Showing posts with label Shilpa Rao. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shilpa Rao. Show all posts

Monday, June 17, 2013

Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani: Music Review


Romantic Ranbir, Deepika Padukone, Pritam, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani
Music Director: Pritam
Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Kalki Kochelin, Kunaal Roy Kapur

Pritam is back with a new soundtrack, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani. This Ranbir-Deepika comeback rom-com gives leeway for Pritam to experiment. This soundtrack brings the energizing rhythm, while bringing cool, refreshing songs into the mix. Of course, we can always expect a few memorable songs from Pritam album (stolen or not stolen) and here is no different.

Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani begins with the dance number Badtameez Dil. I have to admit I was obsessed with the 1 minute and 45 second long trailer until the release of the full length song. The sound of the saxophone and the trumpets add a classy touch to the nonsensical lyrics.Words flow seamlessly into each other like aloo bhatt, puri bhatt, and  bollywood, hollywood, jollygood. There is lots of rhymes and alliteration, so once Benny Dayal's voice pulls you in it never lets you go. However, Shefali Alvaris' voice is not very pleasant when it comes in at the end of the song. It sounds electronic and autotuned, and does not tie into Benny's smooth word flow. To me it should have been Benny solo. Nevertheless, still a good song. 4/5

Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor "Balam Pichkari" Bollywood Meme PeriodNext is Balam Pichkari featuring Shalmali Kholgade and Vishal Dhadlani. Shalmali's voice is a bit eccentric, but its just what it takes to kick-start the song, after the traditional beginning. This is fun, quirky Holi song, we have traditional sounds with violin and whistling. The lyrics are as fun as the beat, and Shalmali and Vishal make an amazing pair. This song is a winner all the way through. 5/5

Our Mohit Chauhan track is Illahi. The song begins with chanting and guitar. This is definitely the young man refreshing song of the album. Illahi separates itself from the first two songs. In the interludes, there is a chorus of children chanting "Na Na Na". Because of the chorus wouldn't listen to this song on its own, but I think this works very well in the movie. 3/5

Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani picks up again with Dilliwali Girlfriend featuring Arjit Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan.  This one has small touches of bhangra and has a desi tune with some English thrown in the middle. This sounds like a typical Pritam wedding song, almost like Soniye Ve Dhak Dhak from Kismat Konnection. Pritam seemed to copy his own style this time. Its a good track, but its really nothing new. 3/5

There are two versions of Kabira. Kabira (Original) features Tochi Raina and Rekha Bhardwaj. This song slow rock melody and both artists' voice are raw with pain. The second version, Kabira (Encore) by Hashdeep Kaur and Arjit Singh has much more soul. We have a more traditional song with a lighter melody in this outing. The chorus and Indian instrumental enhances the beauty of this song.  The encore is like a slow, peaceful ride through the countryside. 3/5 & 5/5
 Madhuri Dixit, Ranbir Kapoor, Ghagra, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, Dance, Item Number, Bollywood Meme
Sreeram and Shilpa Rao's Subhanallah is the romantic duet of Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani. Its a light, uplifting song about falling in love that borders on cheesy at
times. To me, it sounds like a re-creation of Shukraan Allah from Kurbaan. Nevertheless, its fresh and exhilerating, with Sreerams squeaky clean vocals. 4/5

Lastly, there is Ghagra our item number staring Madhuri Dixit. So we have a older woman's voice, Rekha Bhardwaj, and a younger man's voice, Vishal Dhadlani. This song begins slow, but picks up pace. However, it lacks the spice and flash that other item numbers have. There are some hooks, but more is needed to make this song a chartbuster. 3.5/5

In the end, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani has a few fantastic numbers, but most of the songs are lacking elements that will help them stand out from other songs like its kind.

My Picks: Balam Pichkari, Kabira (Encore), Badtameez Dil, Subhanallah



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Saturday, June 15, 2013

Lootera: Music Review

Amit Trivedi, July, Sonakshi window, Ranveer Singh, fifties, Sonakshi Sinha

Music Director: Amit Trivedi
Starring: Ranveer Singh & Sonakshi Sinha

So our creative composer Amit Trivedi has released another soundtrack for the Bollywood drama Lootera. So this being a Bengali period movie, we can expect the film to be laden in beautiful classical numbers, reflecting the fifties. It also has to look believable coming from our young stars, Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha's mouths. The music has simplistic, light melodies so this is not our typical Trivedi outing. However, Lootera's music does leave a couple solid numbers behind.

So we begin with Sawar Loon sung by Monali Thakur. This syrupy sweet song is song in a Shreya-style manner and definitely ties in with the fifties feel. There is both classical Indian fifties and classical American fifties blended well together. It sounds very youthful, especially with the bell tinkling sounds in the background. It will definitely work well with Sinha's age. 4/5

Then there is Ankhahee. The piano in this song's backdrop are extremely beautiful when paired with Amitabh Bhattacharya's controlled, soulful voice. He doesn't hit high notes in the song, and keeps it nice a slow. Intermittently there are interludes of gorgeous instrumentals.4/5

Ranveer Singh Sonakshi Sinha Lootera Bollywood Meme Titanic Painting Funn
Our traditional Bangla number of Lootera is Monta Re is just lovely. It fits with the soundtrack so well but offers something different. This song can be easily seen behind action with the characters, or by a gathering group of people sitting together. There is a light beat in the background, one of them being bells. 4/5

Next in Lootera we have yet another song from Amitabh Bhattacharya called Shikayaten. This is soft rock song with flutes. I could see this in Three Idiots for some reason. Bhattacharya's voice sounds good in this song, but it just sounds a little strained as he attempts to climb to higher notes. The instrumentals and vocals in this song are certainly not light enough for the kind of mood that the movie has established. This song perhaps could be used when Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha are going through some problem. Not my favorite. 3/5

Amit Trivedi comes into the vocal spotlight in Zinda. This song has a rough, rock edge to it. His voice is slow, but it overtaken by strong dramatic instrumentals. In this Lootera song there  total mismatch between vocals and instrumentals. Stands out from the rest of the album in a bad way. 2/5

Lootera, Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi SIngh, Forest, Fifities, Red
Just another awkward walk through the forest
Lastly, we have Shilpa Rao and Amitabh Bhattacharya in Manmarziyan. This is mostly Shilpa song's, but Bhattacharya voice slips in between with a haunting quality. The melody on this is light, complete with the sound of bells (ghungroos) that we have been hearing throughout the soundtrack. This song lets Shilpa's strong, deep vocals shine through. However, the slowness of the song could make the listener loose patience. 3.5/5

Lootera is a pretty good soundtrack, but as said earlier is an unusual outing for Trivedi. Most of it is fifties traditional minimalism and its quite beautiful. I would love to see how this all will play out on screen.

My Picks: Ankahee, Monta Re, Sawar Loon

Remember requests are taken! Send a comment out and tell me which Bollywood soundtrack you want to hear about!

Check out my other music reviews:
Issaq: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/bollywood-music-review-issaq_21.html
Ghanchakkar: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/bollywood-music-reviewsghanchakkar.html
Raanjhanaa: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/bollywood-music-reviews-raanjhanaa.html
Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/bollywood-music-review-yeh-jawani-hai.html

Comments Are Always Welcome!
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