Ek Tha Tiger – Music Review

So it would seem that Salman Khan does not feel his soundtrack as being complete without the presence of Messrs Sajid and Wajid. Hence it is that the Sohail Sen score has a guest composition from the duo as opener, Mashallah. I always used to think Masha Allah was the correct usage, but since lyricist Kausar Munir is a Muslim I assume this is also right. The song has nothing fresh in its arrangement, the composers merely ensuring that pretty much every instrument definitive of the genre makes an appearance in the staple Arabic template. And the song works to the extent of the innate allure that Arabic songs carry. Wajid is decent in his rendition, and the superimposition of twin pitch voices makes Shreya Ghoshal sound exotic. The fast forwarded remix is avoidable, nothing worthwhile there. Only point of interest is that the male voice seems different here even though Wajid is credited. And that leaves us with lead composer Sohail, who starts off on a pretty bland note with the staid and very heard before-ish Spanish track called Laapata. Even the sprightly singing from Palak Muchhal and KK proves inadequate to induce much life into it. Remix is almost as good as the original, which isn’t saying much.

With opening mandolin (?) bars that strongly evoke memories of Dil Gira (Delhi 6) and a Celtic violin hook that particularly reminds of Corrs’ Toss of Feathers, Banjara has an anthemic feel about it (which is not at all what the lyrics by Neelesh Mishra indicate though) and is still marginally more engaging than its predecessors, thanks mainly to Sukhwinder Singh. In this case the remix also is listenable. It is only in his third song Saiyara that the composer shows some of the imaginativeness he had running high last year in MBKD and KHJJS. Beautifully arranged with some exotic sounds that lend the Middle Eastern flavor without making it repetitive, and a superb job by Mohit Chauhan and Tarannum Malik. Julius Packiam’s Tiger’s Theme sounds like a compilation of chase sequence BGMs, pretty messily put together at that.

Ek hai gaana, that stands out in Ek Tha Tiger. Middling score otherwise.

Music Aloud Rating: 5.5/10

Top Recos: Saiyara, Banjara

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VIP says:

@Aravind: machan X sourced from Y who sourced from Z is the same as saying Z is the source no. Why bring ARR into this. 🙂 Chances of Sohail Sen listening to Corrs is more than him listening to Sakkarakkatti. 😛 And that piece comes from Runaway by Corrs.

raju says:

Hey I liked lapataa and banjaraa. Good singing by PALAK MUCHHAL, K.K. AND SUKHI

Arvind Narayanan says:

Saar- That Banjara Song celtic violins are copied from ARR’s Yele from Sakarakatti , which in turn was “inspired” by The Corrs. I can see the similarity in the 3 pieces. BTW check this video of The Corrs- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEJa_VgpIAc. Can you tell me what music that first piece is (which plays for the credits up front). Our Yuvan seems to have been “inspired” from it for that Kaadhal Kondein movie.