3 Idiots – Music Review

Aal Izz Well is entertaining in parts in spite of a not-so-great tune overall, the Aal Izz Well refrain especially standing out. I definitely don’t see this becoming the next Masti Ki Paathshala for one! Shantanu Moitra’s blue-eyed boy Sonu Nigam does a decent job of delivering it, backed by Shaan and Swanand Kirkire, but this is not quite a Sonu song. I would instead have preferred Shaan to take the lead on this one. The remix is a rather noisy affair and very much skippable. Sonu returns with another of Moitra’s fixations, Shreya Ghoshal, to render Zoobi Doobi, a song marked by the mild East European flourishes in places and that retro feel reminiscent of songs like Naa Maange Sona Chaandi et al. Quite an interesting coincidence that almost all movies with Shantanu’s music find the need for at least one retro-styled track. Hope the trend stops soon, as Moitra’s retro comps are edging dangerously close to boring! A firm thumbs down for the remix, thankfully the last remix of the album.

Shaan takes centre stage with Behti Hawa, a mellow folksy melody which showcases Shantanu Moitra’s astuteness with arrangement. In spite of the sense of deja vu, the nostalgic element in the lyrics and the simplistic tune of Give Me Some Sunshine will surely appeal to the college-going crowd. The na.. na.. hook which appears in various forms throughout the song reminded me a bit of the ICICI ad theme, a modification of which Shantanu Moitra had previously used in the title song of Lage Raho.. And quite surprisingly Suraj Jagan sounded rather crass singing this track, especially the low pitched areas. The final song of the soundtrack, Jaane Nahi Denge, starts off decently enough with Sonu crooning in his usual passionate manner. But then a transition of pitch happens and things take a drastic turn, Sonu going absolutely overboard in delivering the part. The process repeats a couple more times and each time the vocals get more and more torturous, Sonu even seemingly attempting to rush the instruments towards the end! Surprising to here Sonu Nigam err thus.

Shantanu Moitra delivers a soundtrack that is mostly the typical Moitra fare, simple hummable kind of tunes with the occasional retro touch. But being an Aamir Khan movie one might have hoped for more variety, and going by that aspect the album is a let down. And it is also high time Moitra tried out something radically different, to pull the brakes on his downward slide from the high point that was Parineeta.

Music Aloud’s rating – 6/10

Recommended tracks – Behti Hawa, Give Me Some Sunshine, Aal Izz Well