Songs and musician credits at the end.
Guest composer (and lyricist) Arko seems to channel the sound that used to be Pritam’s signature for romantic songs once upon a time. Phrases like nainon ne baandhi kaisi dor and kheencha chala jaaye teri ore in fact took me back to a specific song of Pritam – Teri Ore (the similarity in the instrumental prelude as well makes me wonder if this is more than just a coincidence). Coming back to the song, the throwback aspect does not help the song a lot, given that Pritam himself had milked that template dry. Nevertheless, a passable listen, helped on its way by Yasser Desai’s soulful rendition. Desai also features in the song from the other guest composer – Tanishk Bagchi – alongside Monali Thakur, Shashaa Tirupati and Farhan Bhiwandiwala. Coming close on the heels of Bagchi’s original song in Fanney Khan, the man gets another original work here. And paired with his trusted lyrical partner VAYU, Bagchi produces an incredibly swingy retro jazz piece (incidentally the only song that has a retro feel to it) called Monobina, that the singers deliver to perfection. VAYU’s words range from English to Hindi to Bengali, and I love the fact that the Bengali verse is given to Monali Thakur; there is something thoroughly endearing about Thakur singing Bengali.
The movie’s lead composers Sachin Jigar compose the remaining five songs – three of which have live percussion headed by veterans; one by Taufiq Qureshi and two by Ranjit Barot. Despite the presence of Qureshi (and his son, Shikhar Naad Qureshi, among the team – I like his name!) though, the drinking song Chad Gayi Hai does not come off as anything special, percussion-wise or otherwise. It is just a regular Punjabi flavoured boisterous song that engages while it lasts. Barot’s presence (along with Dipesh Varma), on the other hand, does make a big difference in the inspirational Ghar Layenge Gold and Khel Khel Mein, both written by veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar. The heavy percussion and the chorus (Rakesh Maini, Madhav Krishna) echoing the title phrase give Ghar Layenge Gold the anthemic high, even as lead vocalist Daler Mehndi’s sounds oddly processed and awkward in places. Khel Khel Mein has KK leading the proceedings in style, though the melody progresses on predictable lines. The frenetic beats manage to prop the song up to an extent, though. With Rasta Rasta Sachin Jigar go back to Punjabi folk (and the tune occasionally reminds me of Chadh Gayi, possibly for that same reason). Nice, but very repetitive tune that rides on veteran singer Sukhwinder Singh’s energy for large part. Good percussions once again (nobody credited for it though). Composers deliver their best in the patriotic Jaaga Hindustan where they feature mohan veena maestro Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, and his beautiful solos echoing across the sprawling soundscape is the highlight of the song. Divya Kumar handles the lead vocals, and does his job well. Interestingly, there are times when the song takes me back to Maa Tujhe Salaam, especially when the mridangam appears in the second verse.
Sachin Jigar get five songs in the seven song soundtrack, but it is Tanishk Bagchi who takes home the gold with his one song.
Music Aloud Rating: 3/5
Top Recos: Monobina, Jaaga Hindustan, Chadh Gayi Hai
This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.
Musician Credits
Song – Naino Ne Baandhi
Vocals – Yasser Desai
Music and Lyrics – Arko
Programming & Arrangement – Aditya Dev
Guitars (Acoustic, Electric, Nylon) – Krishna Pradhan
Recorded at AMV studios by Rahul Sharma
Mix – Aditya Dev
Master – Eric Pillai
Choreographer – Rekha Chinni Prakash
DOP – Álvaro Gutiérrez AEC
Song – Chad Gayi Hai
Music Composer – Sachin – Jigar
Vocals – Vishal Dadlani & Sachin – Jigar
Lyrics – VAYU
Programming & Arrangement – Sachin – Jigar
Additional Programming – Hrishikesh Gangan
Live Rhythms & Percussions Arranged & Conducted by Taufiq Qureshi
Woodwinds by Naveen Kumar
Percussions performed by Taufiq Qureshi, Dipesh Varma, Shikhar Naad Qureshi & Satyajit Jamsandekar
Music Production Head – Romil Ved
Recording Engineers – Julian Mascarenhas
Recorded @ Enzy Studios
Mix & Mastered By Eric Pillai @ Future Sound Of Bombay
Assistant Mix & Master – Michael Edwin Pillai
Choreographer – Bosco – Caesar
DOP – Jay Oza
Song – Ghar Layenge Gold
Music Composer – Sachin – Jigar
Vocals – Daler Mehndi & Sachin – Jigar
Backing Vocals – Rakesh Maini & Madhav Krishna
Lyrics – Javed Akhtar
Programmed & Arranged by Ranjit Barot
Live Rhythms & Percussions performed by Dipesh Verma & Ranjit Barot
Recording Studio – Yashraj Studios, DM Folk Studio
Recording Engineer – Shantanu Hudlikar, Abhishek Khandelwal & Aakash Jaitly
Assistant Recording Engineer – Mansi Tare
Music Production Head – Romil Ved
Assistant to Sachin -Jigar – Hrishikesh Gangan
Mix & Master – Eric Pillai @ Future Sound Of Bombay
Assistant Mix & Master Engineer – Michael Edwin Pillai
DOP – Álvaro Gutiérrez AEC
Song – Monobina
Music Composer – Tanishk Bagchi
Vocals – Yasser Desai, Shashaa Tirupati, Monali Thakur & Farhad Bhiwandiwala
Lyrics – VAYU
Programming & Arrangement – Tanishk Bagchi
Live Sound and Rhythm arrangement by Krishna Kishore
Mix & Mastered By Eric Pillai @ Future Sound Of Bombay
Choreographer – Bosco – Caesar
DOP – Álvaro Gutiérrez AEC
Song – Khel Khel Mein
Music Composer – Sachin – Jigar
Vocals – KK & Sachin – Jigar
Lyrics – Javed Akhtar
Programmed & Arranged by Ranjit Barot
Live Rhythms & Percussions performed by Dipesh Verma & Ranjit Barot
Recording Studio – Yashraj Studios
Recording Engineer – Shantanu Hudlikar, Abhishek Khandelwal
Assistant Recording Engineer – Mansi Tare
Music Production Head – Romil Ved
Assistant to Sachin -Jigar – Hrishikesh Gangan
Mix & Master – Eric Pillai @ Future Sound Of Bombay
Assistant Mix & Master Engineer – Michael Edwin Pillai
DOP – Álvaro Gutiérrez AEC
Song – Rasta Rasta
Music Composer – Sachin – Jigar
Vocals – Sukhwinder Singh & Sachin – Jigar
Lyrics – Javed Akhtar
Programmed & Arranged by Sachin – Jigar
Live Stroke Instruments – Tapas Roy
Guitars – Krishna Pradhan
Recording Studio – Enzy Studio
Recording Engineer – Juilian Mascarenhas
Music Production Head – Romil Ved
Assistant to Sachin -Jigar – Hrishikesh Gangan
Mix & Master – Eric Pillai @ Future Sound Of Bombay
Assistant Mix & Master Engineer – Michael Edwin Pillai
DOP – Álvaro Gutiérrez AEC
Song – Jaaga Hindustan
Music Composer – Sachin – Jigar
Vocals – Divya Kumar & Sachin – Jigar
Lyrics – Javed Akhtar
Arranged by Sachin – Jigar
Programming – Hyacinth Dsouza
Live Slide Guitars – Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt
Recording Studio – Enzy Studio
Recording Engineer – Juilian Mascarenhas
Music Production Head – Romil Ved
Assistant to Sachin -Jigar – Hrishikesh Gangan
Mix & Master – Eric Pillai @ Future Sound Of Bombay
Assistant Mix & Master Engineer – Michael Edwin Pillai
DOP – Álvaro Gutiérrez AEC
