The two films directed by choreographer Ganesh Acharya, ‘Swami’ and ‘Money Hai Toh Honey Hai’, had music by Nitz ‘N’ Sony (Nitin Arora And Sony Chandy). While the composers made some earthy songs with a strong Indian base for the emotional drama ‘Swami’, they composed some dance numbers for the comic caper ‘Money Honey Hai Toh Honey Hai’. They last worked as composers for the Rajniesh Duggal – Subhashree Ganguly starrer ‘Spark’. Hey Bro is Ganesh Acharya’s first film as a producer and the film has been directed by Ajay Chandok who has helmed several comedies like ‘Nehlle Pe Dehlla’, ‘Chatur Singh Two Star’, ‘Kisse Pyaar Karoon’ in the past. The music of this comedy should be fast paced with the fun element kept intact.
“Dj” is a club number with familiar beats and lyrics. Sunidhi Chauhan is brilliant with her rendition but one has heard in so many similarly tuned numbers in the past. Ali Zafar makes an entry into the final moments of the song and his entry could not have been better timed. As the singer has not really been heard in such songs earlier, his voice acts like a breath of fresh air and breaks the monotony to a great extent. ‘Dj’ offers nothing you haven’t heard before but even with an out-and-out predictable tune, it turns out to be a reasonably engaging number.
‘Photocopy’ (Jai Ho) was the first instance where Himesh Reshammiya was credited as a singer for a song not composed by him. This time he obliges Nitz N Sony by singing “Bulbul” for them. The song benefits from some decent orchestral arrangements which lift the ordinary tune to a certain extent. Himesh sings with a lot of attitude and Shreya’s auto tuned voice (done presumably to lend some huskiness to her voice) takes some time getting used to. Shabbir Ahmed has borrowed the popular phrase ‘Bulbul’ from the film ‘Roti’ (1974) and has written new lines based on it.
“Birju” is the promotional song where Ganesh Acharya has managed to bring some celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Prabhu Dheva, Hrithik Roshan and Ranveer Singh. As Udit Narayan makes an entry early in the song and a nice flute piece follows, one expects the song to go in a particular direction. But, with a multi layered tune with some rap portions added to ensure there are smiles around, ‘Birju’ does turn out into a fun outing. The rap portions are interesting in parts but what stands out in this song are the parts sung by Udit Narayan. The singer sings in his inimitable style and is brilliant.
“Line Laga” starts off with a backup vocalist chanting ‘Booty Shake, Booty Shake’. Mika Singh and Anu Malik are brought in to sing along to an insipid tune and dull lyrics. The composer and the lyricists try to invoke humour through this song but fail miserably. And why was Anu Malik asked to go ‘Ooo ooo ooo’? The song, devoid of any tune whatsoever, moves at a sluggish pace with some techno arrangements and choral vocals that only irritate. You wouldn’t feel like hearing song again after a listening.
The composers try to recreate the magic of ‘Ek Chatur Naar Karke Singaar’ from the 1968 cult classic ‘Padosan’ but their efforts don’t bear fruit as neither the tune engages nor it makes you break into a laugh. The only takeaway from “Hu Tu Tu” is Sonu Nigam’s amazing rendition. His voice modulation, expressions – everything is spot on. It’s impossible to imagine another singer in his place who could have sung the song with half the conviction with which he sings.
Hey Bro starts off on a decent note with two average dance numbers (‘Dj and ‘Bulbul’) followed by ‘Birju’ which does manage to engage in parts. The last two tracks on the album (‘Line Laga’ and ‘Hu Tu Tu’) turn out to be damp squibs and cannot be heard beyond a hearing or two. The album has mostly fun songs, with a few of them having a comic touch to them, which should work well with the context of the film.
