Music Review: Shaitan

EXPECTATIONS One expects the music of Shaitan to be cutting edge. Reason being that the film’s promos have pretty much conveyed an impression that it would be one different affair indeed with the kind of setup which would be away from the ordinary. With newcomer music director Prashant Pillai leading the charge and Ranjit Barot, Amar Mohile and Anupam Roy also contributing to the album with Sanjeev Sharma writing lyrics for most songs, you also know that the kind of sound you would hear in Shaitan would be different from what regular Bollywood films churn out practically every week.

MUSIC It’s a brilliant beginning to Shaitan with the kind of sound that instantly make you head for that lounge or the dance floor. As simple as that, the music created by Prashant Pillai isn’t the kind that can keep you static. You want to have fun, celebrate, meet friends, get high and basically let the ‘devil’ in you being unleashed when K.S. Krishnan’s written ‘Bali – The Sound Of Shaitan’ is unleashed. Exactly the kind of sound that one expects from Shaitan, this is a fusion mix number which is in the same mould as an A.R. Rahman composition. Rendered by K.S.Krishnan, Preeti Pillai, Kalloist, Farhad Bhiwandiwalla and Hitesh Modak, this one should be a riot on screen. ‘Nasha’ only carries forward the fun element with focus on friends and matters of heart. While one would have feared the song’s setting to lead it into the predictable zone, thankfully that is not really the case with ‘Nasha’ being yet another song by Prashant Pillai that bears a fusion mix stamp to it. Prashant pairs up with Bindu Nambiar behind the mike for this Sanjeev Sharma written situational track. Later in the album the trio of Ranjit Barot, Farhad Bhiwandiwalla and Bindu Nambiar comes together for a ‘Rock & Soul version’ of the film which is even more upbeat.Guest composer Amar Mohile comes for ‘Josh’ which sounds terrific in the first listening as well and justifies the title that it comes with. With the kind of addictive beats that only end up making more impact, courtesy the manner in which Colin Terence, Abhishek and Shradha sing it, ‘Josh’ is young, hip, energetic, infectious and should find it’s way on to the dance floors. Bring on the beats. There is an instant turnaround with ‘Fareeda’ coming in next which is haunting, dark and edgy. From this point on lyricist Sanjeev Sharma makes the album his zone and the impact is felt in ‘Fareeda’ which boasts of the kind of word composition that is unheard of. Suraj Jagan gets into his full throated rock mode for this Prashant Pillai fusion composition that has a sad element to it. With the kind of opening sound that reminds one of ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhaara’, yet another Prashant-Sanjeev song is heard in the form of ‘O Yaara’. This time around it is the time for some Sufi rock with Kirti Sagathia bringing on the kind of punch that one feels is an integral part of Shaitan. Preeti Pillai does well as an accompanying vocalist in ‘O Yaara’ that should do well as a part of the film’s background score. Unfortunately though there is an intermittent change in sound which is not quite welcome when the mood was being gradually built with half a dozen songs that had arrived earlier on. A ‘Govinda-Gopaala’ song that seems to have been designed for the ‘haandi-breaking’ sequence in the film, ‘Pintya’ composed by Ranjit Barot seems to be coming out of nowhere with Chandan Shive’s vocals not quite fitting in with what one hears in the rest of the album. The one that follows, ‘Zindagi’, is what one can term as the title song due to the word Shaitan that is heard repeatedly in it. Sung and composed by Ranjit Barot, the song progresses slow and belongs to the soft rock zone. Expect the song to play repeatedly in the film’s narrative at crucial junctures. From this point on there are as many as five instrumentals and background themes that come one after another. First to come is ‘Amy’s Theme’ which is soulful as well as a little haunting, what with Suzanne D’Mello leading the charge and Thomson Andrews, Samantha Edwards and Gary Misquitta coming together for the chorus. Yet another Ranjit Barot piece, it maintains a consistent sound right through its four minute long duration and should make an impact in the film’s narrative.Prashant Pillai returns to scene with ‘Enter – Music’, a 80 seconds piece which starts on a slow note, only to pick up steam towards the later stage. However it is too small a musical piece to actually leave an impact as a standalone track. What manages to leave an impact though is ‘Retro Pop Shit – Music’ which is lent an infectious sound by Anupam Roy. Three minutes of sheer fun with a touch of intrigue, ‘Retro Pop Shit – Music’ is the kind of sound you want to take with you on a late night beach party. ‘Unleashed – Music’ is a turn-off though as it is too noisy and takes you into uncomfortable zones. It may have some meaning during the story telling but as an audio piece it is a strict no-no. Prashant Pillai ends it well though with ‘Outro – Music’ which has a good pace to it right through its 100 seconds duration with an all around Western sound and some racy beats to it.

OVERALL Shaitan is a good experimental score that is indeed different from the rest. This also means that from the acceptability point of view, it has an uphill road ahead. The initial feeling that one has after listening to the album first is that of utter disbelief. In facts it takes quiet a few listening before one warms up to the kind of sound that Shaitan has to offer. Since most of the songs that are of the kind that one would want to like listening to or seeing on screen rather than singing out aloud, Shaitan would have to wait for the film’s release before it starts making a bigger impression at the stands.

OUR PICK(S) Bali – The Sound Of Shaitan, Josh, O Yaara, Fareeda