MUSIC REVIEW : BAS EK CHANCE

It is a golden period for the gujarati film industry. Yes I prefer to call it that instead of the horrible names “DHOLLYWOOD” and “GOLLYWOOD”. Is it mandatory to copy everything from the United States?

Coming back, the Gujarati film industry is witnessing a phase like never before. It all started with the “Chetan Bhagat of the Gujarati Film industry”, i.e Abhishek Jain. His 2 films opened a door of vast opportunities and soon everyone followed suit.

The latest offering is Kirtan Patel’s “Bas Ek Chance”. Now this is a special film because apart from it being a gujarati film, it is also the first mainstream film to be almost entirely shot in my city Vadodara.

Let us have a look at the music of the film which has been composed by Pranav – Nikhil – Shailesh.    

“LAAGI RE LAGAN” starts off with soft guitar riffs and a lovely female chorus which reminds you remotely of “Jab se tere naina”. Aishwarya Majumdar  takes the reins from there on. Along with Javed Ali, they simply excel in this melodious romantic track. The lyrics by Priya Panchal are lovely. You cannot help but fall in love with the wordings. Add to that the fabulous singing by both the lead singers.

I call Aishwarya Majmudar the “Shreya Ghoshal of Gujarat”, and she is at her melodious best. Her singing is flawless. She deserves more in bollywood.

As for Javed Ali, he is a delight! Although he isn’t a Gujarati, he makes sure you don’t realize that. Such is the melody in his voice that you just fall for his voice.

A very Sachin – Jigar-ish track, this is a perfect start to the album.

“BRIJLO” – Well, to understand the title of the song, you have to be a gujarati. Let me explain. The lead character’s name in the film is BRIJESH – a common name amongst gujaratis. So BRIJESH becomes BRIJLO. You could call it his pet name, or cricket name, etc.

The song is written in third person. It describes the character BRIJLO. Once again, some heart – touching lyrics Priya Saraiya and Kirtan Patel. They reach right deep down, and contain terms you use in daily life. I mean, I never imagined in the wildest of my dreams that I would hear the word “TAMBURO” in a song.

As far as the singing is concerned, there cannot be someone other than Roopkumar Rathod who could do justice to this song. He has done it before, and he continues to do it. There is a sort of pain in his voice when he sings such songs, and he aces this one.

The chorus singers do well too. The “E che Brijlo” loop is catchy and sticks in your mind. Overall, a beautiful song which definitely deserves all the attention it gets.

“SAPNA JOYA” is a rock – based track sung by renowned playback singer Parthiv Singer. With a combination of a retro type beat in the initial portions and heavy drums in the later part, this one is also rich in terms of melody. There is a rock – solid tune which Parthiv sings with utmost ease. The antara is even better in terms of melody. Also, the interlude features some lovely instrumentation. A song that will be played at a critical juncture in the film, it is a brilliant listen even as a standalone audio track. Only if it had been longer!

“BAS EK CHANCE” or the title track of the song is a pleasant surprise. Sung by Vadodara’s very popular morning radio jockey Kshitij Banker (Of Radio Mirchi), it is the track which has the maximum potential to be popular. With Jay Bhatt’s inspirational lyrics and a very VERY catchy tune, this one is a hit from the word GO!

As for Kshitij, it is his rockstar attitude which makes all the difference and escalates the song one notch higher. I have heard him sing soft numbers with his guitar, but this is something he does even better. That loop of “Bas ek chance” is simply superb. Once again, I wish the song had been one stanza longer.

Remember that song “Zehrilay zehrilay” from “Rock on!”?

Well, the last song of this album is similar to that, only this one is a milder version.

“RAJA RANCHHOD” is a hardcore rock song. Composed by the band AHMON, this one is written by Abhishek Mishra and sung with “Chutzpah” by Bhargav Pandya. Yes, they have the audacity to include a song like this featuring an Indian god, and they succeed to quite an extent. A short track, it has the singer describing Lord Krishna. The sargams are really nice, especially the one that appears at the end of the first antara. Overall, a song which grows on you after multiple hearings. The only problem of the song is that it gets over before it makes an impact on you.

OVERALL, “Bas Ek chance” boasts of a very solid soundtrack that has the potential to do very well, both as a lone audio OST and in the film. With a promising trailer and some fine actors, hope this film does well.

Here is the link to the soundtrack of the film - CLICK HERE