Of the three songs that Arijit Singh sings in Holiday, the best (also best of the soundtrack) is this stunner called Ashq Na Ho. A winner on all aspects this one, a haunting tune to go with Irshad Kamil’s lines and brilliant use of strings by Pritam (the violins sound quite Rahman-esque in places). And of course splendid singing that goes without saying. Aaj Dil Shayarana is a pretty song, but not unlike such pretty songs by the composer from the past. It is owing to Arijit that the song tends to work despite the déjà vu. Some nice touches in the arrangement like the violin help too (think I heard a Chinese erhu in the second interlude).
Rest of the soundtrack is one long dance fest! Blame the Night is the most engaging of the lot, courtesy a catchy tune and once again some sprightly effort from the singers – Arijit joined by Aditi Singh Sharma and Piyush Kapoor (I presume the man now part of Thaikkudam Bridge). Palang Tod sounds better in version 2, but the composition as such is limited in its appeal, despite Mika Singh and Ritu Pathak’s best efforts. Pritam’s slick arrangement in Tu Hi Toh Hai is all good, but that still doesn’t help overcome the strong familiarity in its sound. Among the two versions, Kunal Ganjawala’s sounds marginally better than that of Benny Dayal’s.
So that one brilliant track makes all the difference to Pritam’s soundtrack for Holiday, when compared to its Tamil counterpart (Thuppaakki) by Harris Jayaraj.
Music Aloud Rating: 7.5/10
Top Recos: Ashq Na Ho, Aaj Dil Shayarana, Blame the Night
