Music Review Bhoothnath Returns

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

Canada: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…Expectations:

The sequel to Bhoothnath in 2008 aims at being more market friendly and socially-relevant – after all, BR Films has come in too as co-producers with T-Series. Multiple music makers come in, as per trends.

Music:

Meet Bros. Anjjan come up with one of their better tracks, 'Party To Banti Hai' with Mika leading the composers' voices. In sync with the mood of the film, the composers seem to take more than a leaf out of Himesh Reshammiya grammar in the chorus 'Po po po' and the easy flow of rhythmic (!) melody. Mika now is beyond critical evaluation – he neither gets better nor worse, and is in that sense, the most consistent singer in the business, with a distinct voice and tone that make up a natural USP!

However, after this euphoria, comes a weightier song 'Party With The Bhoothnath' composed, written and sung by – surprise! surprise! – Yo Yo Honey Singh! We finally cotton onto the man's secret of success – his creation of the right atmosphere. The orchestration evokes the spooky backdrop with the smart use of a dominant bell and the relentless usage of some eerily ambient orchestration.

The rap lyrics are apt and have their own element of satire. The rest is trademark Yo Yo: catchy beats, repeated phrases and (unfortunately) the singer's perennially flawed pronunciation that he should take seriously and improve. But on the whole, the track works – big-time.

Aman Trikha shines in Kunwar Juneja's satire-rich ('Honesty ka paath padhaaye / Lucche aur lafange') song 'Har Har Gange'. He is spirited and spotless, with all the right inflections. Ram Sampath adds the nuances neatly and the song is a nice ensemble of melody and fashionable Punjabi beats.

The sole intense melody in the soundtrack, 'Sahib' is sung well by Rituraj, even if his voice and singing style seem inspired a lot by Kailash Kher's. Munna Dhiman's lyrics are simple, predictable but heartfelt, and it is good to know that he is capable of going beyond the esoteric, imagery-rich groove of his work in the past. Ram Sampath does a soft and soothing job of both the composition and orchestration.

Before we come to the final track, let us examine the two ubiquitous remix tracks – 'Party To Banti Hai – Remix' and 'Har Har Gange – Remix'. Those who will do it, will do it, we guess, but we fail to see the need to enhance the pace and beats of perfectly good songs and making them sound noisy with some gimmicky additions. Do these really make a difference on the dance floor or gym machines as the assumption goes?

Finally, to end on a nice note, we find writer-director Nitesh Tiwari writing a smart rap track in 'Dharavi Rap' by actor Parth Bhalerao with Anish. We loved the spicy references to Hindi movies (Teen guna Lagaan / Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan), songs (Balam pichkari hai / Ferrari ki sawaari hai), characters and actors amidst the laconic sarcasm (Iss mein maa Meena Kumari hai / Aur baap ko unknown beemari hai) in a funny track set to music by Ram Sampath.

Overall:

Two of these songs have caught on and will boost the prospects of the film to a decent extent. The other slower songs may or may not pick up later, but are worthy tracks at that.

And yes, the BR Films musical track-record is not sullied either. They were among the pioneers of truly meaningful lyrics with a social angle from Sadhana to the '80s and this time too, the lyrics stand out.

Our Pick:

'Party To Banti Hai', 'Har Har Gange', 'Party With The Bhoothnath'

Music: Meet Bros. Anjjan – Palash Muchhal, Yo Yo Honey Singh & Ram Sampath
Lyrics: Kumaar, Kunwar Juneja, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Munna Dhiman & Nitesh Tiwari
Music Label: T-Series

Article written by staff at Bollywood Hungama. Read more