Shuddh Desi Romance: Music Review

 Music Director: Sachin-Jigar

Starring: Parneeti Chopra,Sushant Singh Rajput,

Vaani Singh

Shuddh Desi Romance is a very interesting soundtrack to say the least. Quirky and fun, these are pleasant desi tunes that play wonderfully with the ears. We dance between high and low, creating a wonderful fusion between old school and new school Bollywood. Shuddh Desi Romance soundtrack bears a resemblance to the soundtrack format of Madras Cafe, since a large portion of the soundtrack in devoted to instrumentals. This Yash Raj film has plenty of acclaimed singers to pump this soundtrack up with unconventional sounds for the youth.

Beginning the soundtrack is the much anticipated, Tere Mere Beech Mein, which is already loved by everyone since the release of its cutesy promo video, which has the young couple doing laundry, cooking, and dancing in towels. This is the sweet romantic duet in the movie and its between our favorite Chauhans (who bear no relation to each other) Sunidhi Chauhan and Mohit Chauhan. It is so desi, especially with its Hinglish and old school Western instrumentals. Typical girl and boy banter throughout gives the song a unique perspective. Its sounds like happier song from the Barfi soundtrack. 4.5/5

Gulabi Shuddh Desi Romance's paints the soundtrack pink with color. This almost sounds like a dance style number like Dum Dum from Band Baaja Baraat, kind of something made for Ranveer Singh. It has a slight R&B flair combined with a desi flavor. Sung beautifully by slightly autotuned  Jigar Suraiya  and Priya Suraiya and paired with an wide array of addictive instrumentals, this song is a winner. 5/5

Divya Kumar, famous from Allah Meherbaan from Ghanchakkar, takes the third song in Shuddh Desi Romance. Chanchal Mann Ati Random, is truly random. It starts one way and takes a kind of jarring oddish turn. It is eccentric in a good way with the direction it takes. Its part rock, part qawaali, and part of who knows what. Towards the end it looses control in a good way. The songs oddities may throw some listeners off. 3.5/5

Shuddh Desi Romance, the title song comes next. It is a duet between two of the other current favorites, Benny Dayal and Shalmali Kholgade. This song takes a similar turn that Teri Mere Beech Mein had, except for more harmonium. This title track doesn't play out as a situtational number like most title tracks tend to do and carves out a niche in the soundtrack itself. Its a pleasurable, feel-good song, like the others songs. By using Hinglish and crazy instrumental arrangements, this song is totally unique. 4/5

Here come the instrumentals. They take some the flavor from the prior songs in Shuddh Desi Romance, but are more subdued. Mujhe Kiss Sakte Ho take a minimal approach, with a soft touch of piano, guitar, harmonium, and other instrumentals. It is a very gentle sound and could definitely be listened to alone. 4/5

Love in Jaipur has some uncredited female singer. It takes on a spicy salsa beat fused with a bit of desi of course. It sounds like the typical traditional women gathering song, but later take a grocery store style slow jazz style. This will definitely excel on the silver screen behind the characters. 3/5

Tezz Wala Attraction has some whistling and shares the same breezy flavor our beginning songs had 3/5

Good bahus smoke in the bathroom,
 not in front of people

Boyfriend Banogey is more ballsy than the previous instrumentals. It has coarser beats and shares some of Gulabi's melody. This could definitely be the theme number for our Kai Po Che hero Sushant Singh Rajput. 3/5

Bhanwara Man Bhatake has the same flavor, though slightly more traditional, it has brief male singer part, but has no credited singer either. Not much to listen to here. 2/5

Shuddh Desi Romance pretty much has all solid numbers, despite most being instrumentals. Sachin-Jigar made a definite effort to compose some unique songs and pulled in inspiration from many different genres. These songs will make you great, and  transport you back to early Bollywood and rocket you towards future Bollywood. Shuddh Desi Romance is so tastefully fun it puts a smile on your face without sounding ridiculous or childish.

My Picks: Gulabi, Teri Mere Beech Mein, Shuddh Desi Romance, Mujse Kiss Sakte Ho

What's your favorite song?
BollywoodBegum

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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