MUSIC REVIEW : YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani is an album and movie I am eagerly looking forward to. Firstly it is directed by Ayan Mukerjee whom I have had the pleasure of meeting and spending some time with before his debut movie released, and secondly because his first movie “Wake up Sid” is one of my all time favorite movies. This time instead of SEL and Amit Trivedi, he ropes in Pritam to compose the music.

“BADTAMEEZ DIL” is instant chartbuster material. Right from the immensely catchy tune to the superb singing by Benny Dayal and Shefali Alvaris, the song will appeal instantly. The USP however is the fabulous lyrics penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya. They are hilarious, innovative and deserve applause. Notice how he intelligently uses the phrase “Gilli Gilli Akkha” from the old song “Yeh Jawaani hai deewani”. Add to that Ranbir Kapoor’s Shammi Kapoor like dance and we have a winner on our hands.

 

“BALAM PICHKAARI” is one more hell of a catchy song. This time Shalmali Kholgade and Vishal Dadlani sing it, and to near perfection. A holi song, this one is written well, sung well and most importantly arranged well. The tune is set to an addictive beat and the loop of “Balam Pichkari” is nothing short of awesomeness.

 

“DILLIWALI GIRLFRIEND” unfortunately falls a rung below compared to the first two songs. No, it is not at all bad. With quirky lyrics, good singing by Arijit Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan and a fairly engaging video, it makes an impression but the templatized punju tune lets it down. Maybe if the tune would have been a little more novel, the song would have done wonders. And yet, this one will appeal to a sizable chunk of the audience.

 

“ILAHI” is my favorite song from the album. It has two versions – one by Arijit Singh and one by Mohit Chauhan.

Arijit’s version is slightly more energetic compared to Mohit’s version, but ultimately Mohit’s lovely voice gives him that slight edge over Arijit’s version.

With an awesome “Oooohhh… Aaahhh” chorus in the voice of children throughout the song, this song has an altogether different feel. It is difficult to classify it under one particular genre, but I simply loved it.

Since portions of this film are shot in Manali, my assumption is that this song will be a road travel song shot amongst the beautiful backdrop of Himachal Pradesh.

 

“KABIRA” again appears in two versions.

Rekha Bhardwaj and Tochi Raina’s version reminds us of “Iktara” in some subtle way. The tune is good and melodious. Rekha Bhardwaj sings it brilliantly and Tochi Raina ably accompanies her. I expect the song to be an important part of the narrative.

There is another desi version by Harshdeep Kaur and Arijit Singh and this one sounds straight out of “Luv shuv tey Chicken Khurana” – Harshdeep’s lovely voice coupled with the earthy lyrics.

 

“SUBHANALLAH” belongs to that category which I have named as “Harmless songs”. These are the type of songs which are not bad, but not too pathbreaking also. They are sung very well, have decent lyrics and set to a sweet romantic tune. And most importantly, their further outcome depends on their picturization.

“Subhanallah” is one such song. no it is not that awesome a song as I had expected. But it is no doubt a good one. It is Sreeram’s singing which makes all the difference. Good to see him finally getting some worthy song to sing after that horrible “BALMA”.

As I said, it is too early to predict the fate of this song. it would do wonders if picturized well. (Something Ayan Mukerjee did very well in Wake Up Sid.)

And finally we have the Madhuri wala item song “GHAGHRA”. (Winces). Yes, that is the effect item songs have on me. So frankly speaking, I had zero expectations from this one. But it turned out to better than I thought.

Firstly, the opening dholak and tabla beats are lovely, reminding me of “Mere dholna”. The song later dives into the qawaali genre. Singing wise, Rekha Bhardwaj is as always superb. Vishal sounds a bit off key at places especially in the antara.

Secondly the antara portions are very well done. The dialogue like portion between the two singers are superb.

And lastly, when you have Madhuri Dixit and Ranbir Kapoor on screen, the song is bound to be a rage irrespective of how it is. That is what will happen with “GHAGHRA”, though personally it is the song I liked the least.

OVERALL, let us be honest. YJHD is an almost near perfect album, and I stress on the word NEAR. The way it started with “Badtameez” and “Balam Pichkari” – that tempo and hype falls a little bit as the album progresses. What I would have liked is the inclusion of a totally out and out romantic melody – something that is missing here.

And yet, YJHD is a brilliant masala album with dallops of everything needed to make a complete album.

MY PICKS – ILAHI (BOTH VERSIONS), BADTAMEES DIL, BALA PICHKARI, KABIRA (Rekha bhardwaj’s version)

MY RATINGS – 8.75 / 10