Bollywood Begum | Latest Hindi Music and Film Reviews: Amitabh Bhattacharya

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Chennai Express: Music Review

Music Director: Vishal-Shehkar
Starring: Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone

So, after my Chennai Express: First Look Review I have come back to you with my music critique. Vishal-Shehkar has produced soundtracks for recent popular Shahrukh Khan films, so its not surprising they would be the composers for Chennai Express. Chennai Express' songs, for the most part, are a ride to South India.

Chennai Express unfortunately begins with One Two Three Four sung by Vishal Dadlani and Hamsika Nayr, This song begins with Tamil verses and flows in to Hinglish for the remainder of the song. This song starts well, and is definitely catchy, but when the English verse "One Two Three Four, Get on the Dance Floor" comes in the song gets very odd. Especially when they say booty shake. These immature lyrics could have easily been done before, but there was a reason why no one else tried this. 2.5/5

Chennai Express redeems itself with Chinmayi Sripad and Gopi Sundar in Titli. This romantic duet song begins beautifully with Tamil verses and continues in Hindi with Tamil slicing through. Its ethereal instrumentals almost give it a magical touch. Chinmayi's and Gopi's smooth voices transition well with each other. Titli is reminiscent of Chandni Chowk to China's Tere Naina. Refined and delicate it is winner all the way. Officially obsessed. 5/5

Chennai Express: One Two Three Four Still

Four! Booty Shake Booty Shake!

Tera Rastaa Chhodoon Na unites Amitabh Bhattacharya and Anusha Mani for a romantic number. This song plays a little on Titli's beats, but its a little fast paced. Bhattacharya sounds uninterested, while Mani excels. This song is purely situational, so it might go well with the film's narrative, but its not good to listen alone. 3/5

Next is Kashmir Main Tu Kanyakumari featuring Sunidhi Chauhan, Arjit Singh, and Neeti Mohan. I'm glad to see Arjit Singh-Sunidhi combo.This song is not bad, but it sounds like it should be in a musical. It's cute, and definitely one of the better tracks of the album. Arjit Singh and Sunidhi's voice coincide with Shahrukh and Deepika's. 4/5

The fourth song is Ready Steady Po, primarily featuring Vishal Dadlani and a handful of singers. This song falls into the obscure desirap/electronica/dubstep category. This song is mostly rapped in English and is at the most mildly desi flavored. Its almost like a unbearable second theme for the movie.What were they thinking here? 2/5

Chennai Express Sad Shahrukh and Deepika

"Our soundtrack is disappointing."
"I know. It's sad, isn't it?

SP Balasubramanyam returns to Bollywood with the song Chennai Express. This song starts off horribly, but when Jonita Gandhi's voice comes in it picks up pace a little. I was astonished that this song also had dubstep and a lot of English verses inside. The only good part is the hook "Chenai-ai-ai-ai", and there is nothing more to say. SP's voice has definitely aged. This is supposed to be the theme for the movie, and it's exactly what it is. 2.5/5

Dubstep comes back once again in Titli (Dubstep Version). This song doesn't compare to the original version of Titli, but can work for dubstep listeners, as it ties the major elements of dubstep together with all the right Bollywood elements. 4/5

Chennai Express Mashup is just a deranged swirl of all the songs in the soundtrack with yet another dubstep twist. There is nothing good about this. At moments it gets loud, unbearable and headache inducing. It will most likely be playing as the ending credits are rolling. 1/5

Chennai Express' soundtrack ultimately fails because of its overwhelming use of dubstep and English verses. The soundtrack could have been better if they stuck more to the Indian roots instead of trying to tackle multiple genres. I expect better from Vishal-Shehkar.

My Picks: Titli & Dubstep Version, Kashmir Tu Kanyakumari

Check out my other reviews!

Did you like this soundtrack?
BB

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