Ankur Arora Murder Case

Music: Chirantan Bhatt, Sunny & Inder Bawra & Gourov Das Gupta


Lyrics: Kausar Munir, Sagar Lahauri & Suhail Tatari


Music Label: T-Series

EXPECTATIONS:

A small film based on a real-life murder case with just three songs by three different music directors. What can one expect? 

MUSIC:

Chirantan Bhatt's 'Aaja Ab Jee Le Zaraa' is a familiar tune that could have wandered in from any Mukesh Bhatt film. The orchestration, tenor and tune are all in that mould, and the lyrics too revisit that genre - yes, the Mukesh-Mahesh Bhatt music is a genre by itself in Hindi cinema today! 

Singer Devi Negi sounds like a cross between Sonu Nigam (especially when he raises the pitch) and KK with traces of some of the other singers around! In other words, despite his command over sur, he lacks a distinct vocal timbre. Deepali Athe has less 'audio footage' and passes muster. Kausar Munir, who wrote so well in many recent albums like Nautanki Saala!, Chashme Baddoor and others, strings patent verse here that seems more smart than substantial. 

Sunidhi is in routine mode in the Sunny Bawra-Inder Bawra composition 'Tera Aks Hai Jo'. The melody had potential with its old-world tenor but the lingering quotient is spoilt whenever the frenetic beats take over - which is in most of the song. Yes, the interludes sound good, though heard-before, but we would have preferred mellower treatment in synch with the lyrics (Sagar Lahauri) which have some deft lines (Chehre kyoon badalti hai / Saath kyoon na chalti hai / Zindagi tu jalti hai khwaabon se mere) amidst the routine stuff. 

Shaan's 'Roshni' with music by Gourov Das Gupta sounds more like a pop song than a film track. The composition, musical treatment and even Shaan's high-octave vocals are at odds with the words. The cluttered and noisy arrangements, including a guest appearance by the sitar, fail to register even after three hearings. 

OVERALL:

There is nothing really to write home about the score. The two bonus songs used here from the same banner's 1920 - Evil Returns, 'Uska Hi Banana' and 'Javedaan Hai', though average, are actually more impressive!

Fukrey

Music: Ram Sampath


Lyrics: Mrigdeep Singh Lamba, Munna Dhiman & Vipul Vig


Label: T-Series

Expectations:

The director last made a film called Teen Thay Bhai that did not have any recall-worthy track. This time, since the film is produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar for Excel Entertainment, we expect a decent or better soundtrack despite the offbeat title. The music is by Ram Sampath, the jingle whiz, whose film soundtracks include Khakee, Family, Delhi Belly and Excel's Talaash too, so our hopes are raised more. 

Music:

However, the first thing that arrests one's attention is that Fukrey is an unique soundtrack for Excel Entertainment - unique because it is their first album in 12 years (and 11 films) that has lyrics by someone other than Javed Akhtar, father to Excel's co-producer Farhan Akhtar. 

The lyrics are shouldered by Munna Dhiman, Mrighdeep Singh Lamba (the film's director) and Vipul Vig, the film's co- writer and are the highlights of the score, meaningful, light in tenor and bitingly satirical when needed. Clearly, this score is about situational numbers. 

The songs celebrate the protagonists being fukrey (show-offs or big talkers) to lucky breaks in fortune and also use a paean to God for getting the characters to a better station in life. There is also the adaptation of a Punjabi folk song, 'Ambarsariya', that is the only romantic track on the thematic album. Ram Sampath's tunes are contemporary, apt for the setting of the film (in Delhi) and variegated.

Rock tenors complement Punjabi percussive beats and a wild abandon in the vocals in the title-track, 'Fuk Fuk Fukrey' (Amjad Bagadwa-Ram Sampath), which has the perfect street-side ambience. Vig's lyrics are saucy, like Ladki ghamandi jeb hai thandi / Maang udhaar ho jaa lachaar / Maal bane to phasega tota / Shirt pe thoda deo to maar! 

The celebration song 'Beda Paar' begins with some techno gimmickry but settles down into a rhythmic fusion-like feel. Mika Singh gets into the spirit with an infectious rhythm and Tarannum Malik provides the softer, contrasting relief. The attention-getting line (Lamba) here is very identifiable for the have-nots: having achieved money, the guy says Ab to hum khaayenge beta dono time chicken. 

The jingle-like rhythm of another celebratory number 'Lag Gayi Lottery' (Ram Sampath-Tarannum Malik) continues this blend of folk and Western with a filmi touch. The best part of the track is the smooth flow even as the song traverses different rhythmic grooves, so at no point do we get a hybrid, uneven feel. 

The best track on the album, resembling the good old qawwalis we have been hearing from the '70s and '80s, is the Kailash Kher-Keerthi Sargathia ace 'Karle Jugaad Karle', with its rich melody. A deadly combination of Sufi melodies and satirical lyrics (opposite genres in music actually!), the song arrests immediate attention thanks to its exquisite melody and Kher's inspired singing. The cross-line (where the antara returns to the mukhada) is the highlight of this supple song that inarguably is one of Ram Sampath's finest compositions. The lyrics by Dhiman are razor-sharp in their satire (Ummeedon pe nahin teeki hai nahin teeki hai yeh duniya teeki hai jugaad pe) and cynicism (Sadak pe gira note uthaa le / Koi to kahaayegi hi tu khaa le / Aankhen na phaad jeb bhar lena / Saare karte hain tu bhi kar lena). 

'Rabba' (Clinton Cerejo-Keerthi Sargathia-Ram Sampath), another rhythmic folk song, has clever lyrics (Dhiman again), beseeching the Almighty making a hole in the box that has all their dreams locked within it! 

'Ambarsariya', the Punjabi folk song adapted here, is extremely melodious, but the orchestration with guitar riffs seems a tad incongruous for the song, even if the intention may be to impart a novel touch. Sona Mohapatra is technically a very good singer, but guess a little more open-throated rendition and livelier expression would have done a world of good to this haunting song. 

Overall:

Though its reception will depend on the box-office fate of the film, it is a soundtrack that is definitely worthy for the discerning listener. The trick will lie in making the songs appealing to the wider consumers including the youth with the right promotion.

Lootera

Music: Amit Trivedi


Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya


Music label: T-Series

Expectations :

A romance set against a backdrop that is specific: Bengal in the 1950s. By definition, such a film must not only have popular music but also something of substance, with a feel of the region and the era. The music of Parineeta (2005) remains a contemporary benchmark of such music, so far as Bengal is concerned. 

Music :
 
Amit Trivedi does bring in a half-hearted effort to get into the Bengal of the 1950s by keeping his songs less 'rock'-ish than his norm in the standout numbers. But his penchant for making music that reflects his own style rather than something that belongs to the film, its period and its location eventually overrides the content that is needed. 

But first, the three songs that do find him in Bengal, so to speak. 'Sawaar Loon' (Monali Thakur) has an arresting desi rhythm and hook and so we get an aroma of the province. But Monali could have been less Shreya-esque in her singing style. If it was the singer's attempt to sound that way, the composer should have curtailed it. 

The song is strong enough in its basic melodic line to become big, has potent words and is enriched by the use of provincial dhols and strings. 

In 'Ankahee' (sung by lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya himself) the retro-style phrasing of the melody is ornamented by apt pianos and strings. There is also an overlong prelude. Still, the melody is smooth and one can even imagine Kishore Kumar at the microphone as the lyrics conjure up nice poetic imagery. 

Another lyricist who is also a singer, Swanand Kirkire, joins Amitabh Bhattacharya in 'Monta Re', probably the most 'Bangla' song on the album, with the ghughroos and the santoor pervading the song. There is a transient haunting quality to the tune. 

Two different guitars vie for attention in the brief prelude of 'Shikayatein' (Mohan Kanan-Amitabh), where we have a full-fledged rock-based litany that may have a niche appeal but seems to be misplaced within the film. The obscure imagery in the words (Shikaayatein mitane lagi /Subah bedaag hai) does not help either. 

Amit Trivedi once again gets into the wrong time-zone and comes up with 'Zinda' with modern tempo and singing. A transiently-catchy number that sounds nice while listening to it, with a choral refrain at the end, it is not the stuff memorabilia is made of. 

If the last track, 'Manmarziyaan' (Shilpa Rao-Amitabh Bhattacharya) sounds better, it is because of the ethnic orchestral touches and the classical nuances that anoint the modern flavour of the song. But it is high time that a singer as well-groomed as Shilpa gets a song worthy of her skills, where she can sing deep from the throat instead of (seemingly) crooning from the mouth and lips. 

Overall :

The music carries a feel of the film's needs only in part. The album is driven by the catchy 'Sawaar Loon', and the more substantial 'Ankahee'.

Enemmy (Law And Disorder)

Music: BAPPA LAHIRI & GOUROV DASGUPTA


Lyrics: SHABBIR AHMED, MANTHAN & GOUROV DASGUPTA


Music label: T-SERIES

Expectations: 

There is little we expect from the soundtrack of this action drama, except hoping that, being a home production of Mithun Chakraborty, the one-time 'Disco King', it might have some Bappi Lahiri-like rhythmic melodies the way we got to enjoy in the '80s.

Music: 

Here, Bappi Lahiri though present, is only a kind of supporting, almost choral, singer for his son Bappa Lahiri's composition 'Katrina Ko Kareena Ko' with current item queen Mamta Sharma as the lead voice. (This, however, is Bappa's only composition in the film, with the rest of the tracks done by Gourov Das Gupta.) 

The song has the typical 'Fevicol Se' / 'Munni Badnaam Hui' kind of audacity in the lyrics (complete with references to Facebook and Twitter!) and the references to six stars including Madonna and Shakira would have been interesting had it come in a light-hearted film. Only stringent promotion and good visuals may make this song a hit, and though Mamta sings well and the music is very earthy, it is unlikely to create major waves unless the film works big-time. 

The same seems to be the case with Gourov Das Gupta's soulful melody 'Bheege Naina', a litany with nice lyrics that oozes melody even amidst its tangential contemporary orchestration. Sung by new voice Keshav with a seasoned sense of pathos, we warm up to the number on repeated hearings but it will again have to be backed by strong visuals and promotions. 

The title-track 'Enemmy' in two versions (Hindi and English) is the ultimate in cacophony. The mixing level ensures that the words are overpowered by the heavy orchestration and Gourov's anglicized accent, defective diction (Kafaa instead of Khafaa and more) and wrong syntax in the tune compound the damage. 

The Indipop-like 'Hit The Lights' (Gourov with Torsha Sarkar singing the refrain Hit the lights now bring it on now) finds Gourov in full-on rock mode, screeching in the best fashion of hard rock. These last three tracks do not really 'belong' to Hindi cinema as we know it and will find little endorsement by Hindi film buffs, who like their words and melody (content) dominating over the packaging.