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'Action Replayy' is one film which is arriving as an underdog this Diwali. The film doesn't scream and excites audience by proclaiming - 'Hey, look I am cool' or 'See, Akshay Kumar would be seen as a Mr. Smart Know All' once again' or 'The gags are such that you would fall off your seats'. Instead it does it all in a subtle manner when it comes to treatment though the look of the film does gain audience attention, courtesy the 70s setting that had a psychedelic flavour to it.

No wonder, when the curtains go up, the film begins and a few minutes later, Akshay is introduced as a nerd from the 70s, everyone collectively goes 'eeks' along with his son (Aditya Roy Kapoor) who has made a visit to the past. Forget the flamboyance or the energy that one expects from Akshay Kumar, he actually gets into a garb as never worn before. Donning an ill fitting 'kurta-pyajama', a pair of TV screen style glasses, a 'champu' haircut, an awkward walk and last but the most visible aspect of his personality - two protruding teeth, Akshay is as unlike a hero as one can expect from him or any other supporting actor filling a frame.

Vipul Shah gets the retro flavour bang on right from the time opening credits start rolling. The anthem music, background score, colours, costumes, sets, props - everything blends in truly well to actually traverse audience to the era gone by.

The very thought of watching a Vishal Bhardwaj film excites a movie buff no end. Right from MAKDEE to KAMINEY, Bhardwaj's body of work stands out from the rest. The forward-thinking film-maker's fixation for adapting novels and plays is known to all and sundry by now. Continuing with his practice of adapting from the written form, the supremely talented storyteller now adapts Ruskin Bond's short story 'Susanna's Seven Husbands' for his new outing 7 KHOON MAAF. Known for walking the unusual path, Bhardwaj narrates an unconventional story yet again - of a woman who marries multiple times, following the untimely death of her husbands.

Now this is what one calls a perfect project in the making. Salman Khan, Anees Bazmee, Pritam, Bhushan Kumar and that promise of an out and out entertainer - one strongly believes that the music of Ready can't really go wrong. There are movies that are termed as popcorn entertainers; now here is a soundtrack which one believes would be the kind that would be best enjoyed when being a little high. Though four different lyricists - Amitabh Bhattacharya, Neelesh Misra, Ashish Pandit and Kumaar - are roped in for a song apiece with Devi Sri Prasad also chipping in as a guest composer, you look forward to whether Ready indeed has enough 'dum' in it to be the biggest commercial soundtrack of the year so far.

Pritam lends a fantastic start to Ready with 'Character Dheela' and what actually catches your instant attention is the fact that despite this being a Salman Khan entertainer, the song has the trademark sound that the composer is known for lending to his songs. If one has liked the kind of tunes that Pritam has composed for Shahid in films like Kismat Konnection, Jab We Met and Badmaash Company, he is bound to totally lap up 'Character Dheela' due to the Salman element being cleverly integrated by Amitabh Bhattacharya through his smart lyrics (don't miss that reference to 'Munni' and 'Sheila').

Going totally by Salman's on/off screen image which in any case is hardly different these days, 'Character Dheela' by Neeraj Shridhar and Amrita Kak is a lot of fun for those four minutes that it plays. An interesting choreography with Zarine Khan exuding oomph (a distinct shift from her Veer image) is another good reason that further consolidates the fact that 'Character Dheela' would entice a lot of 'seetis' and 'taalis' when it plays on screen. A chartbuster all the way that also arrives in a 'remix' and accentuates the fun.

What follows next is the kind of romantic number that Salman had to his name in dozens during the 90s. Written by Neelesh Misra, 'Humko Pyar Hua' also has short English portions in between the 'antra' and has KK going subtle in his rendition with Tulsi Kumar giving him good support. Though the original tune as well as it's remix is fine and doesn't give any reason to complain, it is nowhere close to the kind that Salman has enjoyed in Veer (Surili Ankhiyon Wali) and Dabangg (Tere Mast Mast Nain). At the end of it all, 'Humko Pyar Hua' is one harmless number that will find some popularity going for it only after the film turns out to be a success.

What is definitely going to be popular though in the very first go is 'Dhinka Chika' which is all set to be the biggest chartbuster of the first half of 2011 at the least. A re-done version of Telugu number 'Ringa Ringa' (Arya 2) with the original composer Devi Sri Prasad being roped in here, 'Dhinka Chika' (also arriving again in the 'remix version') has Mika Singh and Amrita Kak bringing on the kind of attitude that was pretty much required for the song of this genre. Ashish Pandit's lyrics are as 'chalu' as it gets and reminds one of the songs that were made for Mithun Chakravorty, Jeetendra and Govinda during the 80s. Expect frenzy in theaters, especially single screens, when the song plays on screen.

Pritam returns on the scene with a quintessential North Indian 'shaadi byaah' celebration track 'Meri Ada Bhi' that starts off with the folk rendition of much heard 'Laung Gawacha'. A rhythmic track that surprisingly has Rahat Fateh Ali Khan at the helm of affairs (since he is known more for his soulful melodies rather than dance numbers), 'Meri Ada Bhi' is what one terms as the kind of number which has been made for family audience. Tulsi Kumar too is pretty much in elements here for this song that at places does tend to veer towards 'U and I' (Pritam's composition from De Dana Dan at places) courtesy the way Rahat approaches it before the composer manages to pull it all back.

Any regrets from Ready? Only one which is - 'it finishes off too soon'. From an album of this stature one expected at least a couple of more songs to make it a wholesome affair. However, with only four songs in the album, one longs to lay hands on a lot more. Nonetheless, from what is made available, there are good enough reasons to celebrate with 'Dhinka Chika' and 'Character Dheela' all set to be not just huge hits musically but also turn out to be massive crowd pullers. On the other hand 'Meri Ada Bhi' ends up adding good variety to the album with 'Humko Pyar Hua' carrying a potential to gather steam once the film releases. Once on shelves, Ready should be a sell-out due to all around craze amongst audience to check out what the music is all about. However, the momentum is only going to continue after the film hits the screens.