The last time Siddharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra starred together in a movie was five years ago. While Hasee Toh Phasee as a soundtrack would not rate among Vishal-Shekhar’s best works, they did give us the really gorgeous ‘ Zehnaseeb ’. At first glance, the duo’s latest Jabariya Jodi offers no such consolation — as its all multiple composers and the mandatory remix. Nevertheless, one can always hope.
The album’s token remix entry features a name that has largely faded from prominence in recent times — Yo Yo Honey Singh. ‘ Khadke Glassy ’ is a remix of the rapper’s 2006 song with Ashok Mastie and has two versions in the soundtrack. Interestingly the official music video on Zee Music’s YouTube channel is dated 2018 although it is clearly an old video, and makes one wonder if they acquired it purely to repurpose. The first one by Tanishk Bagchi is essentially a speedier version of the original track with some bells and whistles. That is. Jyotica Tangri’s vocals, Bagchi’s tweaks on Channi Rakhala’s Punjabi lines etc. The second version by Ramji Gulati, called ‘Glassy 2.0’, sees some modification in the main melody (though the hook remains the same), and Kumaar writes the additional lines. It’s arguably the more imaginative adaptation among the two, though that isn’t saying much. Bagchi has two more tracks in the album, both original. Well, original in that both songs are credited to the composer, but the title refrain in ‘ Zilla Hilela ’ sounds exactly like ‘ Main Maike Chali Jaaoongi ’ verse from the Bobby (1973) song. The lyrics, co-written by Bagchi again, alongside Shabbir Ahmed — vary from clichéd to downright silly. I am particularly curious as to whose contribution “smashing hero..dashing hero..Tarantino” was.
The composer has a better offering in ‘ Dhoonde Akhiyaan ’ though. While the filmi sufi sound is not particularly fresh, but it’s tuneful and more importantly a relief to hear a Bagchi song that’s different from the usual peppy dance numbers. The song vastly benefits from the vocals of Yasser Desai and Altamash Faridi.
Sachet-Parampara seem to be nursing a ‘ Bekhayali ’ (from Kabir Singh ) hangover though. Their number ‘ Khwabfaroshi’ is also built on a melancholic rock base, once again characterised by some explosive guitar solos. I am guessing it’s Kalyan Baruah yet again.
Sadly though, nothing about the song really stands out. The one interesting thing about the song however is that, like the composer pair, the lyricists are also a male-female duo — Siddharth-Garima — a rare occurrence. It’s the final guest composer, Vishal Mishra, reuniting with his lyrical partner from Qarib Qarib Singlle , Raj Shekhar, who delivers one of the album’s better songs. ‘ Ki Honda Pyaar ’ is a mellow romantic melody that in two variants, sung by Arijit Singh and Neha Kakkar (supported briefly by the composer) respectively.
While I like the former version better, the two tracks don’t seem to be different. The track’s soulful melody is set to a breezy arrangement for most part, it does make the occasional digressions, towards the end. Tapas Roy’s array of plucked strings through the song stands out. Mishra’s second composition, ‘ Macchardaani ’, is the best among the album’s faster tracks. Once again, there is the heard-before factor here as well, but the quirkiness in the arrangement and lyrics makes the song an engaging affair nevertheless. The composer doubles up as singer for this one, accompanying Jyotica Tangri.
The Jabariya Jodi album makes it four Bollywood soundtracks in a row that have turned out average (or worse). There are two more coming out next week — hopefully one of them will buck the trend.
COMMents
SHARE