The music of ‘Judwaa’ (1996) was quite good; four songs (“Duniya Mein Aaye”, “Go East Or West India Is The Best”,”Oonchi Hai Building” and “Tan Tana Tan Tan Tana Tan” )from the Salman Khan-Karisma Kapoor-Rambha starrer are popular till date. Despite making comedies (a genre not considered to be music-friendly) for the most part of his career, David Dhawan always manages to pack in at least a few songs that in most of his films that turn out to be popular. With two of Anu Malik’s chartbusters from the original being recreated and Sajid-Wajid and Meet Bros being credited with a song each, one expects an out-and-out fun and rollicking soundtrack.
Instead of usual culprits Tanishk Bagchi and Gourov-Roshin, it is background score specialist Sandeep Shirodkar who undertakes the task of recreating the two hit songs from ‘Judwaa’. “Chalti Hai Kya” and “Oonchi Hai Building 2.0″ are good, well-orchestrated avatars of the two Anu Malik originals (“Tan Tana Tan Tan Tana Tan” and “Oonchi Hai Building”) which serve more as new-age tributes rather than badly-remixed tracks filled with unnecessary rap interludes. While Dev Negi and Neha Kakkar serve as replacements for Abhijeet and Poornima in “Chalti Hai Kya”, Anu Malik’s voice is retained in “Oonchi Hai Building 2.0’. Neha Kakkar fills in for Sushma Shreshtha in the latter.
The prelude of the Sajid-Wajid composed “Suno Ganpati Bappa Morya” reminds one of “Jalwa” (‘Wanted’) and “No Problem” (‘No Problem’). The song seeks to show the reverence Raja (Varun Dhawan) has for Lord Ganesha in a light-hearted manner. Sajid-Wajid try to mix a devotional-like sound with their signature flamboyance sound but the tune is so insipid that one does not even feel the urge to hit the replay button. Danish Sabri pitches in with a few catchy lines and Amit Mishra tries to infuse some energy as a singer but the track just fails to impress you.
Meet Bros manage to leave a mark with their sole contribution to the album “Aa Toh Sahi”. The tune does sound familiar and Sonu Saggu’s lyrics are far from being ground-breaking. But the composer duo and the lyricist, who have delivered several chartbusters in the past, make sure that the tune and the lyrics are catchy enough for Varun, Jacqueline and Taapsee to shake a leg to. The flirtatious tone in the song comes across very well courtesy the rendition by Meet Bros and Neha Kakkar. Meet Bros, in particular, do a very good job behind the mic.
This is not an album as memorable as a ‘Mujhse Shaadi Karogi’ but it is not as a ‘Do Knot Disturb’ either. With the kind of setting and cast the film has, one did expect the album to have more than four songs. Quality-wise, three out of four songs manage to entertain you and should be a visual treat when you watch the film in theatres. Much of the credit for the album turning out to be enjoyable must go to Anu Malik whose original tunes, rehashed by Sandeep Shirodkar, shine way more than the original tracks.
Rating: 3/5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF7mwZCMCtM