Dum Laga Ke Haisha marks Anu Malik’s entry into the YRF camp. Strangely, the banner never worked with the composer when he was at the peak of his career, delivering numerous hit songs. With the film set in the 90s and leading man Ayushmann Khurrana being portrayed as a huge fan of singer Kumar Sanu, one hopes the music will take us to the good old days when Hindi film songs were characterized by a strong Indian sound. Anu Malik teams up with lyricist Varun Grover who is known for writing quirky lyrics for films like ‘Gangs Of Wasseypur – I’ and ‘Gangs Of Wasseypur – II’.
“Moh Moh Ke Dhaage” is a romantic song with a philosophical bend to it. The orchestral arrangements which mostly consist of Indian instruments along with faintly heard notes of guitar and violin are very good. The wonderfully played flute lends a devotional quality to the song. The raga based melody grows with repeated hearings. Varun Grover’s lyrics are fresh and memorable. Papon does extremely well as a vocalist and his voice suits this semi-classical song perfectly. The song appears in another version featuring Monali Thakur. Monali is equally good with her rendition.
Guitar and shehnai are heard in the prelude of “Dum Laga Ke Haisha”, the title track. The earthy track has been sung energetically by Kailash Kher and Nooran Sisters (Jyoti and Sultana). Full marks to Anu Malik for choosing the right singers for the song as Kailash’s and Nooran Sisters’ rustic voices take the average song a few notches higher. The song seems to have been used in an important sequence in the film and it would be interesting to see as to how it’s picturised. As an audio track, it is nothing to write home about.
“Tu” is one of the two songs on the album where Kumar Sanu has been credited as the singer. Agreed that the makers needed a song that would represent the time period the film is set in. Recently, music director Sanjeev Srivastava had composed a song called ‘Bol Rahi Hai Payal’ for the film ‘Revolver Rani’. The song was a tribute to the music of the 90s and was fun to listen to. ‘Tu’, with its boring, unoriginal tune comes across as a parody. The only solace is the fact that the song lasts for less than three minutes.
“Sunder Susheel” is the kind of song that one would have expected from the likes of Amit Trivedi and Ram Sampath. The song has a folk music touch to it and the orchestration is very raw which works well for the song. The experimental song is unlike anything Anu Malik has made so far. Though the song is situational, the tune is endearing and the satirical lines written by Varun make one smile. The song has a Bhojpuri flavor and Rahul Ram and Malini Awasthi’s diction and expressions do complete justice to it.
Anu Malik get the 90s sound right in “Dard Karara”, sung by Kumar Sanu and Sadhna Sargam. The tune, which is predictable but engaging, bears a fleeting resemblance to Malik’s ‘Dekhne Wale Ne’ (Chori Chori Chupke Chupke). The arrangements (Jackie V) bring out the 90s influence effectively. It’s a delight to hear Sadhna Sargam and Kumar Sanu’s voice on a single track after a long time.
“Prem’s Theme” starts off from the point where ‘Moh Moh Ke Dhage’ ended. Papon’s voice is backed by the sound of acoustic guitars. Despite being devoid of lyrics, the track is highly engaging. The tune flows smoothly and is aided by Papon’s beautiful rendition.
Anu Malik gets to compose the music for an entire album after a long time and though the results are not great, they are not disappointing either. While some of the songs have the composer’s stamp over them, the rest boast of an unconventional and fresh sound. Dum Laga Ke Haisha has some good songs that could become popular if the film does well.