan 31 2010 @ 11:58 pm

Album: Teen Patti

Composers: Salim-Sulaiman

Lyrics: Irfan Siddique

The ‘Teen Patti‘ album is dark, edgy and has all the makings of a soundtrack for a riveting suspense thriller. That said, the release of the album could not have come at a better time. The movie is only beginning to generate hype. With a star-cast like Amitabh Bachchan and Sir Ben Kingsley, you already have an ace up your sleeve. Speaking about aces, though very little of the film’s plot is know, it is said to revolve about a mathematician who has cracked a formula that is applicable to the card-game ‘Teen Patti‘. Thus, begins a journey of lies, deceit, betrayal and greed.

‘Life Is A Game‘ begins with Amitabh saying ‘Paisa kya ek number hai…bhook hai paisa‘. Those lines probably sum up the movie itself. The music is a little overdone and Big B’s interrupting baritone monologues do not exactly make for pleasant listening. All the same, its dark and eerie, like ‘Golden Eye’ from James Bond.

‘Summertime‘ is a lazy blues tune. This tune has some nice vocals and heavy up-tempo orchestration. ‘Neeyat Kharab Hai‘ is like ‘Tinka Tinka’ from Karam. It’s slow, deliberate and does get a little strenuous at four minutes, something only the visualization can ease. Its remix has elements of eletronica and is more groovy with rap vocals et all.

Title track ‘Teen Patti Ke Gulam‘ is upbeat and trancy, like something from the Acid Factory soundtrack. Its remix has different beats to essentially the same track. Both can easily pass of as lounge tracks considering they’re both brisk, trippy psychedelic songs.

The album concludes with ‘Intezar Me Chupa Kahin‘, which starts off slowly before picking up pace and culminating into a crash-driven rock anthem. At its peak, the drum-work is fluid, guitar solos are good and vocals are rough enough to pass this off as an out-and-out hard rock number. However the music oscillates between two extremities of the genre.

Bottomline: The plot and cast of the film look riveting. Salim-Sulaiman’s music is not ‘original’, as every track is something you’ve heard before, but it does suit the ambiance and theme of the movie.

Rewind: Intezar Me Chupa Kahin, Teen Patti Ke Gulam