New sounds, same results

Sanju ’s six-track multi-composer album begins with ‘Baba Bolta Hain Bas Ho Gaya’ that succinctly represents the diatribe against media that the film often turns out to be.

The lyrics, by Puneet Sharma, Abhijat Joshi (also the movie’s writer) and Rohan Gokhale (one half of Rohan-Rohan who have composed two of the film’s other songs), make the track equally light-hearted and biting. Both Papon and the film’s main man Ranbir Kapoor deliver it in style. Composer Vikram Montrose, responsible for the track’s groovy treatment, is also in charge of a second number – the motivational ‘ Kar Har Maidaan Fateh’ .

The song itself is quite predictable in its progression, but what makes it engaging is the vocals. Sukhwinder Singh owns the soaring portions like he always does, while Shreya Ghoshal’s voice has heft thanks to a bass scale.

Composer duo Rohan-Rohan who made their Bollywood debut after recent Marathi successes like

Ventilator and Barad last year, have two songs in Sanju . The first of which is ‘ Main Badhiya Tu Bhi Badhiya’ , that tries really hard to create a nostalgic feel of the 30s. The composers perfectly pick singers Sunidhi Chauhan and Sonu Nigam but the track still fails to create a retro vibe. The arrangement, though, seems to skew towards creating a comedic effect, and it definitely succeeds. The composers second track for the film is another jolly dance number, ‘ Bhopu Baj Raha Hain’. Though this one is a more boisterous, street sounding affair that comes alive with Kishore Sodha’s horns. Despite singer Nakash Aziz’s best efforts, the song eventually disappoints.

Sanju ’s has two songs by A.R Rahman, who makes his debut with a Rajkumar Hirani – Vidhu Vinod Chopra film. There’s ‘Ruby Ruby’, which doesn’t really do what it’s supposed to: be a stoner anthem. But Irshad Kamil’s lyrics successfully convey the message, through Rahman’s engaging 80s dance feel. Of note is Keba Jeremiah’s bass and Shashwat Singh’s lead vocals which are sometimes reminiscent of Vishal Dadlani. The best of the soundtrack is Rahman’s brilliant slow burner ‘ Mujhe Chaand Pe Le Chalo’ . It’s an old-school melody with a waltz-y rhythm something akin to what Mikey McCleary does under the moniker of The Bartender. And Nikhita Gandhi’s vocals accentuate that sensual feel with her languid rendition.

The fact that Hirani went for a totally new set of composers has helped resolve the repetitiveness issue that plagued his last couple of films, but barring a couple of songs, the music still fails to make a major impact.