Friday, May 1, 2015

Tanu Weds Manu Returns Music Review



“Not better but a fitting sequel”
Music: Krsna Solo / Tanishk-Vayu

Lyrics: Rajshekhar / Vayu

Ratings: ***





1. Banno

First thing first, the catchphrase “Banno tera swagger laage sexy” (by Vayu) is really very sexy and gives the song (and the film too) a character- an eclectic fuse of upbeat modernity and tradition. And neither of them- techno or the folk- goes OTT to desperately sound like one, unlike other Punjabi dance songs that Bollywood throws out. Brijesh Shandilya & Swati Sharma, as the vocals, delivers well.


2. Move On

Move On starts to instantly remind you of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s Bol Beliya from Kill/Dil, but that doesn’t take anything from this equally energetic song. Like Banno, the titular hook of this one too does tell something about this sequel film. Krsna, the composer, plays on this hook like a rap composition being laid on the bed of rock. The interludes is where the song digs into its own heart; wears a dark tone with infectious arrangement of percussions, strings, electric guitar and shennai(?). Sunidhi Chauhan just fits the bill.


3. Mat Ja Re

A dafli and flute ridden melancholic song is what an old school lonely lover would sing. And Rajshekhar’s words do bring in that feel: “Yeh kaun sa rishta hai, teri aankhon se reesta hai”. The solo violin makes it sound so dated that even a melodic harmonium just after that couldn’t save it. Now that Ankit Tiwari has self-proclaimed himself as quintessential-melancholic-voice-of-the-generation, Krsna ropes in him for this one and makes it a downer.


4. Ghani Bawri

Ghani Bawri is a fun-filled Haryanvi folk based song lived upto its energy by Jyoti Nooran. The most refreshing part comes when she does a rap-style singing in it. 


The energy is scaled up for dance with all the electronic stuff in its remix version (by Aditya Dev). It is still Jyoti Nooran’s vocal that overpowers and thankfully so. 


5. Old School Girl

Old School Girl is rightly composed as an old school jazz (which is already the flavor of the month, thanks to Bombay Velvet). Sung by Anmol Malik whose diction (in places) is as peculiar as Kangana’s (the lead of this film) - that might be intentional. There’s a whiff of whimsy with its odd, broken English which can only be figured when seen in the film’s context. Hence, musically, this one is limiting.


The whimsy from the jazz piece grows proportionately in the Haryanvi version- with the Haryanvi accented English and the calming arrangement dominated by mandolin- so much that you laugh every time Kalpana Gandharva goes “I cry, I cry, I cry”. 


6. Ho Gaya Hai Pyar

Ho Gaya Hai Pyar is on the lines of Krsna and Rajshekhar’s own Piya and Yun Hi from the terrific album of the first part of this film. It retains the ambience and the old world charm of romance. The mélange of shennai and dreamy violins at the end is wonderful. Dev Negi’s rendition of Rajshekhar’s poetry (“Dil ruyi ka resha, tu hawa jaisa; teri taraf hi udein”) is as breezy as the arrangement.


7. O Sathi Mere

The best song of the album is here and this one, easily, will stay in the top songs of the year. Sonu Nigam remains subdued in his rendition mostly hitting the lower notes but doesn’t fail to ooze emotions. And Sonu is a wise choice for this song that is so grand in its orchestration- the strings section, the violins, the chorus- there’s something Rahmanesque about it. The tune grows complicated in its antara but Sonu pulls off its intricacies so simply and beautifully. Goosebumps stuff!


The expectations from the lyricist-composer duo after their standout debut in the first part were huge. They didn’t fail; this one isn’t even better; but has the same colors of the first and is a fitting sequel to it. The soundtrack also scores in giving itself, the songs and the film a definite character which is always the case in Aanand L Rai’s film albums (Tanu Weds Manu, Raanjhanaa).

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