One expects a good soundtrack in a romantic drama produced by a production house that, primarily, is a music company. Sanam Re, a film featuring the same lead pair (Pulkit Samrat and Yami Gautam) and produced by the same banner (T-Series) that has produced Junooniyat, had a bunch of good tracks. The trailer of the film, itself, featured a couple of songs in bits and parts which sounded interesting. The music of the film has composed by Meet Bros Anjjan, Jeet Gannguly and Ankit Tiwari – names which prominently feature in films produced by the banner.
Except for a badly written (and annoying) rap portion, which sticks out like a sore thumb in an otherwise engaging number, Meet Bros Anjjan incorporate the sound of the Hindi film techno dance numbers, that became fashionable more than a decade back, in their recreated version of Stereo Nation’s “Nachange Saari Raat”.If you manage to ignore the slightly dated sound, you will have a groovy number to dance to. Neeraj Shridhar’s voice is heard in a major film after a long time and he sounds fantastic. Tulsi Kumar’s voice has been electronically treated here and one finds to believe that she is the female vocalist.
Jeet Gannguly composes a very pleasantly old-fashioned “Mujhko Barsaat Bana Lo” which gets a contemporary touch from Armaan Malik’s youthful voice. The track could have well been used in a non-film album in the late 90s when indipop was at its peak. Armaan renders the song with a certain swagger in his voice which makes it all the more engrossing. Rashmi Virag’s mushy lyrics fit effortlessly into Jeet’s saccharine melody.
Ankit Tiwari, who ends up recycling his own tunes, is credited as the composer for “Ishqe Di Lat” which does not sound remind of any of his earlier hits. In fact, the song which has a strong Indian melody to it, reminds one of the sound that one associated with composers Nikhil-Vinay who used to be T-Series favourites at one point of time. Like “Mujhko Barsaat Bana Lo”, the 90s sound is more than welcome here as the highly melodious track sounds nostalgic and not dated. Ankit does a good job both as a singer and a composer. Tulsi, who sounded bearable in “Nachange Saari Raat” is back to her usual, annoying self.
Meet Bros Anjjan bring the Pakistani pop sound in “Junooniyat”, the title track and do a good job with it. These kind of songs used to be a regular feature in Hindi films back in the day. Though you might accuse the composer of aping this done-to-death sound but one has to give it to them for coming with a rousing tune. The melancholic track seems tailor made for Falak Shabir’s voice. Lyricist Kumaar, in some simple but heart-warming lines, conveys the pain of the character who mouths these lines in the film. The song encapsulates the intense, romantic theme of the film quite well.
With an insipid tune, dated arrangements and unimaginative lyrics, “Pagalon Sa Naach” does not really get you excited. A celebratory number in which the lead protagonists are seen in indulging in some dance, the track is perhaps one of the weakest dance numbers composed by Meet Bros Anjjan/Meet Bros. Bollywoood is replete with several Holi-based numbers that have remain entrenched in the listeners’ mind. “Pagalon Sa Naach” is unlikely to join that list.
Though the sense of urgency is evident in “Tu Junooniyat (Climax Song)” which, as the title suggests, will be played in the penultimate minutes of the film, the song with a stale tune and lazy orchestral arrangements does not let you invest in it as a listener. Shrey Singhal’s voice, accompanied by minimal arrangements, gives a fairly interesting start to the track but it soon develops into a heavy techno heavy number led by a boring tune. The result is a cacophonous song which one has to bear towards the end of the film.
After listening to the first four tracks on the album, one feels that it is headed in the right direction. Though these songs have a familiar and heard-before feel to them, they are tuneful and very engaging. Unfortunately, the two songs (“Pagalon Sa Nach” and “Tu Junooniyat – Climax Song”) placed towards the end of the album, do not work and forbids the album from becoming an out and out entertaining package. Even though a couple of tracks disappoint, majority of the songs are easily likeable and have the potential to turn into chartbusters if promoted well.
Rating: 3/5