Bollywood Begum | Latest Hindi Music and Film Reviews: Ankit Tiwari

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Ek Villain: Music Review

Music Directors: Mithoon and Ankit Tiwari

Starring: Sidarth Malhotra, Shraddha Kapoor & Ritesh Deshmukh

Mithoon has been composing hit after hit for the Bollywood film industry and he returns once again alongside Akit Tiwari for romantic thriller Ek Villain. The last time Mithoon paired with film director, Mohit Suri, was during the extremely successful album, Aashiqui 2. The music of Ek Villain is packed with just the melody and emotion that you would expect from a Suri film.

The album kicks off with the romantic number, Galliyan, sung solely by Ankit Tiwari, vocalist of the popular Sun Raha Hai from Aashiqui 2. Galliyan starts a little harshly with coarse guitar and then simmers down to a softer tone. Flute instrumentals melt magically with violin. Tiwari's vocals are slow and controlled as usual. 4/5

Galliyan (unplugged) takes a more somber tone. It offers none of the grit Tiwari's Galliyan had and takes a route with just soft guitar and violin. The actress now singer Shraddha Kapoor starts the songs off with hauntingly beautiful vocals, and about three quarters of the way, Ankit Tiwari joins in, keeping on same vocal level as Kapoor. However, the unplugged version of Galliyan really hits its peak when the two sing in unison. Unlike most unplugged version songs, this song offers a totally different experience. 4/5

Mohammad Irfan's solo, Banjaara, takes a slow melodious, Sufi-esque journey. This particular song comes closer to your heart the most it listens to you. There is a subtle loveliness in the instrumentals, and Irfan's voice takes the right path. There is beauty in simplicity in this song, 4.5/5

Ritesh Deshmukh Ek Villain Still Angry Cake Bollywood Meme

Pakistani rocker, Mustafa Zahid, joins in the the soundtrack of Ek Villain with Zaroorat. We hear Zahid in his comfort zone, much like the songs he has given us for Heropanti and Ragini MMS, and for his band Roxen. Unlike it's predecessors, Zaroorat instills more pain and anger. Complex guitar amplifies his voice and takes the song to new heights. Mithoon is able to differentiate this song by complimenting Zahid's voice with unique dramatic instrumentals. 4.5/5

Continuing with Ek Villain's Pakistani music trend is Soch The Band's, Awari. The talent is no less than the usual artists coming in the industry. What separates Soch from the other Pakistani bands is its instrumental versatility. Joining Soch is the the female vocalist, Momina Mustesan. This song begins with staggered piano, which slowly mixes with Mustesan's ghostly vocals. The song dynamically transforms from a somber song into something more powerful with both guitar and sitar and Adnan Dhool of Soch's vocals. This is by far the most unique song on the album. 5/5

Sidarth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor Butterfly

"Bugs!"

Arjit Singh offers something special in the emotional, Humdard. This song lyrically reaches into the trenches of romantic pain. Just like Galliyan, this song is controlled and slow, but doesn't offer has much complexity as the songs before it, except for the strange xylophone instruments that falls at intervals in between the vocals. Besides the vocal quality, this song too relaxed, and thus becomes almost boring. 3/5

All in all, Ek Villain delivers exactly what you would expect from a Mithoon and Ankit Tiwari soundtrack. With an array instrumentals and skilled talent from India and Pakistan, these composers were able to create an emotional, high quality musical score. We can only hope to see Mithoon and Ankit Tiwari collaborate with Mohit Suri in the future.

My Picks: Awari, Zaroorat, Banjaara, Galliyan, Galliyan (unplugged)

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Issaq: Music Review

actress, Amrya Dastur, Issaq, Prateik, Babbar

Music Director: Krsna, Sachin Gupta, Jigar
Starring: Prateik Babbar & Amrya Dastur

For some reason or another, there hasn't been much of a buzz about the Prateik Babbar starrer, Issaq or its music. The main actress is newcomer, Amrya Dastur. It is rumored that that she plays Juliet in this modern adaptation of the Shakespearean classic. So far not much is known about the movie, but I will confess that the music is superb. Issaq's music is directed by Krsna, Sachin Gupta, and Jigar. So with these great music directors come amazing voices like Mohit Chauhan and Mamta Sharma. Issaq offers unique arrangements and definitely is worth a listen.

So let's begin with the first track of Issaq, Issaq Tera (Male) by Mohit Chauhan. This song begins with a beautiful instrumentals and continues with flute interludes. Chauhan's voice is smooth and creamy throughout this dreamy romantic number. However, it gets a little repetitive and doesn't have much of a a hook, except for saying Issaq Tera over and over again. 3.5/5

We have a second version to the song, Issaq Tera (Duet), with Mohit Chauhan and Smitha Jain as the lead vocalists. Jain's voice sounds almost ghostly when paired with Chauhan's and does nothing to enhance the song. The duet runs barely over two minutes, which is too short for any Bollywood track. The male version is much more remarkable. 3/5

Prateik Babbar, Amrya Dastur, Boats, Beautiful, Stills

"That boat has such beautiful sails"
"Oh that warship over there coming to kill you?"

Jheeni Re Jheeni Re is Issaq's classical number by Rashid Khan and Pratibha Baghel. It's a slow song complete light tabla and alaaps. The song is very well balanced, since Khan's voice is strong, while Baghel's vocals are very soft. Both vocalists are exceptional at classical singing and truly make the the song. 4/5

Next we have Bhole Chale by Rahul Ram and Sachin Gupta. This song, like several others that come after, is like a village song. This song is wild, and one of vocalists sound like they are screaming throughout. This is definitely some kind of celebration song, and there may be some drunk actors in this one. Bhole Chale becomes a bit more bearable after it reaches the third minutes. Its a little fun to listen to, but its no gem. 2.5/5

The rock song of Issaq is Aag ki Dariya by Ankit Tewari. This angry number has very hard guitar arrangement and vocalists, and Tewari's gritty vocals enhance this song further. The beat and Tewari's voice calms during the interludes, making it a much more pleasurable to the ear. This is by far the best track on the album. 5/5

We have the second version of Aag Ki Dariya (Unplugged) by Sachinn Gupta. The guitar and drums are stripped away for the much softer sweeter sounds of piano and flutes. It sounds like a completely new song. Its a nice a slow for a calm listen. Both version are great in their own way. This one carries a more sorrowful tune, while the original is filled with more anger. 4.5/5

Prateik Babbar, Amrya Dastur Issaq Bollywood Meme

Eene Unne begins with harmonium tying back to the village roots of this Issaq. This is much better than Bhole Chale, and is the dance number of Issaq, if not the item number. Many singers like Papon, Mamta Sharma, Kirti Sagathiya, and Tarun Sagar are featured here. There some speaking between the male and female on the album, but it doesn't take away much from the songs. The quick instrumentals and vocals make the song very catchy. There are not many songs out like this these days. 4/5

Malini Awasthi and Raghubir Yadav unite for the traditional number Bhagan Ke Rehan Ke. This is another classical, perhaps a wedding number, but this one doesn't have much of a hook at all. Its pretty good song with sad undertones, but its not a song worth repeated listens. 3/5

Issaq has many great memorable tracks and should not be overlooked. I'm really looking forward to see how all this is picturized on the screen and will hope the audience will recognize this soundtrack's value.

My Picks: Aag Ki Dariya, Aag Ki Dariya (Unplugged), Jheeni Re Jheeni, Eene Unne, Issaq Tera (Male)