Nasha: Music Review

"Ma, I'm Scared"

Music Directors: Siddarth Haldipur & Sangeet Haldipur

Starring: Poonam Pandey and Shivam

Nasha, though not a widely known movie, has been causing waves throughout India with its scandalous posters. We shouldn't expect any less than scandalous from a movie by the director of erotic thriller Jism. Nasha boasts a story quite similar to Ek Choti Si Love Story, where a younger man, Shivam, falls in love with an older woman, Poonam Pandey. Both the actor and actress in Nasha are newcomers, so a fantastic soundtrack might do some good for the movie. Don't be fooled by the pictures, this soundtrack is very sophisticated. 

The Nasha soundtrack is off to an excellent start with the mellow Tera Nasha crooned by Anirudh. His vocals are are flawless when paired with the light guitar instrumental.  This slow, succulent number stretches beyond six minutes, which makes it seem like its going on forever. Six minutes is a little long, but the song is very good. 4.5/5

The second song on the soundtrack is Laila by Monali Thakur. We have heard many songs titled Laila in the past, but one slightly sets itself apart from the others. This smooth cabaret style number is somewhere along the lines of Raat from Hate Story or Muskaanien Jhooti from Talaash. This song does have a little hook to it and flows seductively from Thakur's mouth. 4/5

From its title Besharam should be a song we should expect from a movie called Nasha. Besharam is a playful  duet with the pairing of Shaan and Anusha Mani. Anusha deeper voice balances out Shaan's smooth vocals. This light-hearted romantic songs is complete with harmonica, piano, and whistling, comparable to Gangster's Lamha Lamha.  4/5

Because small wine glasses aren't cool

The Goti Song is totally out of place. It begins with "This is the Goti Song" and continues along that line. It is as if someone is talking. I have no idea where this would go in a movie like Nasha. Its funny, but irritating. The singers Akshay Deodhar, Prakriti Kakkar, and Sukriti Kakkar stretch their vocals, but that is not enough to save this song. 1/5

Laila (Unplugged) features the male voice of Sangeet-Siddarth, the music directors. With just a simple strumming of the guitar, the music composers create something quite different. It is almost good as the original and sounds drastically different song. 3.5/5

We have Nasha (The Addictive Mix), by Sangeet Halidpur, one of the music directors. It brings a slight techno twist  to the original, and Haldipur's voice careens with the rhythm perfectly. This is a remix of the first song, Tera Nasha. This one also sounds unrecognizable from the original  If you ignore the first couple seconds of the song, this is a great alternative version. 4.5/5

The Nasha songs are really good for a movie starring  newbie actress Poonam Pandey and Shivam. Our Haldipur duo does an excellent job of creating a melodious soundtrack. These songs are a pleasant surprise and also have a value off of the screen. One of the best soundtrack of 2013 so far. Get Intoxicated!

My Picks: Nasha (The Addictive Mix), Tera Nasha, Besharam, Laila, Laila (Unplugged)

What did you think about this soundtrack?

BollywoodBegum

Check Out My Other Reviews:
Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Dobara: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/07/once-upon-time-in-mumbai-dobara-music.html
Bajatey Raho: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/07/bajatey-raho-music-review.html
Luv U Soniyo: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/07/luv-u-soniyo-music-review.html
Chennai Express:http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/07/chennai-express-music-review.html
D-Day: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/d-day-music-review.html
Boyss Toh Boyss Hai:http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/07/boyss-toh-boyss-hai-music-review.html

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

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

"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?
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