Gunday – Music Review (Bollywood Soundtrack)

Gunday_(2013_film)You can listen to the songs here (link via @Prakshid)

Jashn-e-Ishqa comes with all the bells and whistles associated with the inspirational/hero intro mold of songs, anthemic feel and all. And it works like such songs do too (despite reminding of past such songs), what with Javed Ali and Shadab Faridi executing their part neatly as well. Rhythm of Jashn-e-Ishqa has Shadab doing an improv around the phrase in a short, BGM-type reprise. The folk rock mix in the dance track Tune Maari Entriyaan too is replete with familiar sounds (including a reference to the Tamil song Ennadi Muniyamma in the second interlude – wonder if the Tamil song was an original piece or based off a traditional folk tune). Again, the energy in the song and the rendition by KK, Vishal Dadlani and Neeti Mohan is sure to get the feet tapping. The opening Bengali refrain that Bappi Lahiri sings gets extended into a full song in a Bangla Version where Bappi da is joined by Monali Thakur. But for the Bengali lyrics and a short banter between the singers, everything else remains pretty much the same as the original version. For a movie titled Gunday the title song is surprisingly happy sounding, with a breezy arrangement featuring some lovely banjo. The composer Sohail Sen himself gets behind the mic for this one, alongside rapper Kinga Rhymes.

Asalaam-e-Ishqum has some super singing by Neha Bhasin, with Bappi Lahiri. The song as such fails to deliver though, falling prey to a middling arrangement. Despite Sohail’s jazzing up of the song, the dominant sound of Saaiyaan is that of the 90s and that makes it tedious after a while. Shahid Mallya’s soulful rendition does mitigate some of it though. Khusrau’s qawwali Mann Kunto Maula is adapted well by the composer in its classical version, giving it a regular qawwali treatment. Of course, it was eventually going to depend on how well the singers deliver, and Shadab and Altamash Faridi are outstanding in that department. The rock-based arrangement in the other version ends up sounding an odd mishmash though. Jiya is the best of the soundtrack, a haunting tune backed by an arrangement that sees a rich and beautiful melange of strings and exotic percussion. And on vocals there is the man with the golden touch Arijit Singh.

Gunday. Better than Sohail Sen’s last score way back in 2012 (which also was with YRF), but nothing brilliant.

Music Aloud Rating: 6.5/10

Top Recos: Jiya, Mann Kunto Maula, Jashn-e-Ishqa

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Jiya says:

Jiya is the only song that I like, however it sounds like it is inspired or copied from an old anu malik song from the 2000-2003 era. The antras sound exactly like a song that I can’t pin point.

David says:

I think it would be a good entertaining movie. I like the song Jashan-e-ishqa..