Songs and credits at the end.
The makers of Raabta clearly did not find four a big enough number to pick from, and hence decided to get Pritam (though now credited to JAM 8) to create a fifth version of his Agent Vinod song. A decently done remix, to be fair, just that I would rather still go back to the Night In the Motel version from the original set. While Irshad Kamil supplies the additional lyrics for the Raabta version that Nikhita Gandhi delivers in style, joined by Arijit Singh (who incidentally has been part of every version of this song; though when he recorded the first four his playback singing career was still taking off). Ik Vaari Aa continues on the remix-y lines with amped up electronic dance elements, and doesn’t serve much of a purpose except perhaps to jive along to in a club. Arijit Singh handles the main version of the song while Jubin Nautiyal sings the version bearing the honest title, Jubin Version (interestingly this one is credited to Pritam; I thought he did not want any association with the project). Sadda Move, the staple Punjabi-flavoured entry, fares mildly better despite the standard elements – the arrangement is a tad more imaginative here. Interesting to note specific credits for dhol and tumbi sound design (Tigerstyle). Diljit Dosanjh and Pardeep Singh Sran (who last recorded Cutie Pie for Pritam) handle the singing in this one, with rap by Raftaar.
Not sure whether Lambiyan Si Judaiyan had any involvement at all from Pritam, but the song’s melancholic sufi rock-ish sound is very much relatable to the composer’s style. Arijit Singh’s singing (with fine support from Shadab and Altamash Faridi in the sufi portions) too helps add to that feeling. Atif Aslam gets the best song of the lot – the pleasant, breezy melodic piece titled Darasal. Finally there is Main Tera Boyfriend, the track that led Pritam to walk out of the project. And I fail to see why the label had to go with the Sohrabuddin track’s remix which honestly just reminds me of Pritam’s older tracks. In fact, someone could replace that Main Tera Boyfriend Tu Meri Girlfriend hook with Love Mera Hit Hit Soniye and you probably would not find anything amiss. Arijit Singh leads the vocals on this one too, with Neha Kakkar, Meet Bros and rapper Roach Killa joining him at different points.
A soundtrack that, true to the movie’s theme, feels like a punarjanam of older Pritam songs. While I understand JAM 8 is Pritam’s company, they really need to move out from under his shadow, musically, and develop their own sound.
Music Aloud Rating: 2.5/5
Top Recos: Darasal, Raabta, Lambiyan Si Judaiyan
This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.
Musician Credits
1. Song: Ik Vaari Aa
Singer: Arijit Singh
Music Director: JAM8
Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya
Sound Design- Sunny M.R, Dj Phukan
Music Programmers- Sunny M.R, Dj Phukan
Mixed And Master By Shadab Rayeen @ New Edge
Assistant Engineer Abhishek Sortey & Dhananjay Khapekar
Recording Engineers- Ashwin Kulkarni, Himanshu Shirlekar, Aaroh Velankar
Vocal Conductor- Tushar Joshi
Production Manager- Anupam Amod, Manoj Harsh
Musicians -Acoustic Guitar- Roland
Music Label: T-Series
2. Song – Raabta Title Song
Singer- Nikhita Gandhi
Music-JAM8
Lyrics- Irshad Kamil and Amitabh Bhattacharya
Sound Design- Dj Phukan and Sunny M.R
Music Programming- Rohan Chauhan
Additional Programming- Johan Folke and Stefan
Mixed and Master by – Shadab Rayeen @ New Edge
Assistant engineer- Abhishek Sortey& Dhananjay khapekar
Recording Engineers- Ashwin Kulkarni, Himanshu Shirlekar, Aaroh Velankar
Vocal Conductor- Tushar Joshi
Production Manager- Anupam Amod
Music Label: T-Series
3. Song: Sadda Move
Singer: Diljit Dosanjh, Pardeep Singh Sran
Music: JAM8
Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya, Irshad Kamil
Rap: Raftaar
Music Label: T-Series
:::::Additional Song Details::::::
Additional Vocals: Ashwin Kulkarni.
Sound Design : Dj Phukan ,Sunny M.R
Music Programmers : Aditya Pushkarna.
Additional programmer: Dj Phukan.
Dhol &Tumbi Design: Tigerstyle.
Shot mix: Ashwin Kulkarni.
Mix & Master: Shadab Rayeen@Newedge.
Assistant to shadab: Abhishek Sortey, Dhananjay Khapekar.
Recording Engineers: Ashwin Kulkarni, Himanshu Shirlekar, Aaroh Velankar.
Vocal Conductor: Tushar Joshi, Amit Sawant.
Production manager: Anupam Amod, Manoj Harsh.
Musician: Tumbi – Tapas Roy.
Backing Vocals: Anupam, Amit , Manoj, Aaroh, Shloke,Shubham.
4. Song – Lambiyan Si Judaiyan
Singer- Arijit Singh ,Shadab & Altamash Faridi
Music – JAM8
Lyrics- Amitabh Bhattacharya
Music label- T-Series
:::::Additional Song Details::::::
Music Programming – Prasad Sashte, Sourav Roy.
Mixed and Master by – Eric Pillai (Future sound of Bombay).
Assistant engineer – Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky @Future sound of Bombay.
Recording Engineers- Ashwin Kulkarni, Himanshu Shirlekar, Aaroh Velankar
Vocal Conductor- Tushar Joshi
Production Manager- Anupam Amod, Manoj Harsh.
Musicians –
Acoustic Guitars – Arijit Singh and Roland Fernandes.
Bass – Roland Fernandes
5.Song – Main Tera Boyfriend
Singer – Arijit Singh, Neha Kakkar & Meet Bros.
Lyrics – Kumaar
Programmed By- Sourav Roy
Mixed And Mastered By- Eric Pillai( Future Sound Of Bombay)
Asst. Mix Engineers- Edwin Pillai & Lucky
Music- T-Series
Original Music: Director: Sohrabuddin
Original Lyrics: Jitendra Raghuvanshi
6. Song -Darasal
Singer- Atif Aslam
Music-Jam8
Lyrics- Irshad Kamil
Music Label: T-Series
:::::Additional Song Details::::::
Music Programming : Abhijit Vaghani
Mixed And Master By – Eric Pillai (Future Sound Of Bombay).
Assistant Engineer – Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky @Future Sound Of Bombay.
Recording Engineers- Ashwin Kulkarni, Himanshu Shirlekar, Aaroh Velankar
Musician: Shomu Seal
Production Manager- Anupam Amod, Manoj Harsh
7. Song: Ik Vaari Aa (Jubin Version)
Singer: Jubin Nautiyal
Music Director: Pritam
Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya
Music Label: T-Series