PadMan
The only thing missing from the “pragmatic” love song ‘ Aaj Se Teri ’ is a mention of Aadhaar card. Kausar Munir’s words are absolutely on point throughout the song, even as Amit Trivedi adorns the lines with an incredibly addictive raag bhimpalasi-based melody (the raag also takes your mind back to songs like ‘ Bol Na Halke Halke ’ and a folk-rich orchestration that sees some beautiful use of shehnai by Omkar Dhumal) and mandolin (Tapas Roy). Delivering the song in style is Arijit Singh. The ode to the movie’s protagonist, ‘The Pad Man Song’ is characterised by another instrument Trivedi has been known to make splendid use of – the harmonium (Akhlak Hussain Varsi). It’s a fun song that derives its happiness from Mika Singh’s rendition of Munir’s description of Padman’s “supper hero” qualities. The ladies’ chorus backing Singh does a fine job too.
It is in the rest of the soundtrack that the composer increasingly gravitates towards his tried and tested formulae. ‘ Sayaani ’ comes with the Navrai Majhi-esque celebratory vibe, salvaged by some good singing from Yashita Sharma, Jonita Gandhi, Yashika Sikka and Rani Kaur. The composer himself gets behind the mic for the dance track ‘ Hu Ba Hu ’ that is strictly functional. And Mohit Chauhan leads the best of the three – ‘ Saale Sapne ’. The pop rock base is sure to evoke memories of albums like Udaan in your head, but a few deft touches from the composer prevent the song from getting completely bogged down by familiarity.
Kaalakaandi
Akshay Verma (one half of the composing pair Abhishek Akshay, who debuted with Vicky Donor and were lead composers for Running Shaadi last year) is in sparkling form in the trippy ‘ Swagpur Ka Choudhary ’ performing both of his roles – lyricist and vocalist. Not to take anything away from composer Samir Uddin’s work in the backdrop which is equally instrumental in the song’s allure. Samir is equally brilliant in ‘ Aa Bhi Jaa ’ (love that electronic groove!) written by Anvita Dutt that has Vishal Dadlani and Abhishek Nailwal handling the vocals. Nailwal does a solo act in Uddin’s third song, the infectious electro swing track ‘Jive With Me’ that perhaps would have worked better with another singer.
In ‘ Kaala Doreya ’ the composer gives a contemporary twist to the traditional Punjabi composition. The number is not as high up on the quirkiness quotient as the previous songs, but it’s an engaging piece nevertheless, thanks also to Neha Bhasin’s singing and Raxstar’s rap. The title song comes from guest composer Shashwat Sachdev, fresh from his successful 2017 debut Phillauri . His musical partners remain largely the same here too – Anvita Dutt as lyricist, Romy and Vivek Hariharan as vocalists etc. And while this song too has a folk base like his previous compositions, here Sachdev layers it well with contemporary elements – especially the way he employs the horns and Satwinder Pal Singh’s sarangi.
While Trivedi’s work in Padman is propped up by one winning melody, Uddin and Sachdev’s work for Kaalakaandi matches the quirkiness of film writer and now debutant director, Akshat Verma’s Delhi Belly .
Published - January 03, 2018 08:45 pm IST
