Three years back, the trio of MAA (Motwane – Amit - Amitabh) gave me one of my most favorite albums of all times – UDAAN. And so it is just natural to have humongous expectations from the soundtrack of Motwane’s next outing – LOOTERA. Let us see how Amit Trivedi fares in giving a score for this period movie.
“SAWAAR LOON“ is as extraordinary as any song can get. The wonderful beat of dholak set as the backing rhythm coupled with Amit Trivedi’s improvisations with the mouth get the mood perfectly right for an old time song. And then there is the real star of the song – Monali Thakur. She not only is brilliant with her vocals but she also gets to sing a song which is easily the best of her career. Her voice evokes the romance, the melody and the soothing feeling perfectly. Also, Amitabh Bhattacharya does a fab job with the lyrics. Brilliant!
The brilliance continues its journey as next comes “ANKAHEE”. Penned as well as sung by Amitabh Bhattacharya, this one is simply lovely. The easy flowing tune, the melodious voice of Amitabh and the soft backing instrumentation – make this song a winner straightaway. After Mitra (Band baaja baaraat), this is Amitabh’s second song as a full fledged playback singer, and he totally owns this song. Please sing more often Mr Bhattacharya.
“SHIKAYATEIN” finally brings in what I was eagerly waiting for – the udaan feeling. Yes, this one is definitely one such song. And so Amit ropes in the same singer he used in Udaan – Mohan.
It took me few seconds to get used to the slightly complex rhythm with which the song starts, but after that the song is brilliant. Mohan’s ever dependable powerful vocals coupled with Amitabh Bhattacharya’s inputs in between make a very nice combination. Once the rock background starts, the song is pure magic. The lines “Na uddne ki iss dafaa” which are repeated towards the end sung by a rock chorus evoke goosebumps. (Starting precisely at 3.06 minutes).
And then there is that controversial violin loop – HEAVENLY. Goosebumps ka baap!
Bravo Amitabh, Amit Trivedi and Mohan!
“ZINDA” carries the udaan feel further. This time it is composer Amit Trivedi who gets behind the mic. Singing in his usual trademark style, he is just apt and perfect. The song is kind of somber and dark and amit’s vocals suit it perfectly – going low and high at just the right times.
“MONTA RE” instantly transports us back to the era of Bengal in the 1950’s and 1960’s. With a beautiful instrumental backdrop, the feel of the song is immediately set up. Add to that, Amit trivedi chooses his lead singer perfectly. Swanand Kirkire’s vocals are just apt and tailor made for the song.
Just sit back and listen to this old world charming song with your eyes closed and you will be in Bengal when you open your eyes.
“MANMARZIYAN” is something out of this world. The song begins with the soothing vocals of Amit Trivedi. They soon give way to Shilpa Rao. To say that Shilpa Rao is the star of the song would be a gross understatement. She is the SOUL of the song. Her vocals are impeccable. She totally floors you by her brilliance. I don’t remember the last time I loved her song so much.
And let us not forget the brilliant composer. Amit employs an ingenius mix of violin, guitar and santoor to create something which is beyond words. He cleverly uses a single loop but makes an amazing song out of it. And that trailing off santoor in the last five seconds is the icing – it leaves you desperately longing for more.
OVERALL, LOOTERA turns out to be just what I had expected – an outstanding album. The duo of Amit Trivedi and Amitabh Bhattacharya come up with an album which is magical, extraordinary and melodious to the core.
MY RATINGS – 9 / 10
P.S - There is one thing which seems to be troubling many people out there – the inclusion of rock elements in a period film. Well, as far as I see, Sawaar loon, Manmarziyan and Monta re fit in perfectly with the genre of the movie. Even Ankahee can be considered a part of this genre. The remaining two songs – Shikayatein and Zinda are the ones which seem a misfit.
Well, I trust Vikramaditya Motwane to come up with a solution for that. After all, someone whose guru is Sanjay Leela Bhansali doesn’t need lessons in picturizing songs. Secondly both these songs are background songs with no lip syncing. So if utilized properly in the background, I don’t think they would appear misplaced. So what if it’s a period film?
Years ago doordarshan had a 30min short story serial from world's popular writers, including "the last leaf ( called masterpiece in that serial). In 30 mins that episode captured the O henry short story much much better than this stupid slow two and half hour movie. Making stories realistic doesn't mean make them dull and slow. Perhaps Meena Iyer needs to learn more about artistic cinema and do a lot more research before giving biased opinions and over-rating this movie. This movie not made for movie halls, just make it a tele-movie with 1 hour length max. You can clearly make out the director lost track and ended up leaning towards O henry's story to make sense. Hate this new breed of film critics who don't know history of cinema and just work for production houses.
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