MUSIC REVIEW : HAPPY ENDING

Raj and DK are back again with their 4^th venture. After the success of “Go Goa Gone”, they team up once again with Saif Ali Khan and Illuminati films. Sachin Jigar have had a phenomenal record with the director duo. Saibo was their career – turning song, and then with “Go goa Gone”, they created one of the wackiest and craziest soundtracks ever!

So naturally, expectations are sky high with the soundtrack of “Happy Ending”. The promos suggest this to be a fun film. And with Saif and Govinda, it is quite obvious.

“MILEYA MILEYA” is a breezy and lovely track. With some beautiful arrangements, the song entices us right from the beginning. With a catchy beat and claps, Priya Andrews starts the song. She is soon joined by (Surprise surprise!) Rekha Bhardwaj in a never-heard-before avatar. Jigar provides the perfect icing to the cake by singing the lovely loop “Mileya mileya”.

Instrumentation and background singing are very well done here. You hear saxophone at places, with humming by a chorus in the background. The highlight of the song is Rekha Bhardwaj. It is indeed a pleasure to hear her in a contemporary bollywood song, rather than the type of songs she usually sings. She outshadows Priya Andrews everytime she gets behind the mic. “Mileya mileya” is fresh and the perfect beginning to the album. PLUS what a gorgeously shot video!

“PAAJI TUSSI SUCH A PUSSYCAT” is Amitabh Bhattacharya’s show all the way. He not only writes some highly humorous lyrics but also joins Jigar and Divya Kumar in the singing department. As for the singers, they have a ball. Literally.

Sachin and Jigar once again score full marks in the music arrangement department. The use of whistle, the “hmmm hmmm” loop in the background, the change of tempo at times, and the superb climactic end – everything about this song screams “chartbuster”.

“JAISE MERA TU” brings the needed romance in the album. Sung by Priya Pachal Saraiya and Arijit Singh, this one is a lovely song. The duo complement each other brilliantly. Priya is simply awesome in her rendition. She is slowly turning out to be quite a lovely mainstream singer. Arijit as always is flawless. His aalaap in the second interlude is very well done. All in all, this one is a very hummable and catchy song with a long shelf life.

“G PHAAD KE” is well, outstanding. Even that would be an understatement. Cleverly written to steer clear from the censor board, Amitabh Bhattacharya deserves applause for the use of “F.O” and “G”. Then there is this clever line which goes “Aanewaala hai gaane ka hook”.

Divya Kumar is in super form. So is Shefali Alvares. Both the singers deliver more than what was expected from them. This is a song which will become a huge hit. Sachin Jigar, how do you manage to create such highly catchy tunes? Add to that we have Govinda in the video song.

“KHAMMA GHANI” is undoubtedly the finest song of the album and one of the finest songs to have come out this year. Sachin Jigar create this modern song with the beautiful use of traditional Rajasthani lyrics. One doesn’t need to worry when there is the wonderful Papon singing the song. He is phenomenal. He is joined by Smita and Vidhi who support him perfectly. 

The song is highly reminiscent of “Saibo” at many places. (Or that is what I felt.)

It is a song which will put you at ease. It is a song which you would love to hear with the earphones plugged in your ears and darkness all around you. It is a song rich in melody and emotions. It is a song which I will be humming for a long long time.

“HASEENA TU KAMEENA MAIN” reminds me instantly of “Daaru desi”. It is song which Benny Dayal would have sung superbly. Not that Siddharth Basrur and Rahul Pandey do a bad job, but still I would have preferred Benny Dayal. In the female lead, Shruti Pathak does a fine job. All in all, this is a song which is good but pales slightly compared to the other songs. It will definitely work well with the video, but as a lone audio track, except the catchy title loop, it is good, not too good.

OVERALL, “Happy Ending” is a wonderfully composed and written soundtrack. Every single person associated chips in equally, be it Amitabh Bhattacharya, the singers or the people on the orchestra. But the two men who deserve the biggest round of applause are Sachin and Jigar. They prove once again why they are slowly emerging as one of the finest composers in present times. Kudos! 

MY RATING - 9 / 10