Music: AMIT TRIVEDI
Lyrics: ANVITA DUTT GUPTAN & RAGHU NATH
Music Label: T-SERIES
Expectations:
The film looks promising, so we expect the music to be decent.
Music:
Amit Trivedi begins well with the folksy 'London thumakda' (Labh Janjua-Sonu Kakkad-Neha Kakkad), which is nicely orchestrated and spiritedly sung. Labh dominates, singing the amusing lyrics of Anvita Dutt with complete abandon as the words liken the heroine with London's Big Ben, with which the city resonates!
Amit's drawl-like singing lifts the quaintly-worded 'Badra bahaar' along with the wonderful strings. The prelude with trumpets (or similar) is simply wonderful. The lyrics (Anvita Dutt) are neat.
Shefali's distinctive nasal intonation sets the tone for the beat-heavy 'Gujariyav', and is the mainstay of this catchy hook-based number. Nikhil D'Souza tries hard to catch up with his flat vocals.
Arijit Singh nowadays gets a good song in whatever soundtrack he sings on, and 'Tanke jhaanke', a simple old-world Western number, is likable even if not in the memorable category. '
Jugni' also rendered by Amit Trivedi, is also a pleasant number but not something of which memories are made. The rock-based presentation and a tune at odds with the mood of the words pull down this average song.
'Harjaiyan' (Nandini Srikar) has a typical contemporary orchestration with an attempt at fusion. Nandini invests good energy into what could have been a routine number. Lifting it way above its basic level, she turns the track into something that lingers - at least for a while.
Mohan Kanan's 'Kinare' is as humdrum as they come, the tune and sound is incongruous to the lyrics, where the word 'kinare' is forcibly made into a hook. Mohan's diction could be better too. The instrumentation tends to be a bit noisy in its fusion quotient.
Rupesh Kumar Ram's 'Ranjha' explores familiar terrain and is a poignant recitation without conventional percussion. Its strength is Rupesh's razor-sharp diction and the haunting melody. The downside? The heavy Punjabi vocals, a negative force in so many recent songs!
Once again, we reiterate that lyrics are meant to connect, and they cannot do so unless they are understood.
Overall:
This is a passable and pleasant album by Amit Trivedi. Here is a man who is slowly but surely learning the ropes of what it means to be a film composer. The time is not far when his music might propel the fortunes of his films - we hope!
Our Pick:
London thumakda, Badra bahaar, Harjaiyaan