Music: Vishal-Shekhar
Lyrics: Vishal Dadlani, Anvita Dutt & KumaAR
Music Label: Zee Music
Expectations:
Humungous - after all, a big film starring Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif and with a director with whom Vishal-Shekhar have done two of their musically superior films, Salaam Namaste and Ta Ra Rum Pum.
Music:
The first song, ' Tu Meri' (written and sung by Vishal Dadlani) focusses on a throbbing beat to deliver a dance track, though it could have been much more foot-tapping. The lyrics are designed to come back to the principal hook (' Tu meri main tera hone lagaa'), though the wordplay could have been better in meaning.
The title-track ' Bang Bang' (Benny Dayal-Neeti Mohan) is a contemporary dance number and the sound is immaculate, even if the energy could be higher. Neeti is surprisingly dull, though Benny, in his best ape-composer-Vishal-Dadlani mode, brings in a husky perkiness to the song. Vishal's lyrics are smart but emerge as merely functional. But this is decidedly the catchiest song of the soundtrack.
Of the two versions of ' Meherbaan' we preferred the solo Shekhar Rajviani reprise over the Ash King-Shilpa Rao-Shekhar Ravjiani one, though we preferred the reprise version by alone. The lyrics by Anvita Dutt Guptan-Kumaar (why have two known writers for such a basic song?) are oddball - sample ' Aankhen teri / Girti hain jab / Ab to neendein aati hain tab'!
Shekhar tries his best to infuse emotions unlike the other version, in which Ash King is quite flat, while Shilpa Rao should sing in a full-throated fashion rather than deliver a song mechanically. Though the song - like the entire score - is designed for the youth, it really could have been intense and extraordinary.
Benny Dayal infuses spirit into ' Uff' and lifts it to a likeable level. The song sounds like a catchy jingle, in which Harshdeep Kaur for some reason tries to sound like Sunidhi Chauhan. The lyrics by Anvita Dutt are predictable, despite the novel premise. The music and sound are, well, smart, and the (over-)repetition of the word ' Uff' works to an extent.
Overall:
Hooks, catchphrases and beats more than musical or lyrical substance are the three anchors of the score. This is a score that will be liked in passing.
Our Pick:
'Uff', 'Bang Bang'