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‘ABCD’ (2013) was arguably the first proper dance based film made to have come out of the Hindi Film Industry. After delivering a winning soundtrack for choreographer-director Remo D’Souza’s maiden directorial venture ‘F.A.L.T.U’ composers Sachin-Jigar put together a fantastic dance based soundtrack for ‘ABCD’. The team is back with the ‘ABCD 2’, its sequel. Given the fact that Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor are the leading pair in ‘ABCD 2’, one expects a couple of romantic numbers to be thrown in apart from the mandatory dance ones.
“Chunar”, sung by Arijit Singh, has a strong melancholy feel to it. The song talks about the relationship between a mother and a son. Mayur Puri’s lyrics, which depicts a son talking to his mother about his sorrows, are terrific. One was not expecting a raga based track in this soundtrack but one does not mind the inclusion of such a poignant number in the soundtrack. Sachin –Jigar’s music is evocative with a haunting background.
“Sun Saathiya”, which was a part of the background score of ‘ABCD’, makes its way into the soundtrack of the sequel. The track starts off with a piano piece, which is joined by a tabla performance and one is then treated to a rich violin interlude. All these instruments give company to the husky voice of Priya Saraiya and earthy vocals of Divya Kumar. The singers complement each others’ contrasting voices very well. The lyrics (Priya Saraiya) skillfully convey the love that Vinnie (Shraddha Kapoor) harbours for Suresh (Varun Dhawan). The song has a very smooth, free flowing quality to it that goes very well with the romantic feel of the song.
You know it’s a sequel when a song from the original film is heard in a new avatar in the new film. The signature tune of “Bezubaan” (ABCD) is heard sporadically in “Bezubaan Phir Se”. Madhav Krishna’s rendition of the original hook line also adds to the recall factor. Apart from that, the one thing common between the original number and this one is the passion and angst of the protagonists. Sachin-Jigar create a fusion of rock, hip-hop and rap music while creating an interesting background of the song. The portion in which they play with the silence, a faintly heard whistle and percussion instruments (congo and bongo arrive at 3:03 into the song) is terrific. Vishal Dadlani and Anushka Manchanda convey the spirit of the song beautifully.
After witnessing some angst, romance and pain, it’s time to have some fun. “Happy B’day” is not the kind of song that is meant to be taken seriously. Instead, you are supposed to groove along with all the fun that the singers, lyrics and music bring with them. The lyrics are full of gibberish and fun lines. Sachin Sanghvi, Jigar Saraiya, Varun Dhawan and D. Soldierz seemed to have a blast singing this one. Their enthusiastic vocals contribute greatly to the fun quotient.
Sachin-Jigar get the techno sound just right in “If You Hold My Hand”. The tune is simple and hummable. The track has a bubble gum pop sound to it which gives it a bouncy feel. Benny Dayal’s rendition takes the spirited energy of the song a few notches higher. The lyrics are a mix of Hindi and English words which blends well with the feel of the song. The song holds a lot of appeal to the youth but is accessible enough to reach out to a larger group of listeners.
‘ABCD’ had two songs (“Shambhu Sutaya” and “Sada Dil Vi Tu”) dedicated to Lord Ganesha. The devotional essence can be found in this soundtrack in “Hey Ganarava”, another song dedicated to Lord Ganesha. The song is fast paced giving enough scope for the actors in the film to show their dancing prowess but Sachin-Jigar do not compromise on the devotional aspect of the song. The track is uplifting and has a serene feel to it. Divya Kumar not only sings the song well but he emulates the various percussive beats effectively as well.
“Happy Hour” moves forward unhurriedly and picks up speed in the final moments. But that is, presumably, because this situational song needed to have a laidback feel to it. The arrangements, which showcase a mélange of different genres, stand out. Mika Singh sings in his usual drawl like style which suits the song. The song may take some time to grow because of its situational feel.
The spirited carnival feel and Latin-American influence is evident in “Naach Meri Jaan”. The high-octane energy of the song can be felt throughout its duration but the one thing that towers above everything is the extremely addictive hook line. The percussion led arrangements are intoxicating. Benny Dayal, Siddharth Basrur and Rimi Nique’s voices move along swiftly along the spunky flavour of the song.
Shevali Alvares lends the requisite amount of sensuality and playfulness to “Tattoo”. The way Mayur Puri creates a concoction of chaste Hindi words and English words is interesting. The orchestral arrangements rest heavily on percussive music. The tune is pretty simple and does not go the unconventional way but makes for an engaging listen.
“Vande Mataram” starts off with a child (Tanishka Sanghvi) reciting a few lines followed by the booming voice of Daler Mehndi. Then, you hear Badshah performing a rap portion. Divya Kumar joins the scene as he carries forward the emotions conveyed by Arijit in “Chunar”. It is the coming together of all these singers with different vocal textures that makes the song all more interesting. One hears the word ‘Maa’ multiple times but here it refers to one’s motherland. Sachin-Jigar bring several genres together in one track and their effort is praiseworthy.
The soundtrack of ‘ABCD 2’ is a notch higher than its prequel. A dance based soundtrack can sound monotonous with similar sounds but Sachin-Jigar seek inspiration from various genres to create several energetic dance tracks. Even though most of the tracks are dance based and fast paced, the soundtrack offers a lot of variety as no two songs are similar to each other. If you are in no mood to hit the dance floor, you can seek solace in tracks like “Sun Saathiya” and “Chunar”.
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