Vikram Bhatt tells a story close to his heart. A story that has its moments from his only life and presented in the form of 'Ankahee'. With a strong woman oriented plot featuring Esha Deol in an author backed role of a Miss World, 'Ankahee' stars Bhatt's regular Aftab Shivdasani [who has acted in his 'Kasoor', 'Awara Paagal Deewana', 'Footpath', 'Deewane Huye Paagal' in the past] along with his real life love Amisha Patel, who gets a role of substance after a long time. Producers PNC repeat Pritam after a successful musical score of their 'Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena' last year as the composer teams up with lyricists Sameer, Amitabh Verma and Subrat Sinha.
1) Ek Pal Ke Liye (three versions) [Singers: Kay Kay, Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam, lyrics: Amitabh Verma]
Opening track 'Ek Pal Ke Liye' is more in Vishal-Shekhar mode than belonging to Pritam's style. Everything from melody and lyrics to Kay Kay's voice (in the first version) does well in mesmerizing the listener into the world of romance and togetherness. The song comes as a soft breeze and never fails to make one sit up and take notice due to the strong feeling of love that is brought to fore by Amitabh's lyrics. One of the best songs to have come this year, it deserves to be heard in two more versions that have Shreya Ghoshal and Sonu Nigam respectively at the helm. Unlike an extended version (as is prevalent in most of the albums), the three versions of 'Ek Pal' are full in lenght and entertain throughout the album at regular intervals.
2) Tumse Yu Milenge, Lamha [Kunal Ganjawala, Babul Supriyo, lyrics: Subrat Sinha, Sameer]
Subtle feeling of romance continues to keep you glued to the album with the arrival of 'Tumse Yu Milenge'. Also, when Kunal Ganjawala is the man behind the mike, it is quite obvious that more often than not, the song would have a melodious base. Written by Subrat Sinha, the song is based on a situation where two individuals meet after a gap and their romance is rekindled. In spite of the fact that 'Tumse Yu Milenge' is a situational number, Pritam's calm'n'quiet tune makes it worthy of a repeat hearing. This is what happens exactly when Babul Supriyo's full length version of the same song comes in the form of 'Lamha'. While the tune remains same, the lyrics change with Sameer coming on scene.
3) Ankahee (two versions) [Shaan, Kunal Ganjawala, lyrics: Sameer]
Mood of the album changes to pop as the two versions of title song 'Ankahee' arrive. While Shaan's version comes first, it is Kunal Ganjawala's crooning of this haunting track that is much more impressive. Credit for that must go to Pritam who gives a different flavor to the two versions. While the first is decently paced, the latter by Kunal is slower that is much more apt for the dark'n'haunting mood of 'Ankahee'. A situational number yet again, it may not be heard on blazing stereos all over but should be fine as a part of the film's narrative.
4) Aa Paas Aa [Shreya Ghoshal]
Yet another song that is made up of combination of slow pace, haunting mood and Indian musical base, 'Aa Paas Aa' is the last solo track in the album. It continues in the same vein as the songs preceding it as Shreya Ghoshal brings across the plight of the two women in love who are desperately in love with one man (played by Aftab Shivdasani).
None of the songs in 'Ankahee' may be chartbuster material but as a package the album works well to create a certain mood. What is also noticeable about the album is each of the tracks is sung as a solo with no hero-heroine duet set in a conventional mood.
'Ankahee' is the album for you if you want to listen to some decent situational songs.