This year a classic fairytale comes to life...Bollywood style. Sujoy Ghosh (Jhankaar Beats) will bring to the screens the tale of Aladin, starring Riteish Deshmukh as Aladin (Hey Baby, Masti and Bluffmaster), Amitabh Bachchan as Genius the Genie, Sanjay Dutt as the villainous Ringmaster and newcomer Jacqueline Fernandez as Jasmine.

Music has been done by Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani, popularly known as Vishal-Shekhar (Dhoom 2, Dostana and Dus) who made their debut with Sujoy Ghosh in Jhankaar Beats and also gave music for his last film, Home Delivery. Lyrics have been penned by Anvita Dutt Guptan (Bachna Ae Haseeno) and Vishal Dadlani.

The album has 8 track, 2 of which are remixes of the first and third songs. Playback singers' list features the talents of Anushka Manchanda ('Golmaal Title Song'), Shaan ('Chand Sifarish' - Fanaa), Shreya Ghoshal ('Dola Re' - Devdas), Sunidhi Chauhan ('Beedi' - Omkara), Sudesh Bhosle (Say Shava Shava - K3G), Vishal Dadlani (Dhan Te Nan -Kaminey), Shekhar Ravjiani ('Jogi Mahi' - Bachna Ae Haseeno), Shankar Mahadevan ('Desi Girl' - Dostana), Sanjay Dutt and Amitabh Bachchan.

Aladin is made under the banner of Eros Entertainment and produced by Sujoy Ghosh and Sunil Lulla. Your wishes will be granted on the silver screens on 30 October 2009.

The album commences with the shortest track of the bunch, Genie Rap. Sung by Amitabh Bachchan and briefly by Anushka Manchanda, this track is a rap, obviously. It is hard to decide whether or not to be impressed with Mr. Bachchan's rap. It is my opinion that the track is strictly okay. That being said, I expected more from a man of Mr. Bachchan's calibre who has given us countless brilliant musical numbers, (putting the yesteryear hits aside)recent numbers such as the incredible 'Rozana' (Nishabd), 'Main Yahan Tu Wahan' (Baghban) and 'Kehta Hai Babul' (Babul) come to mind . 'Genie Rap' fails in comparison. Nonetheless, the seasoned actor pulls it off and the end result is a relatively catchy, fun and foot-tapping number. Anushka in a brief appearance is brilliant, as always. Lyrically, the track is great, in that it aesthetically describes the wonders of Genius the Genie and tells the listener that Aladin's life will never be the same again. Genie Rap also appears as a remix, courtesy of DJ Suketu who does a remarkable job at infusing some Punjabi flavour into the song while cranking up the tempo.

Dhak Dhina Din is next, a fast-paced disco-esque number sung energetically by Shankar Mahadevan who is accompanied by the lovable Shaan. The song revolves around the fact that Aladin's life is about to change and he should open up and grab it by the...reins. Vishal-Shekhar's music reminds you of the days of Disco Dancer and this fun-filled composition is truly commendable. However, it may not be music-buffs' cup of tea as it is slightly childish, as in, if Hi- 5 or The Wiggles ever got a Bollywood makeover, they will sound like this.

Next is Ore Sawariya sung by Shreya Ghosal, Sudesh Bhosle, Shaan and Amitabh Bachchan. 'Ore Sawariya' starts off as a weak déja vu of 'Rang Barse' and 'Mere Angne Mein' but Vishal-Shekhar make it their own. What can be said of the incredible Sudesh Bhosle, only that he is in full Bachchan mode which will make Bachchan fans very happy. After the her sexy makeover in Blue, Shreya Ghosal touches home base with this traditional desi number and warms hearts all over. Shaan optimises his awesome ability to give his vocals character, so as to make a song enjoyable without the need to see it picturised. This track also resurfaces as a DJ Suketu remix, which simply switches the desi track into pumping videshi remix.

You May Be just may be the best track in album. A sweet and melodious, romantic ballad, You May Be is lyrically outstanding. The song is a brilliant amalgamation of Hindi and English lyrics which are simple yet amazingly effective. Vishal who has a knack for singing in English (Title Tracks of Dhoom 2 and Krazzy 4) sings most of the song. However, it is Shekhar who is the heart-stealer in this number. Shekhar enters the 2nd half of the song and beautifully renders the Hindi verses allocated to him, but wait, that is not all. The real magnificence strikes when both music directors sing side by side in the final 1.5 minutes of the song. The result is magical. It is downright unfathomable, why these two have not done this before. It goes without saying, that the music is great, from the commencement of the song with the acoustic guitars to the high-powered rock-ish end.

Despite the dangers of entering after the awesome 'You May Be', Bachke O Bachke holds its ground and proves to be a highly entertaining number. This dance-track is enthusiastically rendered by Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan and Vishal Dadlani. It is a total masala track in true Vishal-Shekhar style. The track's only sore point is that it is slightly similar to Om Shanti Om's title track but otherwise it is a great number.

The album unfortunately ends on a bad note as Sanjay Dutt's Giri Giri takes itself rather literally and falls flat on its face. The dynamic vocals of Sanjay Dutt ('Rama Re' - Kaante) are totally wasted in this song. The track, sadly, cannot be even saved by Vishal-Shekhar's music because even that is not up to scratch.

In conclusion, Aladin is a great album with some obvious low points namely, the slightly nursery-rhyme-esque 'Dhak Dhina Dhin', the slightly trivial 'Genie Rap' and the not-so-slightly horrific 'Giri Giri'. 'You May Be', 'Ore Sawariya' and 'Bachke O Bachke' are the definite high-points of the album, with 'You May Be' being the obvious winner out of the three. Vishal-Shekhar stay true to their building reputation and prove yet again why they are the one of leading guys in Indian film music. At the end of the day, Aladin fulfills your musical wishes quite well.

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