Lootera: Music Review

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

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

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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Ghanchakkar: Music Review

Music Director: Amit Trivedi

Starring: Emraan Hashmi & Vidya Balan

Every time a new Emraan Hashmi album is released I am one of the first people to get it. Like others, I believe that no matter who composes the soundtrack or directs the movie, anything with Emraan Hashmi will have good music. My evidence is based upon  non-Bhatt banner films like Dil Diya Hai and The Dirty Picture. Let's get started with Ghanchakkar.

Its a comedy staring Vidya Balan and Emraan Hashmi. It's their second time on the silver screen, after The Dirty Picture. Our director this time is Raj Kumar Gupta, who made Aamir and No One Killed Jessica. The music composer is for Ghanchakkar is Amit Trivedi, who has brought us unique arrangements in the past from  films like Dev.D, Ishaqzaade, and Aiyyaa.

Staying true to it's tittle, the soundtrack of Ghanchakkar is crazily good. The arrangements and combinations are totally out of this world, and its surprising that all of these different elements work so pleasantly together on the ear. We have a mixture of mainly old school disco, electronica, and traditional sounds.

The first track on the album is Lazy Lad sung by Richa Sharma. This song has an interesting blend of  upbeat traditional and county sounds, like the banjo in combination with the dhol. Like the other tracks in Ghanchakkar, Lazy lad is very desi with a lot of clever English words thrown in the middle. It's a fun song where an annoyed wife nags her husband in a million clever ways.

Next is our qawwali track, Allah Meherbaan, by Divya Kumar. This probably the best song on this soundtrack. The qawwali style fuses really well with the electronica sounds, it also sounds like a deliciously good remix of a old school qawwali. The background beat carries the song so well, and catches the listener's ears from the first second.

"You kinda look like that guy from The Dirty Picture" 

Our third track is Ghanchakkar's title song, Ghanchakkar Babu sung by Amit Trivedi himself. The song lyrically and musically makes no sense, but that's what makes it so entralling. It works. It Trivedi's voice captivates the listener immediately. This hilarious song has an old school disco beat that you would hear in seventies Bollywood, complete with trumpets. The only hang up I have about this song is the intermittent female voice saying "Yeah Yeah Yeah" among other things. I really felt the song could do without. Next we have Ghanchakkar Babu the remix. This is just a sped up version with an additional beat. Unless you want to party with this, stick to the original version.

Allah Meherbaan Still

The last track Jolu Ram by Altaf Raj. This piece has a classical, as well as disco arrangement  and delightfully sounds as if it was crooned by a drunken man. We have interludes of the man speaking reminiscent of the popular song, Kolveri Di. The song like Lazy Lad and the others are dotted with English pieces which further enhance the songs. We have all kinds of fun words like dal makhani, digestion, and frustration thrown into Jolu Ram.

Ghanchakkar is definitely a quirky ride.  It is exactly the type of music you would should be in every Bollywood comedy. Not only is it hilarious, it is pleasant to listen to. So much of this soundtrack will have you smiling. There is not a bad song in this album. I really wish there was more on this album. Four tracks and a remix are too little. Once again, Emraan Hashmi doesn't fail to disappoint. Good job Trivedi. Remember to not forget this one!

My Picks: Allah Meherbaan, Lazy Lad, Ghanchakkar Babu, Jolu Ram

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