Music Review Creature

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Vikram Bhatt has twin musical influences – his family lineage (responsible for classics like Baiju Bawra and Himalay Ki God Mein) and his mentor Mahesh Bhatt. Vikram seems to have absorbed a lot from them, and this usually reflects in his musical highs.

Music:

For a change, we have a steeply melodious album here, which augurs well for the supernatural thriller.

Tony Kakkar writes and composes the chartbuster track that has already caught on, 'Saawan Aaya Hai' (Arijit Singh), and the lyrics happily make for simple sense in these days of hybrid lingo and pop Sufism. The gentle orchestration also helps make the vocals stand out, which is as well, and the mukhda, 'Mohabbat barsa dena tu / Saawan aaya hai /Tere aur mere milne ka / Mausam aaya hai' is a simple, profound winner.

Arijit Singh's singing skills are well-known, but his expertise here can be best gauged by listening to the 'Saawan Aaya Hai (Unplugged)' version sung by Tony himself. This version vividly vindicates our belief that however caressingly a song is composed, it should be left to a professional playback artiste to sing, for Kakkar's own rendition is reedy, almost child-like and technical but unemotional – the emotional hues needed for the tapestry of the words are all stroked in by Arijit himself!

However, the remix version of this song is needless and irritating, spoiling a winner of a song that is inarguably among the catchiest melodies of 2014.

The guitar strum and the laidback, almost melancholy orchestration attempt to conceal the almost Nadeem-Shravan-esque flavour of the next track, 'Hum Naa Rahein Hum', a superb melody written and composed by Mithoon. The routine lyrics nevertheless give the impression that the words have come from the heart for this cinematic situation and Mithoon embellishes the lovely melody with deft touches within the composition and simple but haunting interludes.

Then icing on the cake is Benny Dayal's ardent intonation – here is a singer who has graduated from being just a crooner in his early A.R. Rahman movies to one of our finest male singers in the last three years. This song ranks among his career-best to date, and the way he navigates the higher octaves of this tune (like the lines 'Dard bhi hum sehlenge / Tu jo saath rahaa') in each antara adds to the impact of the composition. Once again, the remix version is superfluous.

The third worthy number in this soundtrack is 'Mehboob Ki', written, composed and sung by Mithoon. At face value a typical Mithoon number, it gets its appeal from the rhythmic use of these two words repeatedly in a zingy and rhythm-heavy composition.

Each time, on the verge of becoming predictable, this song changes tracks by navigating into unexpected detours, and the bright tenor of the lyrics, vocals and music makes us hope that Mithoon will break through the shackles of his patent and overused musical melancholia and emerge as a versatile composer, his only wanting area till now.

And though his vocals are alright, the use of the reverb makes it clear that this zingy melody just craved for the expertise and emotional quotient that KK could have given this retro-ish number.

After these three aces, the album settles into a predictable groove, for the remaining songs written and composed by Mithoon tread trite terrain. The sad litany, 'Naam-E-Wafaa' (Farhan Saeed-Tulsi Kumar) seems to have a hangover of any other Mithoon-T-Series film, as he again puts pathos into overdrive with his usual overdose of high-pitched voices, done-to-death but fashionably fancy Urdu terms given more for effect (ilteja, sirhaane) than substance. And with the song itself being familiar, what can one expect from its remix?

Standard verse also anoints 'Ik Pal Yahin Tera Mera' (Saim Bhatt), whose only fresh aspect is the treatment with the rock guitar that dominates and attempts to add to the angst-in-the-soul quotient.

Overall:

Nevertheless, this is one of the more melodious experiences of this year, especially because of the three lovely songs mentioned. Mithoon and Tony Kakkar may take a bow.

Our Pick:

'Sawan Aaya Hai', 'Hum Naa Rahein Hum', 'Mehboob Ki'

Music: Tony Kakkar & Mithoon
Lyrics: Tony Kakkar & Mithoon
Music Label: T-Series

Article written by staff at Bollywood Hungama. Read more