MUSIC REVIEW : ABCD (ANY BODY CAN DANCE)

There are few movies which have a soundtrack as an aide to the script. While there are few movies which heavily rely on the soundtrack. The most recent example of this is “ROCKSTAR” – a film which needed an extraordinary soundtrack, and that is just what Rahman gave.

Touted as India’s first dance film, director Remo D’souza goes a step further to make it in 3D. He also ropes in some of the country’s finest choreographers and dancers. And finally to make sure that there is someone who can act, we have Kay Kay Menon. And then there is Prabhudeva. Now this movie needs a great soundtrack – something which can provide ample opportunity for these dancers to show off their skills on screen, and at the same time sound good to the ears.

After his first bolly movie “FALTU”, Remo once again ropes in the extremely talented and “under rated” Sachin – Jigar. After giving some very good music in FALTU, let us see what ABCD has in store for us.

“SHAMBHU SUTAYA” is a ganesh aarti and sets the mood of the album in a brilliant way. The song starts with Shankar Mahadevan’s superb rendition of a shlok after which the dhols and nagaadas take over. The song is highly energetic and the combo of Shankar’s soothing vocals and Vishal Dadlani’s raspy ones only elevates the intensity. From what Wikipedia describes about the plot, this song should be a visual delight. This song immediately reminds us of “Deva shree ganeshay” from “Agneepath”. Both the songs are equally intense and energetic. But that is where similarities end. While Agneepath’s song relied on a constant beat, this one has some exceptional background arrangements. Add to that a brilliant tabla piece recited orally in between. And the icing on the cake – the song shifts to a garba tune towards the end. Whattay start!

“BEZUBAAAN” is another fantastic track. Backed by a gorgeous tune, Mohit chauhan enchants us right from the beginning. But it is Sachin – Jigar’s favorite Priya Panchal (Regularly used by the composer duo) who evokes goosebumps by her rendition of “Bezubaan”. There are some really interesting and nicely done female rap portions by Deane Sequeira and Tanvi shah. The arrangements are very foot tapping, especially towards the end, leading to a climactic finish. This is one song you HAVE to listen at full volume on your headphones. It is sheer eargasm!

“PSYCHO RE” is a fun number sung by Udit Narayan and Mika. With some light lyrics by Mayur puri and some hilarious musical arrangements by Sachin Jigar, we are instantly hooked to this song. Be it the “rattipattey” chant or the “Rajini” dialogue or the excellent use of naadswaram, the composer duo ace this one. Plus the change of tempo mid way and the vocals by Mika and Udit narayan – this one will definitely be a treat to watch on screen. Udit narayan sings quite less these days, and it is indeed a pleasure to hear him sing such songs so nicely. Thoroughly entertaining!

“MANN BASIYO SAANWARIYO” is another brilliant song. The song starts off on a soft note with some awesome vocals by Anushka Manchanda. There is a very vague Rahman-ish feel to these portions. The song shifts genres with the use of guitars and we finally hear Anushka in her usual full throttled voice. Overall, this song is very well composed and sung. The arrangements are creative and the final output is one great song.

“CHANDU KI GIRLFRIEND” has some really funny lyrics by Mayur puri which make you laugh instantly. The song has light arrangements and is sung well by Raman Mahadevan and Jigar Saraiya and few other singers. Nothing extraordinary, but the song is catchy and hummable and should go on to become a popular one.

“DUHAAI” is an engaging song with some good singing by Madhav Krishna. With music arrangements alternating between minimal to heavy techno, this song might need more than one hearing, but after that you would love it. A special mention to the beautiful sarangi portions towards the end. This is one song which again should be worthwhile to watch on screen.

“SORRY SORRY” is sung by Jigar Saraiya. With foot tapping arrangements and some brilliant mandolin (?) like instrument, this one again has some amusing lyrics. A song in which a boy vents out his frustration and tries to woo his “roothi huyi” partner, Jigar sings this with ease. There is also an indirect tribute to one very popular dialogue from an old Akshay kumar film (One of the khiladi movies.)

Light, peppy and easy on the ears.

“KAR JA RE YA MAR JA RE” starts with the sound of a giggling baby and the tune of “Happy birthday to you“ before settling into hardcore rock mode. This one is undoubtedly going to be a stage performance in the movie. And the song has all the energy required for it. With Suraj Jagan in his typical avatar and some addictive arrangements, this one is a short but good listen. Expect something awesome on screen.

“SADDA DIL VI TU (GA GA GA GANPATI)” – Well I am not sure how this song will do with the audience. Sachin – Jigar are at their creative best in this one. Essentially this is a ganpati song, but HardKaur puts in her own rap and Punjabi singing to create a highly unique and enjoyable mashup of devotional lyrics and rap. The background beats change at various places. Again I am sure this one would have a dance video. But as for now, I loved it after a couple of hearings. Listen to it to marvel at the sheer innovativeness of sachin jigar. How else can you create a rap Ganesh song and end it with an aarti?

OVERALL, I was mightily impressed with the soundtrack of ABCD. Each and every song is well done. Not a single song sticks out as a sore thumb. The songs are just perfect for a dance movie. Now it remains to be seen how they are utilized in the movie.

As for Sachin Jigar, their work is outstanding. A special mention to the background arrangements in every single song – it is very creative, innovative and exceptional! As I said in the beginning, they are perhaps the most under rated composer duo we have. Right from their debut album “Teree sang” (Brilliant), they have constantly delivered good music. ABCD ranks among their finest works ever!

And dear WIKIPEDIA, give them a page of their own dammit! Five years old in the film industry with some major hit songs and they still don’t have a wiki page! Kamaal kartey ho!

MY RATINGS – 8.75 / 10