Special 26 Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating
EXPECTATIONS
The very fact that Special Chabbis actually has a full on music album for itself with a couple of love songs thrown in as well is a surprise in itself. Frankly, one just expected a couple of theme songs with an item number thrown in with an instrumental or two as add-ons. Since this isn't quite a quintessential Akshay Kumar starrer where one expects him to do everything that a 'masala' hero does, a music album is just an added advantage. In that aspect, one also sees an unlikely composer in the form of M.M. Kreem though Irshad Kamil is a regular. For an added effect, there is also a guest composition by Himesh Reshammiya.
MUSIC
A love song at the very beginning of Special Chabbis only begins a surprising journey for Special Chabbis, while also making one immediately wonder how and where would it actually fit into the film and that too for how much of a duration. Since the core of the film is con games, one expects filmmaker Neeraj Pandey to have actually devised a situation where 'Tujh Sang Lagee' fits in easily. Reason being that this K.K. and M.M. Kreem sung number is indeed quite pleasant with melody at the core of it and 'Sufi' as its influence. Hence it would be quite a loss if it doesn't quite reach the kind of distance it deserves.
More surprises are in store with Himesh Reshammiya stepping into the ring and bringing his guest composition 'Gore Mukhde Pe Zulfa Di Chaava'. Written by Shabbir Ahmed, this celebration number is based on Punjabi folk and catches on instantly. No, there isn't anything overtly unique or out of the box on play here. However as a quick fire number that should ensure that those four minutes pass by in a jiffy on screen, this song by Aman Trikha and Shabab Sabri does its job. Moreover this is also the only song in the album where heroine Kajal Agarawal can be seen dancing and singing with Shreya Ghoshal as her voice.
From this point on M.M. Kreem takes over and he brings on the kind of composition that is more of him than the cast or the film's setup. Chaitra Ambadipudi is the singer roped in for 'Kaun Mera' which moves at a leisurely pace and could well have been composed as a lullaby. With minimal instruments in the background, this love song (also in the vocals of Angaraag Mahanta (Papon) and Sunidhi Chauhan) arrives thrice in the album with an obvious aim at growing you on. Well, with the kind of structure, stage and setting, it could just have suited a Bhatt outing but in Special Chabbis, it may just interrupt the narrative.
The album returns on track to some extent with 'Mujh Mein Tu'. The song is pretty much in the same mode as 'Tujh Sang Lagee' and one can be rest assured that this composition could well have had Rahat Fateh Ali Khan at the helm of affairs had Pritam being the composer. Nevertheless, Keerthi Sagathia does well as a singer though one wonders how Irshad's words centered on 'Ishq', 'Aashiqui', 'Nain' and 'Khwab' would really go fit into the narrative of Special Chabbis. However this one indeed deserves to be heard again and M.M. Kreem does well in bringing himself behind the mike for the unplugged version.
Last to arrive is 'Dharpakad' and the song would be liked more for the brilliant cut music video than the actual composition. Bappi Lahiri is roped in as a singer for this song which is plain average when heard on audio. In fact till the time one sees its video, it comes across as a rather unconvincing composition, especially since it is the only one which is actually in line with the film's genre and theme. However the video changes the entire perception about the song, hence resulting in an overall satisfactory outing from the perspective of it playing on screen.
OVERALL
As stated earlier, whatever one gets to hear in Special Chabbis is a bonus since one didn't even expect a soundtrack to begin with. In that aspect, it is good to hear songs like 'Tujh Sang Lagee', 'Gore Mukhde Pe Zulfa Di Chaava' and 'Mujh Mein Tu' which give the album a Bollywood shade. However if only 'Dharpakad' (or its equivalent) would have been much more enticing as a composition as well and not just the video, it would have given the album an added edge.
OUR PICK(S)
Tujh Sang Lagee, Gore Mukhde Pe Zulfa Di Chaava, Mujh Mein Tu
