pre-ABA
Himesh reshammiya as a music director concentrated on typical Indian love duets in his early days.
Up until the pre-ABA era, his first preferences were singers like Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik and a melodious love ballad was virtually impossible without them.
Pre-ABA, the key elements in himesh reshammiya's music and the reason why his music was labeled "infectiously catchy" were:
1. Jayesh Gandhi's high-pitched croons.
2. Alka Yagnik's vocals.
3. Soothing background female chorus.
There were also 3 notable signatune elements i.e. quick keyboard flicks, fast paced tabla beats in start of stanzas and household string instrument theme piece tune at start.
In all the love duets in which Alka has sung, the listener should watch out for her HIGH PITCHED vocals that delivered a melodious pinch.
Full marks go to himesh reshammiya – the composer for uncapping this potential to give terrific sensations on his already melodious tunes.
Along with melodious melodies, himesh always threw in a mix of peppy club "in-da-house" numbers and these were mostly sung by KK, Shaan and Sunithi Chauhan.
Himesh always asked KK & Shaan to adapt an adjusted singing style with FEEL GOOD ARROGANCE and with a SLIGHT TWIST in pronunciation of lyrics.
Himesh also gave some haunting melodies in albums such as HUMRAAZ and VAADA, which proved that himesh could adapt to any script or backdrop theme of a project in question.
In between 2000 to 2002, himesh scored for some comedy films and churned out some feel good rhythmic tracks i.e. AAMDANI ATTHANI KHARCHA RUPAIYA, JODI NO.1 and DULHAN HUM LE JAYENGE.
From 2003 to 2005, himesh scored some terrific "laid back serene" melodies most notably in albums like CHURA LIYAA HAI TUMNE and TAARZAN - THE WONDER CAR.
During this period, he also made inroads into the genre of "semi-classical" i.e. with the soundtrax of JULIE in which two songs namely HUM TUMSE DIL and JULIE - THE RHYTHM OF MY LIFE had a great dose of raga tunes and tabla beats.
This fact was totally confirmed by album KUCH MEETHA HO JAAYE.
With the album of Vaada, himesh broke away from his usual image and threatened to enter the genre of SUFI FUZION.
This was achieved by following 2 numbers:
1. Uud Uud Jaaye – which is his only pre ABA Sufi Rwak composition.
2. Maula – which is an EAST-WEST FUZION with techno bazz sound.
Himesh continued this trend of Fusion with the song AANE DO – ROYAL STAG MEGA MIX from KUCH MEETHA JO JAAYE, and his BEST fusion in pre-ABA era is TERI GALIYON SE from MAIN AISA HI HOON.
Since his debut up until the ABA era, himesh never really worked with the biggest banners for 2 main reasons:
1. He did bulk quantity work and the biggest banners required exclusivity and selectivity.
2. The bigger reason is that Bhushan Kumar, the head honcho of T-Series was himesh's financial backbone and promoted his music aggressively like nobody's business. Therefore, working with some big banners like Dharma Productions, Yash Raj and Venus meant that the MUSIC RIGHTS would be under the music labels of the respective banners i.e. YRF MUSIC etc.
One of the highest point of Himesh - the composer came in 2005 when he shifted his sound domain from Indian melodies to Sufi Rwak. First in Uud Uud Jaaye and Maula in Vaada, and then from Aashiq Banaya Aapne onwards. This shift in sound domain was unexpected and showed an uncapped potential and another versatile style of Himesh which was never imaginable. As a composer who based his tunes on simple raags and created raag based Indian melodies suddenly took a 360 degree turn and made songs in contrasting opposite genre and mastered it by catching the finest nuances of that Sufi Rwak genre.
post-ABA
The low lying dormant SUFI – RWAK composer within himesh woke up with the musical score of ABA and gave break to himesh – the singer who was TAILOR MADE for such genre.
As a fan, there was zero doubt that himesh – the singer would be a sure shot hit.
The reason was very simple because the fact is that any singer can be a hit on himesh's typical unique melody.
This leads to the main point that the high-pitched voice with a nasal twang was indeed UNIQUE and UNCONVENTIONAL and this factors along with a NEW SOUND generated a mass hysteria.
Critics have said that "himesh reshammiya is original to the core but repeats himself till death".
The actual fact is that, once himesh targets one particular genre then nothing stops from having a full go at it, and himesh has always mentioned that a musician should stick to his strong points.
Himesh – the composer is the backbone of the success of himesh – the singer, because he composes tailor made sufi rwak tunes that showcases the full talent and potential of himesh – the singer.
The KEY thing in the composition style are the prolonged twists and turns with sudden pitch variations and himesh - the singer delivers the killer punch with added emphasis and his lower bazz octave.
The combo of himesh – the composer and himesh – the singer was like adding FUEL to FIRE which ignited an outburst of flames that is unstoppable till date.
Post ABA, himesh has totally ruled the Sufi Rwak genre but he has silently targeted the SEMI CLASSICAL genre side by side with certain songs in albums like BANARAS, NAMASTEY LONDON, KARZZZZ, AKS to name a few.
Mainly known for those KILLER RWAKING sufi-rwak numbers that established his rock star image status, he developed a silent niche for those PAINFUL SOULFUL KILLER sad numbers that was totally contradictary of this image, and this only shows his versatility.
Himesh reshammiya – the singer became USTAD Himesh Reshammiya with the song WADA TAINU and he has since then consolidated this maestro reputation.
During this period, he has also focused on Rhythm and tried to incorporate RAP-N-REGGAE into his songs i.e. with albums like TOM DICK N HARRY and ANTHONY KAUN HAI, and in the process he has given song feel good rhythmic melodies that did not have his usual trademark stamp, for example the feel good melodies in NAMASTEY LONDON.
Post ABA, the stakes were also high as himesh had to prove himself as a singer and also started getting countless decent offers.
Therefore, he played a SAFE BET with MINIMAL EXPERIMENTATION due to the HIGH STAKES.
He did his best CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED work with the music score of Ahista Ahista and the prolonged twists-n-turns with emphasis added and power of lower octave in the TITLE TRAX is simply unbeatable.
But with a medium scale project like Radio, himesh gathered the guts to step out of his comfort zone and experiment with his BOTH his VOICE and SOUND, despite the setback of Banaras (singing style) and Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye (composition style) but there wasn't to be a HATRICK.
In terms of his new voice, more than the NEWNESS, the KEY is the SINGING STYLE and the NATURE OF COMPOSITIONS.
The new singer within Himesh has been instructed to CURB his NATURAL AGRESSIVE INSTINCTS to sing with a SUBTLE FEEL in a restrained manner with self-composure, and that is a really quite an achievement.
Himesh has sung in this style in SAREGAMAPA but he has confirmed this fact in Radio.
As far as his bazz octave voice, he has touched far lower notes than the ones in tunes of Radio (please refer to the post – Songs to showcase the power of himesh's low octave to confirm this fact).
His new voice has a GREAT UNDERLYING DEPTH (GOONJ) as compared to his DEFAULT sufi-rwak voice.
His non-sung songs n songs sung with his other voice are also good, but in the post ABA era, nothing can beat Himesh's Sufi Rwak tracks with his Sufi Rwak voice
Desire to work with certain directors
Himesh had always wished and expressed his desire to work with reknowned directors like Sooraj Bharjatiya, Karan Kohar, Raj Kumar Hirani. Sooraj ji ke saath kaam karane ke liye Salman ka haath hai, also Himesh usually doesn't go to directors to ask for projects, usually makers and directors approach and come to him for their albums, due to his past legacy of work. Perhaps the only time that Himesh may have gone out of his way and expressed his desire was when he approached Karan Johar for Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, in fact Himesh had even prepared his version of title track to suna n convinsofy him, par KJO itni aasani se haath mein nahi aaya. Himesh had even hummed his version when he appeared on Koffee with Karan.
2012
This was a good musical year for Himesh and the best after 2007 whereby all his albums worked. One aspect that worked in Himesh's favor is that all his albums were for big or well known banners, whereby most crossed n/or almost touched the 100 Crore mark, (except Dangerous Ishhq) and were picturized on big stars which made them even more popular, and 4 out of 5 albums mainly required massy numbers (except Dangerous Ishhq) and so songs had full on rhythm. Himesh experimented, tried n tested various male singers including those upcoming ones from musical reality shows like Aman, Shreeram, Shadaab Shabri, Mohd Irfan and Suraj Jagan and veteran ones like Mohit Chauhan, Javed Ali, Benny Dayal, Zubeen Garg and Ash King. Even Big B and Ajay Devgn ended up singing a song. He also carried forward and built his good rapport with mass popular singer Mika Singh in Go Go Govinda, Raja Rani and Long Drive, and class singer with universal appeal with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in Tu Hi Rab and Bichdann. He also tried out different rap by roping in Yo Yo Honey Singh, but it is hoped that he will also keep Arya Acharya in the mix and scheme of things. His DJ choices were also good whereby the remixes also engaged the listeners.
Though the last year was very good for Himesh - The Composer, it wasn't such a great year for Himesh - The Singer. He sung only 4 songs. The only song in Sufi Rwak voice was Naina Re but that had a lot of forceful singing which would mainly appeal to his fans, Chalao Na was sung with his other non nazal voice, Lonely (deliberate nazal twang, along with a mix of his other voice in the stanzas) and Saari Saari Raat (subdued restrained singing) had experimental singing. Most popular were Chalao Na and Lonely, followed by Saari Saari Raat and Naina Re. Though, singing wise Chalao Na and Naina Re were better, and Saari Saari Raat was the weakest.
Also, in terms of tonal quality, Himesh's Sufi Rwak voice sounded way better in songs like ABA Title Trax, Aashiqui Mein Teri, Dil Tumhare Bina etc than in Naina Re, and even when he experimented with his vocals, he sounded better in songs like O Jaana Love U Miss U, Dekhu Tujhe Toh Pyaar Aaye and Yun Toh Mera Dil to name a few, whereas his singing backfired in Saari Saari Raat. But his deliberate nazal singing was more effective in Lonely rather in Madhushala. However, the best display of his other voice in this year was in Chalao Na which was appreciated by one n all.
Himesh's best song in 2012 in terms of 'most catchy melody' was Hukkah Bar
Hopefully, 2013 would be a better year for Himesh - The Singer, with more number of playback songs and the tonal quality that ruled in the 06-07 era.
(tab=2014}
Himesh should revive the pre ABA n Sufi Rwak era back. He tried pre ABA in Dangerous Ishq n Title Trax of Policegiri, but he can do better than that. Sufi Rwak koh sune hue bhi arsa ho gaya hai. Last full fledged Sufi Rwak album was Kajraare which was 4 years ago.
Expectations
After close following of his sound since debut till date, currently there are 3 things missing from his pre-ABA melodies namely Alka Yagnik, Jayesh Gandhi and soothing female background chorus.
With the re-introduction of these 3 elements, himesh can become a burning rage with his current sound.
The fact is that there were no real haters of himesh's music or hate clubs up until ABA and his old age elements really work big time.
Himesh has made an effort with RADIO, but it has been an EXTREME SHIFT from HARD CORE SUFI-RWAK to SOFT-CORE SEMI CLASSICAL.
What is really waiting to be uncapped is the MID POINT between there two genres which is TYPICAL PRE-ABA INDIAN LOVE DUETS/BALLADS.
For this fact, himesh has to forget that he is going to sing those melodies.
He needs to use his AGE OLD SURE FIRE HIT formulas since his debut up until ABA and after composing that sound, he should sing with his NEW SIGNING STYLE instead of the male veterans that sung for him pre-ABA.
The catch is, imagine himesh singing all those infectious melodies with his female counterparts "with the SOUND of that era with all old-age elements intact" in his new singing style, and miracles are bound to happen like norm.
This would enable him to give albums with 30% (sufi-rwak), 30% (semi-classical), 30% (typical pre-ABA Indian love ballads) composure of both genres and with scope with 10% of some new experimentation as himesh believes in changing course and re-inventing himself.
...and he could always change this composure mix depending on market sensibilities because in addition of having OOZES of TALENT, he has STREET SMART BUSINESS SENSE that enables him to stay ahead of times and other musicians too as he is the undisputed TRENDSETTER...
From 2010 onwards, as a producer vs outside banners
Over the past few years, from 2010 onwards...it can be noted that HR has given superior music in the films in which he starred as an actor, whether it was Kajraare, Radio, Damadamm, Khiladi 786, The Xpose...it is not to say that the music of his non filmi albums where he only scored music as composer isn't good...those albums are also decently good and above average...but overall the music of his filmi albums is better and superior...the reason for this could be that when Himesh is working for outside big banners, he is under more pressure to deliver, and does safe play to ensure that the album works commercially...also he has to deliver songs within parameters depending on situations and theme of project...whereas as a producer, he has more creative freedom as his production house chooses the kind of films to do, and their storyline and overall scope of songs...music wise, he feels relatively lesser pressure as a composer when he is the producer also...but it is felt that over past few years, Himesh has put undue pressure upon himself for outside big banner films, perhaps if he enjoys his music making process more, he can recreate that magical midas touch of his bygone era in last decade once again.
2015-2016
1. Teraa Surroor - best song, Bekhudi
2. Sanam Teri Kasam - best song, Tera Chehra
3. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo - best song, Prem Leela
His best songs from all these 3 albums combined are Bekhudi and Tera Chehra.
Himesh has done great work in 2016 like Sanam Teri Kasam, Teraa Surroor and Aap Se Mausiiquii, but something is missing. Despite all that effort, there is not that same level of craze for his music like how it used to be in the past, don't know why. That same level is not been able to be attained. In fact, in the past 2 years, the only notable songs that get played are Prem Ratan Dhan Payo Title Trax and Jumme Ke Raat, and that too because of Salman Khan. So Himesh should try to bag projects with big stars, instead of giving music for small films like Radhika Apte and Vinay Sapru's next.
In past 5 years, Himesh has done Bodyguard, Kick, Jai Ho, PRDP with Salman...in past 4 years he has done Bol Bachchan, Son Of Sardar, Action Jackson with Ajay Devgn...Khiladi 786, OMG, Special 26 with Akshay Kumar. So from big stars...Ajay, Akshay and Salman have supported him.
Being exclusive policy
Himesh should leave his exclusive policy and take on more medium banner projects...don't see any point in giving 2-3 scores in an year for small films like Shortcut Romeo, Policegiri, its not taking him very far at this stage...in 2004-2005 when he wasn't getting big projects, he took quite a few middle banner films like Yakeen, Ishq Hai Tumse etc and gave good music, until he bagged a relatively big film like Aaitraaz, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya...going exclusive means doing 3 albums like, lets say...of the stature of PRDP, Namastey London, Khiladi 786 in 1 year...your album hits the stands 3 times an year for big banners, it is well promoted and marketed, and people remember it for having memorable music...like how Himesh used to say, 'i have to go to that next level of music'..not 2-3 small banner films with music that is now already forgotten (Shortcut Romeo, Policegiri etc).
What is concerning is that why he is getting overlooked these days...Himesh singing Udi Udi Jaaye and wishing SRK, to get noticed?! who knows...its like makers and directors are conveniently overlooking him, so these other composers are bagging those projects...or because Himesh said he is xclusiv so that's what all makers are thinking, if Himesh is serious about his acting career and that's why less music, he must choose a solid project and make impact as actor...but if he genuinely wants to bag big projects, he could consider playback singing for other composers like Photocopy...and like how Vishal (of VS) sings for Rajesh Roshan and Vishal Bhartwaj...he could do less music and give a hit like AKS - The Moviee, The Xpose etc in 15-20 Cr range and be accepted as actor...or else bag few prestigious projects in an year and remain xkulsiv, but hanging in between with small budget albums like Sanam Teri Kasam, and giving average fares like Teraa Surroor 2 is not really making a Bang approach...making a film like Khiladi 786 and a song like Hookah Bar in same year is still decently good enough to stay in 'charcha' and on radio stations.
Dip in popularity
3 reasons: 1st reason, 2006-2008...Suroor, Jhalak magic and topi coat waala look superhit...2014-2016...given decent songs but need that Suroor, Jhalak kind of magic again, 2nd reason, Himesh's lean look transformation will take time to accept by aam junta. 3rd reason, ever since his exclusive policy decision to concentrate more on his acting career, he has done fewer flimy albums as composer, due to which he has been sidelined. Now it is of wonder, whether Himesh still says that he is exclusive because he really wants to to selective projects, or that he is just exclusive for the sake of it because he doesn't have any big outside flimy projects and is just using the exclusive tag as a pretext and bahaana that being exclusive is the reason he doesn't have many projects.
Working with other stars and banners
Fans are wondering if Himesh should work with SRK, Aamir, Hrithik and YRF, Dharma. Yes, but first SRK should give 300 Cr worldwide collection film...nahi toh phir Sallu mia ke saath hi theek hai. When Himesh wished SRK before Raees film release, Udi Udi Jaaye in Himesh's voice was sounding way better than original version. If Himesh works with new artistes he also gets inspired to do something special, like Javed Akthar in Namastey London and Irshad Kamil in Ahista Ahista. So he should work with new actors also, like SRK in future. Aamir Khan gives preference to some specific composers like Ram Sampath, Shantanu Moitra...aur zyada tar Aamir Khan ki filme 'brand Aamir' ki wajah se chalti hain, like Dangal...aur Hrithik toh aadhi filme apne baap ke banner mein karta hai, where Rajesh Roshan is automatically the composer...aur baaki filme yrf aur Dharma etc ke saath abhi tak mumkin nahi, jahan pe network connection ka locha hai.
2017
In 2017, Himesh has Heeriye and Vinay Sapru - Radhika's next...Vinay - Radhika's next won't get that much promotion and it could have similar fate like Sanam Teri Kasam (average to decent response, nothing big) coz STK was Klassik album but his good songs are going sidelined in small albums, unless they have to be exceptional like Namastey London to get noticed . So that leaves Heeriye, if Heeriye has same stats like Teraa Surroor both audio and film wise, then it won't be good direction for him. Heeriye needs to create impact with solid script, story, direction and acting...and have Hit music, otherwise if it doesn't create impact, Himesh can find himself in dodgy waters as he doesn't have any other big project/s in his kitty until further announcement. There are reports that HR is also proceeding with The Xpose 2, with plans to record a song on his b'day. Since his weight loss, people have been judgemental about him...starting from his hair, his physique...which is concerning. Hope that he will be accepted as actor in his current look.
How come Himesh has only 1 outside small project i.e. Radhika and Vinay Sapru's next, is it because nobody wants to give him big banner projects and he is not picking up small projects (like how he did in 2013 with Policegiri, Shortcut Romeo). On acting front, some say that he shouldn't waste time to become hero, but it can be said that Himesh can definitely Act and he has improved his acting over the years. Also he has really worked hard on his physique, even though he may not look like a conventional hero but without a good project and script, his films cannot work. He will start The Xpose 2 after Saregamapa Lil Champs and nobody knows Heeriye status.
As a composer it is very important to trusts your instincts and back them up completely...what is the point of sampling the songs and making various people hear it, only to get their nod or if not then scrap the song...while the scrapped song is the one which was unconventional...as a composer you go only by YOUR instinct what will work in current trend...after Tum Hi Ho, Himesh has attempted songs in this genre, but Pritam hasn't...after Selfie he moves onto Sajan Radio, and it shows that he trusts himself only what will work and doesn't ask or go for various opinions...whereas Himesh in past few years has gone 'gumraah' trying to follow and emulate other's sounds and kinda insecure, talking sampling selection advice from various groups, while the end result is coming like ASM...while he may not have taken a single advice for AKS in 2006, in fact...in an interview, he had said that his Dad was against the songs and wasn't quite taking a liking to them instinctively...but Himesh went ahead and AKS was a bestseller.
Many wonder why Himesh has so less projects these days. This was largelt attributable to his Exclusive policy many years ago in order to pursuit his acting career. Agar batsman allrounder banne ke chakkar mein bowling karega toh phir aisa ho sakta hai...good at leg spin, stick to leg spin...good at off spin, stick to off spin...if try both at the same time, then...kuch paane ke liye (acting, going selective and exclusive) kuch khona parta hai (gave up projects, franchises, sequels in his kitty which were filled up and taken by other composers).