The music of ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’, Aditya Chopra’s directorial debut, is arguably, one of the most popular film soundtracks in the history of Hindi cinema. Music directors Jatin-Lalit delivered yet another winner of a soundtrack for ‘Mohabbatein’, Chopra’s second film as a director. Though the songs of ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ (‘RNBDJ’) went on to become hits, the music (Salim-Sulaiman) of the film was not a patch on the director’s first two films. Eight years after ‘RNBDJ’ released, Aditya Chopra dons the hat of a director with ‘Befikre’, starring Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor in the lead roles. The film seems to have a very young, urbane vibe to it and one expects composers Vishal and Shekhar to deliver a soundtrack that compliments the energy of this romantic comedy.
The electronic beats and trance-like sound of “Nashe Si Chadh Gayi” lend an intoxicating feel to the song, which also ends up complimenting the hook line “Nashe Si Chadh Gayi” (“You make me feel intoxicated”). Though one feels Jaideep Sahni goes slightly overboard with the rhyming phrases (“Kamli kahaaniyon si, jungle jawaaniyon si”), he manages to come up with smart lines like “Abhi abhi utra ho torrent jaise”. The tune is simple and gets in your head after you finish listening to it once. Arijit Singh sings in a freewheeling manner which goes well with the slap-happy energy of the situation.
A Middle Eastern sound kicks in with the arrival of “Ude Dil Befikre”, sung by Benny Dayal. While the song has a modern appeal to it and some French lyrics too, the compositional structure and the use of some string instruments make the Middle Eastern sound fairly evident. Benny makes some wonderful voice modulations to accentuate the Middle Eastern sound in the song.
One hears a dialogue between Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor before the beginning of the “Je T’Aime”, which gives us an idea about what the phrase means. The arrangements in the song are similar to that of “Labon Ka Karobaar” but this track, sung by Vishal Dadlani and Sunidhi Chauhan, has a more romantic flavour to it. Also, it sounds more emotionally intense than the other tracks in the album. Overall, a pleasant song that should make a better impression with visuals.
With “You And Me”, Vishal and Shekhar bring back the sound they had created for ‘Salaam Namaste’. Incidentally, Jaideep Sahni had teamed up with the composers for that film as well. The song trudges along smoothly along the beats of percussion instruments and horns. Nikhil D’Souza and Rachel Varghese’s anglicised accent works well for this peppy number which has a very urbane vibe to it.
“Labon Ka Karobaar” (roughly translates to ‘the business of lips’) seems like an ode to the numerous scenes in the film which the lead pair will be seen locking their lips in. Apart from giving a glimpse of the sound one would expect to hear in France (where the film is set in), the song is reminiscent of the kind of arrangements and style Shankar-Jaikishan used in several of their numbers. The song has a relaxed and laidback feel akin to “Nashe Si Chadh Gayi” but is a completely different composition.
For people who like their songs to carry the quintessential Bollywood flavour will surely lap up “Khulke Dhulke”. A bhangra track that has been sung spiritedly by Gippy Grewal and Harshdeep Kaur, “Khulke Dhulke” brings some variety in the album. Though the song has a heard-before feel to it and does not really boast of any novelty as such, like all the other tracks, it makes for a fun listening.
“Love Is A Dare – Instrumental”, which begins on a terrific electric guitar led vocal-less piece of “Nashe Si Chadh Gayi” is an instrumental medley of most of the songs in the album. The different tunes have been merged and orchestrated very well and the entire track has a pulsating rhythm to it. This instrumental track ends this uniformly engaging soundtrack on a high.
The music of ‘Befikre’ is nowhere near being extraordinary but it does not have a dull moment either. All the seven tracks are sufficiently engaging. Vishal and Shekhar fail to give Aditya Chopra an album that would have the timeless appeal of the music of ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ or ‘Mohabattein’ but the composer duo succeed in fleshing out songs that engage and could fit very well within the kind of narrative Aditya Chopra has attempted with this film.
Rating: 3.5/5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jn7AhRausE&list=PLCB05E03DA939D484&index=7