Meeruthiya Gangsters Review {1.5/5} & Review Rating
EXPECTATIONS
There isn't much expectation from the music of Meeruthiya Gangsters. With an almost new team coming together to make the film as well as music, one just hopes to be surprised by a song or two, but that's about it. While Siddhant Madhav is the composer for as many as four songs, Vivek Kar gets to compose the title track. Kumaar, Arafat Mehmood and K Juneja are the lyricists.
MUSIC
Vivek Kar and Kumaar come together for the title track 'Meeruthiya Gangsters' which is all about lending hero worship to the gangsters who are breaking all rules and laws, and are in a world of their own. Zubeen Garg is roped in to croon behind the mike and while he is fully spirited, it is surprising to see a low key rap portion intermittently. The song by itself isn't great shakes but the Western theme coupled with some good rhythm ensures that it is catchy and plays in your mind after you have heard it just once. Later, Dev Negi also gets a solo version for himself once the song is repeated.
It is the sound of trumpets that kick-start the proceedings for 'Babaji Ka Ghanta', which reminds one of the kind of music that is usually associated with a David Dhawan film. However the similarity just ends there as this K Juneja written number takes on the 'masti' route with some elements of celebrating life thrown in. Composer Siddhant Madhav takes on from here and while he keeps the beats upbeat, Divya Kumar comes up with a spirited rendition too. That said, a song belonging to this genre does have its limitations as you can't expect it to reach out to a larger segment of audiences.
Since this is a kind of film which warrants a song by Mika Singh, the wait is over with the singer taking the stage for 'Mastam Mastam'. In fact it is surprising that this isn't the opening number in the album since it could well have been a flagship number of Meeruthiya Gangsters. The song pretty much is in the same mode as the title song and 'Babaji Ka Ghanta' which means those who stayed on the soundtrack till this point on won't mind hearing this one too which has K Juneja spinning his words all over again.
Siddhant brings himself on board as a singer with Arafat Mehmood written 'Hum Toh Jee Lete Hain'. With an Anurag Kashyap touch to it, this Westernized number is about living life in a careless 'andaaz' without worrying about impending death. A song which could well have featured in a Paanch or an Ugly, this one has singer Pawni A Pandey also giving a good account of herself as a singer. A good situational song which is brutal in its lyrics and also disturbing at points, it should be interesting to see how it plays in the film's narrative.
Last to arrive is 'Naina Tose Lage' and it turns the soundtrack upside down as the soothing vocals of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan are heard. A beautiful love song by composer Siddhant and lyricist Arafat, it makes for a soothing hear and one can't have enough of it even as it does play on for a while. Quite easy on ears and a definite hear for those who like their romantic numbers to be truly traditional with good classical base to them, 'Naina Tose Lage' is the best of the lot and warrants many repeat hearing. Surprisingly, the recording of the female version by Pawni A Pandey is very low key due to which the impact isn't felt much.
OVERALL
The music of Meeruthiya Gangsters isn't bad for the genre that the film belongs to and is certainly better than what one expected from it. However, as mentioned earlier, the genre has its restrictions due to which its reach is very limited. There aren't much chances of the soundtrack going up in the popularity scale though 'Naina Tose Lage' is the kind of number that could well enjoy a long shelf life.
OUR PICK(S)
'Naina Tose Lage'