"Pritam in top form, again"
Music: Pritam
Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya
Ratings: ***1/2
1. Haanikaarak Bapu
The album starts with this cracker of a song about
Mahavir Phoghat training his three young daughters for wrestling. It gets an
ironical title "Bapu sehat ke liye tu toh haanikaarak hai" and
Bhattacharya's quirky pen doesn't stop here -- "Tujhse behtar toh Hindi
filmo ke khalnayak hai" is cheeky at its best for this song featuring
one of Hindi film's superstars. But the real superstars of the song are the
kids Sarwar Khan and Sartaz Khan Barna who lend their playful voice. Rare
instance where a song sung by kids isn't just a children's song. And Pritam
does wonders by employing them as chorus too.
2. Dhaakad
Starts with a folk tune on sarangi, enter
electronic sound and it grows into a Haryanvi rap but the folksy elements
(highlighted by a been) doesn't go missing at any point in this superb
fusion. Raftaar is excellent with the rap which is punctuated by invigorating
chorus for the title hook.
Aamir Khan goes behind microphone to render his
version of the song which is exactly same. An actor singing the song is a
marketing fad but Aamir’s attempt isn’t half bad.
3. Gilheriyaan
Lyricist Bhattacharya's obsession with plural Hindi
words (the ones that ends with '-yaan')
continues here to find him a new hook. The song is breezy -- I particularly like
the opening. The rhythm is strongly reminiscent of Sachin-Jigar’s Jaise Mera Tu
from Happy Ending. Jonita Gandhi’s mellifluous voice gives you a sour-sweet
taste in your mouth.
4. Dangal
Pritam continues to employ chorus for effect here.
It creates a tense mood with the strings in the start, but Daler Mehndi’s
pitches in with so much power that the energy just doesn’t drop till the end of
this 5 min track. It does feel a little long for listening, though. Great
arrangement in the background – mainly with strings, electric guitar and bass.
5. Naina
Channa Mereya hangover is strong in the opening,
only less effective. Strings are used very well here too but Arijit’s voice
sounds too dripped in melancholia for this mellow track. Forgettable one.
[Update: The song really grew after watching the film -- it is very nicely picturized.]
6. Idiot Banna
A shaadi/sangeet song sung by Nooran sisters. There
are nice touches – like the strings in the background in the opening – but it
doesn’t escape from the trap of sounding like a regular shaadi song. Also, it
does get noisy at times.
Pritam, right after Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, continues
to be in his top form.
