MUSIC REVIEW : DEAR ZINDAGI

“English Vinglish” was a lovely film. Infact, it was one of the finest films to have come out in recent years from Bollywood. Debutantè director Gauri Shinde managed to tug all the right emotional chords with a gem of a movie.

So in a way it is not incorrect to have huge expectations from her second directorial outing, especially with a stellar leading cast.

Also, since the different “TAKES” of the movie have started coming out, there is a lot of freshness and positive vibe in all of them. Be it the camaraderie between Alia Bhatt and SRK or the lovely music, everything about this movie seems right.

Let us have a look at the soundtrack of the film.   

“LOVE YOU ZINDAGI” is vintage Amit Trivedi. Right from the moment the opening music plays, you know that this song will put you at ease. To add to the innocence, we have Jasleen Kaur Royal doing the vocals with her trademark cute voice. She is so apt for the song, the setting as well as Alia’s character.

The icing on the cake is the title loop which hooks you completely. There is some brilliant use of saxophone and chorus which immediately brings a smile on your face. Kausar Munir’s lyrics are nursery rhym-ish, and sound lovely.

We are reminded of the title song of “English Vinglish” at places. Infact I even tried singing “Badla nazara” after the saxophone interlude, and it sounded perfect.

There is another “CLUB VERSION” which is basically a remix and meant for the clubs. Alia Bhatt is good and sounds better as the song progresses. Overall, the innocent charm of the original song is lost here (Obviously!) but nevertheless it is good audio and dancing material.

Like “English Vinglish”, I would have loved a second version of the title song in Amit Trivedi’s voice. That would have been great!

“JUST GO TO HELL DIL” carries the trend of English song titles further. Kausar Munir is top notch with the lyrics and Sunidhi Chauhan aces in the singing department.

Sunidhi is at that point in her career where she no longer needs to sing a large quantity of songs, but instead select qualitatively superior songs. Probably like Sonu nigam has been singing since the last few years. After that lovely song from “Akira”, here too Sunidhi is fantastic, poignant and shows beautiful variations as she goes from low to high scale.

Amit’s composition is well, not outstanding. But the beautiful arrangements with piano and violins, as well as a nice video help the song a lot.

“TAREEFON SE” has a very dejavu-ish feel, but I cannot place where I have heard a similar AT composition before. Once again, we have the gorgeous sax taking centre stage as Arijit Singh croons Kausar Munir’s lovely lyrics. I especially loved the lyrics in the antara. The entire idea of a male person singing a song describing a typical lady appealed a lot to me.

Arijit singh is near flawless. He has mastered the art of such soft songs. However, I felt that this was a song where Ash king would have worked better. Those long “Tuuuu” renditions would have been better with him behind the mic.

“TU HI HAI” is one of the nicest songs this year. Just like the film, there is a very feel – good feel to the song. Kausar Munir’s lyrics are awesome. Arijit Singh is simply brilliant. Both the lyricist and singer are at their very best towards the end when the tune escalates – the diary, guitar wala portion.

Once again, there is a strong dejavu feel to the song. Infact the title loop “Tu hi hai” is almost similar to the title loop of the song “Bas main aur tu” from the film “Akaash Vaani”.

Amit Trivedi’s arrangements are subtle and work wonders. The entire composition with its arrangements is very much in sync to the mood of the movie. By the way, am I the only one who heard traces of Jal Tarang/spoon-in-glass in between?

“LET’S BREAK UP”  - The opening rhyhm sounds like that of “G Phaad ke” from “Go Goa Gone”, but soon the song assumes a very retro feel with a strong reminiscence to “Bang Bang” ka title song.

Kausar Munir’s lyrics okayish, sounding more like a rant of a pissed off boyfriend. I know ultimately that is what the song is all about, but I found something amiss.

To say that Vishal Dadlani rocked the song would be an understatement. He “owns” it. He has mastered this particular genre of singing and the attitude with which he delivers each song is commendable.

Amit Trivedi’s composition is average. Overall, it is a decent song and should work better with a video, but I found it average. Maybe I couldn’t help comparing it with the other breakup song released recently from the same production house.

“AE ZINDAGI TAKE 1” is the best thing about the album. Without a doubt. Even after 23 years, this song by Ilaiyaraaja still sounds as fresh as before. With brilliant arrangements by Amit Trivedi, this song is a breath of fresh air and a welcome change compared to the other horrible remakes / remixes being churned out nowadays.

Arijit Singh is absolutely mindblowing here. He nails this one. I cannot help but imagine how would it have been if Arijit would have been around when those “Instant Karma” albums released.

It would be improper to compare this version with Suresh Wadkar’s original version. Both are brilliant in their own ways. But why only one antara? Why no “Chhota sa saaya tha?”

BTW, Ilaiyaraaja's music always seems to work for this wife – husband director duo!

“TAKE 2” is a more techno version, a remix to be more precise. Alia Bhatt is good, but here her voice is too much processed. I think she could have avoided this one.

OVERALL, “DEAR ZINDAGI” lives up to the expectations; atleast my expectations. I had anticipated a feel good OST with some of the songs in the background and some with nice decent videos. And I am certain that most of the songs will work well with the movie.

Not Amit Trivedi’s best, but yet lovely, likeable, hummable and with quite good repeat value. The album enhances the positive vibe spread by the movie promos and the song videos.

MY RATING – 8 / 10