Love Games Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating
EXPECTATIONS
Considering the fact that Love Games is a Vikram Bhatt film, you expect good music in there. Sangeet Haldipur-Siddharth Haldipur are the composers and Kausar Munir is the lyricist, with Vikram Bhatt chipping in as well.
MUSIC
As is expected in a Vikram Bhatt film, it is the sound of piano which kick-starts the soundtrack. It is wonderful to hear the voice of Sangeet Haldipur as he totally makes the opening number, 'Awargi', his own and makes you hear it all attentively. In the times when beats take over the proceedings from the word 'go', it is such a delight to have a well written number fetch your attention instead. A beautiful love song which has a slow pace to it and makes an impression well enough to be played on loop, it has Rasika Shekhar chipping in towards the end and making a good impression as well. A worthy start to the album.
Next to arrive is the title song 'Love Games' which has a 50's cabaret feel to it. Rendered by newcomer Aanchal Shrivastava, it has the kind of lyrics that aid in storytelling and should make for a situational setting. Expect the portions of this song to be heard intermittently as the narrative progresses in the film.
Sangeet Haldipur returns to the scene with 'Mohabbat' and yet again his accompanying partner is piano that plays almost silently in the background. This one has a non-filmy appeal to it and yet again comes across as a kind that would fit into the situational setting of the film. What works in favor of the song is the fact that it has an almost non-intrusive play and is quite harmless in its appeal.
This could well be the first ever instance when a Hindi film song has a title that goes as 'Nirvana'. Sung by Mohan Kannan, this one too has the kind of sound which is not usually attached to a Hindi film narrative. With a few English lines thrown in as well, this one has a haunting appeal to it and one waits to see and hear how this one is incorporated into the film.
With the sound of a police siren blazing in the background, the next song to arrive is 'Aye Dil'. With a Bhatt touch to it, this one again takes forward the haunting appeal that has been set in the album. The choice of voice is just right too, what with Sunidhi Chauhan stepping into the scene and immediately establishing what experience can do to a song. With a dark theme, expect this one to elevate the background score.
While Kausar Munir has been in charge of the lyrics so far, it is Vikram Bhatt who contributes with words in the last couple of songs. First to arrive is 'Lock Him Up' which mixes James Bond theme with Quentin Tarantino flavor to it, hence making it the kind of cocktail that could work in the context of the film. An English track that has Sonia Saigal taking charge with Ravindra Chary chipping in with the key words 'Lock him up', this is the kind of song that arrives in the second half of the film once tension surmounts in the narrative. Same holds true for Shon Pinto sung 'Poison', another haunting number entirely in English.
OVERALL
It has to be admitted that the music of Love Games is different from what is being churned out in the current times. Yes, there is 'Awargi' for those who like their Bollywood flavor to be intact, but for the rest there is a kind of soundtrack that would be discussed and debated, but certainly not ignored.
OUR PICK(S)
'Awargi', 'Aye Dil', 'Mohabbat'
