ABCD – Any Body Can Dance Review {2.0/5} & Review Rating
EXPECTATIONS
There are good expectations from the music of ABCD - Any Body Can Dance. After all, when the movie's very genre and setting itself cries of dance and music, the least you expect is the soundtrack to be impressive. It does seem like that as well on paper at least, what with composer duo of Sachin-Jigar pairing up with lyricist Mayur Puri. Their collaboration also results in a music heavy album comprising of nine tracks. However one key element goes entirely missing - 'Promotion'.
MUSIC
The album kick-starts with a devotional track 'Shambhu Sutaya' which is symbolic in ways more than one. A track with Ganpati as the central element, it is an unconventional beginning that the album gets with Shankar Mahadevan and Vishal Dadlani coming together. An interesting fusion track that has Western arrangements with an element of rock taking forward this situational number, it comes with good energy and takes you back in the 80s.
What is conventional though, albeit quite interesting, is 'Bezubaan'. A very well worded song with some good arrangements and the flow of composition, 'Bezubaan' soaks you in with every passing minute and by the time you are through hearing it in entirety; you are already in mood to play it all over again. Mohit Chauhan and Priya Panchal come together for this track that starts off rather slowly and then picks up pace after 80 odd seconds. This one should look stunning on screen!
The way 'Psycho Re' begins, you know that the song is basically catering to Prabhudheva fans. With South flavour pretty prominent from start till the finish of the song, what with 'Ratti-Patti', 'Rascala' and more filling in the tune, it is the one for the streets. Though Mika Singh and Udit Narayan (it is rather surprising to see him getting a second billing though) are in good form here and get the right ferocity in their vocals that compliment the mood of the song, it is basically aimed at the gentry and doesn't have much shelf life beyond the play of the film.
'Man Basiyo Saanwariyo' turns out to be a very interesting piece though as one can see Sachin-Jigar coming into their own with this one. Hinting of another beautiful, though pretty much ignored song that they had composed in Hum Tum Aur Shabana, 'Piya Kesariyo', this one is a good fusion track that catches your attention in the very first listening. A club track which has just the right voice in the form of Anushka Manchanda (who had incidentally also sung 'Piya Kesariyo'), 'Man Basiyo Saanwariyo' has a seductive element to it that also sets it apart from the rest. This one should have been promoted long back!
After 'Psycho Re', yet another situational number that makes an entry into the album is 'Chandu Ki Girl Friend'. Yet another song that reminds one of a similar outing from Hum Tum aur Shabana, 'Thank U Mr. DJ', this one is a conversational song with multiple singers coming together in the form of Raman Mahadevan, Jigar Saraiya, Divya Pushkarna, Sagar Kendurkar and Madhav Krishna. A fun track that should definitely bring on smiles as it plays on screen; it is a good experiment that could have benefited from some aggressive promotion.
All such fun is followed by a much pensive 'Duhaai' which could well be the one set for the pre-climax of the film. Madhav Krishna is the one roped in for this song that has a haunting feel to it and is mainly situational in appeal. Though one can't expect the song to cover much distance as a standalone number due to its very theme and setting, expect some visual appeal enhancing its prospects in the film's context.
The song that has thankfully started seeing some good promotion coming its way is 'Sorry Sorry'. A fun number where Jigar Saraiya brings himself behind the mike, it is a catchy track which gets on track at the very kick-start and doesn't take time in picking on the momentum. This is a kind of number that should ideally have become popular amongst kids by now.
It's the jingle of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' that one gets to hear at the beginning of 'Kar Ja Re Ya Mar Ja Re' which is clearly a dance number in the offering. After a rather haunting beginning, it picks on pace and ends up making a thrilling impact. If supported by grand visuals, this Suraj Jagan rendition boasting of some poetic lyrics by Mayur Puri should make its presence felt in going with the film's storytelling.
The song that turns out to be quite an interesting piece (and also a fitting finale) is 'Sadda Dil Vi Tu (Ga Ga Ga Ganpati)'. One associates Hard Kaur with a particular genre and setting of songs, and the last choice could well be a Ganpati number. Well, surprises never fail to cease as she gets into her characteristic self while hailing the Ganpati. A highly addictive piece that has the kind of rhythm and beats that make you groove along even as you are hearing it for the very first time, one wonders what made the makers refrain themselves from unleashing this one long time back.
OVERALL
ABCD - Any Body Can Dance is a good music album which is genre specific and goes with the kind of narrative that the film demands. Okay, so it doesn't have the kind of chartbusters that go in the conventional sense of affairs. However with an opportunity like this, some measures could well have been taken to bring the songs some visibility. In this case though the songs have arrived just a week before the film's release which is hardly going to help the album make any major impact in physical or digital format. Sad, but true!
OUR PICK(S)
Bezubaan, Sadda Dil Vi Tu, Sorry Sorry, Man Basiyo Saanwariyo
