Songs and credits at the end.
The simplicity in majority of Phillauri’s songs and their rootedness in Punjabi folk in some ways take me back to Mausam. Thankfully composer Shashwat Sachdev (debuting in Bollywood I believe) does not quite share Pritam’s penchant for creating multiple versions to a song, so the only song in Phillauri that has more than one variant is Dum Dum. And while Mausam featured a then relative newbie named Shahid Mallya on vocals, this soundtrack too has a new (and somewhat similarly sounding as Mallya) and promising singer named Romy. Romy lends his voice to two of Dum Dum’s three versions, assisted by the movie’s executive music producer Vivek Hariharan. Except for a prelude sung by Romy, both the variants are largely similar and equally engaging. It is the third one sung by the movie’s leading man Diljit Dosanjh that is most appealing though, thanks to its ambient sound and beautifully employed plucked strings (played by David Sinchury and Youngmin Kim). Romy’s second song Sahiba, where he is joined by Pawni Pandey (who recently sang the Laila remix in Raees), too is built on a fine fabric of guitars and other plucked strings and has a very likeable melody that the two singers deliver with finesse. The celebratory folksiness of Bajaake Tumba is of a more heard before kind but the composer introduces some imaginative variations in the melody in the second verse. That and the overall liveliness of the track (also helped by Romy and Shehnaz Akhtar’s rendition) make it a worthwhile listen.
Sachdev’s final song Naughty Billo too rides on a traditional and oft-heard folk melodic base, but the creative fashion in which the composer incorporates electronic elements makes this a super fun dance track. Behind the mic are Nakash Aziz and Shilpi Paul with the movie’s lead actors, Anushka Sharma debuting as a rapper. Guest composer Jasleen Royal gets two wedding-themed songs, neither of which is as fun as the wedding song she created for Baar Baar Dekho last year (Nachde Ne Saare). The more energetic What’s Up fares better among the two due to the grand orchestration and the associated liveliness. Mika Singh leads the vocals on this one, Royal playing sidekick. The mellower Din Shagna Da is a 2013 single by Royal used as is. It does have some nice touches, like Advaita frontman Suhail Yusuf Khan’s sarangi. But Royal’s monotonous singing is the bane of the song.
Phillauri is Shashwat Sachdev’s show through and through! And I really hope Jasleen Royal doesn’t fizzle out after the promising start she had.
Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5
Top Recos: Sahiba, Naughty Billo, Dum Dum (Reprise)
This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.
Musician Credits
Song Dum Dum
Singer Romy, Vivek Hariharan
Music Director Shashwat Sachdev
Lyrics Anvita Dutt
Executive Music Producer Vivek Hariharan
Backing Vocals Anurag Sharma, Pawni Pandey, Vibha Saraf, Varsha Tripathi, Abhiruchi Singh, Gaia
Music Producer Shashwat Sachdev
Song Whats Up
Singer Mika Singh, Jasleen Royal
Music Director Jasleen Royal
Lyrics Aditya Sharma
Music Production Raghav Mehta
Additional Programming Akshay Raheja
Recording Engineer Julian Mascarenhas
Studio Name Studio Enzy
Mixed & Mastered By Abhishek Sortey
Music Executive Producer Japji Singh
Song Naughty Billo
Singer Diljit Dosanjh,Nakash Aziz, Shilpi Paul
Rap Anushka Sharma
Music Director Shashwat Sachdev
lyrics Anvita Dutt
Executive Music Producer Vivek Hariharan
Backing Vocals Vivek Hariharan, Romy, Surya Raghunathan, Shilpi Paul
Vocal Producer Vivek Hariharan, Surya Raghunathan
Music Producer Shashwat Sachdev
Song Sahiba
Singer(s) Romy, Pawni Pandey
Music Director Shashwat Sachdev
lyrics Anvita Dutt
Executive Music Producer Vivek Hariharan
Backing Vocals Vivek Hariharan, Anurag Sharma, Abhiruchi Singh, Pawni Pandey, Vibha Saraf, Varsha Tripathi, Gaia
Music Producer Shashwat Sachdev
Song Bajaake Tumba
Singer Romy, Shehnaz Akhtar
Music Director Shashwat Sachdev
lyrics Anvita Dutt
Executive Music Producer Vivek Hariharan
Backing Vocals Vivek Hariharan
Music Producer Shashwat Sachdev
Song Din Shagna Da
Singer Jasleen Royal
Music Director Jasleen Royal
lyrics Neeraj Rajawat
Music Production Shivam khare, Jasleen Royal, Raghav Mehta
Recording Engineer Julian Mascarenhas
Studio Name Studio Enzy
Music Executive Producer Japji Singh
Song : Dum Dum (Punjabi Version)
Singer : Romy, Vivek Hariharan
Music Director : Shashwat Sachdev
Lyrics : Shellee
Executive Music Producer : Vivek Hariharan
Music Producer : Shashwat Sachdev
Plucked Instruments : David Sinchury, Youngmin Kim
Bass Guitar : David Sinchury
Piano & Keys : Shashwat Sachdev, Piyush Menon
Rhythm Section & Percussions : Manoj Kumar Hela
Dholak : Manoj Kumar Hela
Studio Assistant to Shashwat Sachdev : Nisthula Murphy
Sound Engineers –
Virasat Studios, Mumbai: Shashwat Sachdev
Mixed & Mastered by Shadab Rayen
Assistant to Shadab Rayen Abhishek Sortey
Song : Dum Dum (Reprise) Diljit Dosanjh Version
Singer : Romy, Vivek Hariharan
Music Director : Shashwat Sachdev
Lyrics : Shellee
Executive Music Producer : Vivek Hariharan
Music Producer : Shashwat Sachdev
Plucked Instruments : David Sinchury, Youngmin Kim
Bass Guitar : David Sinchury
Piano & Keys : Shashwat Sachdev, Piyush Menon
Rhythm Section & Percussions : Manoj Kumar Hela
Dholak : Manoj Kumar Hela
Studio Assistant to Shashwat Sachdev : Nisthula Murphy
Sound Engineers –
Virasat Studios, Mumbai: Shashwat Sachdev
Mixed & Mastered by Shadab Rayeen
Assistant to Shadab Rayeen: Abhishek Sortey
