Known for his peppy tracks like in the ‘Golmaal’ franchise (2006-2017), this Rohit Shetty action drama features four songs that stormed the internet, even before the release of the film. The catchy tunes created the needed buzz. The music is composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Lijo George – DJ Chetas and JAM8. The lyrics are written by Rashmi Virag, Shabbir Ahmed, Anand Bakshi and Tanishk Bagchi. Three of the four songs are remakes of eponymous hit songs.
The dance number from the movie “Najaa” features Katrina and Akshay Kumar. There is a golden helicopter set in the background that catches our eyes out of all other helicopters, bikes and cars. The beats of the songs are enhanced by the groovy moves of Akshay and Katrina in black casual outfits. In 2017, Pav Dharia had created this song. This remake is sung by Pav Dharia and Nikhita and the lyrics is recreated by Tanishk Bagchi. This is definitely the next party anthem.
Choreographed by Farah Khan “Tip Tip Barsa Pani” has been recreated by Tanishk Bagchi with some modifications in the lyrics. Originally written by Anand Bakshi, the music was composed by Viju Shah and is still loved today by audiences due to various remakes and renditions. It was then sung by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik in ‘Mohra’ (1994) featuring Raveena Tandon and Akshay Kumar. Katrina has indeed slayed her performance in a silver saree opposite to Akshay but the old song has a different charm to it. While fans had given mixed responses, the song lacked chemistry between the actors and the charm of the original version. The original version had a better vibe. The current version retained the original voice of Alka Yagnik.
Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh and Ajay Devgn are featured in “Aila Re Aillaa” which is a recreation of the same song from the movie ‘Khatta Meetha’ (2010). Daler Mehndi has sung the song again with an equal amount of energy. He talked about this song and mentioned how the song has retained the magic of the original score. Shabbir Ahmed modified the lyrics a bit which enhanced the song to a great extent. This song is now like the cop theme song. Also, TanishkBagchi blended the music of ‘Simmba’ (2018) and ‘Singham’ (2011) in it that made it look like a Shetty cop sequel. This is a better remake than the other numbers of the movie.
“Mere Yaara” is the only romantic number in the movie that captures the chemistry between Akshay and Katrina. Composed by Pritam’s JAM8 project by Kaushik-Guddu-Akash trio and written by Rashmi Virag, this is definitely the best song from the movie. Pritam’s magic is felt in every bit of the song that has paired tabla, acoustic guitar and sarangi so well in a fusion. Arijit Singh did justice to this love anthem as usual and no one would dare say otherwise. Neeti Mohan got a very little part in the song but she was stunning too. The saffron yacht visual from the movie took us back to Pritam’s “Gerua” from ‘Dilwale’ (2015) which was also sung by Arijit Singh.
Tanishk Baghchi is known as the king of remakes who gives a mass appeal with modifications to the old songs. However, he had earlier been trolled for his remakes that ruined the essence of the song. “Masakali 2.0″ was such a major setback. Comparatively the songs here although didn’t break the bar but we’re more than average.
A quote says “poetry is lost in translation” and so songs lose their essence in remakes. The unnecessary upbeat music and modification in lyrics backfired. While fans appreciated the choreography and gorgeous direction of the song videos, the music has received mixed responses. “Mere Yaara” is definitely the show-stealer.
Rating: 3/5
