Here's another power-shot from Canada: this time it's an Indian singer who, though trained as a classical singer of Hindustani ghazals, has modeled herself after Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar. Those two sisters are known for voicing most of the big Bollywood hits of the last half century, which were written for them by a wide range of composers from RD Burman (the Godfather) to Shankar/Ehsaan/Loy (the Amar Akbar & Anthony of Filmistan) to Kalyanji and Anandji (aka the Bollywood Brothers). Vandana Vishwas has spent her life absorbing these filmi tunes and certainly could have taken her place up there in the constellation of great playback singers were it not for a childhood accident that crippled her. Instead she became an architect, but now sings playback to her own imaginary movie. The effect is the same intensity you get from watching Rekha or another screen goddess lip-synching in a glittering sari while the full moon shines down on a painted backdrop. I was quite taken aback when I put this CD on: I was not really expecting much beyond a quick listen then precarious placement on the toppling stack of untouchable self-produced discs that come my way. But I was immediately transported to that warm place when you have no cares other than an earnest hope that Shah Rukh Khan is going to get the girl, even though he is completely abject and having a hard time even telling her his feelings, and she is blithely planning her marriage to some worthless heel who has just trounced him. But you know in a serious dance-off Shah Rukh is gonna triumph, maybe the corrupt official will suffer remorse, maybe the orphan beggar will turn out to be the lost heir who suffered amnesia, maybe Love will conquer All! Vishwas has a perfect voice for the high-pitched music; her band includes a couple of synths which have sampled the tones of the entire Bollywood orchestra and a couple of loungey jazzmen who add tepid sax & piano. She has written the music and her husband has written the lyrics (it says on the box though I could swear I know half of these melodies from old movies!), except "Innocent heart" which is a famous poem by Mirza Ghalib, a Persian poet from the Mughal Empire. There's a pretty weak video that goes with the dreamy opening track on YouTube. Sometimes the movies in your head are fine, and this outing demonstrates just that.