BizAsia Music Review: ‘Ki & Ka’
Director R Balki is back with ��Ki & Ka�۪ after his last year�۪s critically acclaimed ��Shamitabh�۪ challenging the Indian stereotype of Housewives with what looks like an odd pairing of Arjun Kapoor & Kareena Kapoor. Arjun playing the role of a house husband and Kareena as a strong career woman, this film is commercially strong and will surely have a strong comedy and romantic angle to it as represented in the trailers doing the rounds. The music should be fun for this film especially considering its hilarious storyline and Arjun Kapoor trying his best to look cute in heels, aprons and all that trying to outdo Bebo the glamour queen of Bollywood. A mix of music that has been hand picked for the film from different music directors (mostly Meet Bros) and lyricists is the general direction of music in films these days and ��Ki & Ka�۪ is no different.
Meet Bros join hands with Yo Yo Honey Singh & Jaz Dhami to revive their 2012 superhit High Heels as the opening song of the album. Kumaar takes the original title and hook with keeping the same Punjabi flavour but simplifies the lyrics a lot to make it a mass appeal song and make it easy for general masses across India to sing along while also including a female lead verse. Jaz Dhami retains his lead vocals and does a decent job with Hindi lyrics although his original Punjabi vocals were a lot more dynamic and crisp. Honey Singh�۪s rap has not been messed with exactly the same words and same delivery which makes you wonder if Honey Singh was even part of this record or if he simply decided to be indifferent and let Meet Bros do what they wanted to do. Aditi Singh Sharma does a fair job in being the voice of Kapoor Khan and delivers a good amount of attitude that one would expect from a party tune featuring Bebo. Meet Bros didn�۪t need to do much musically as the original instrumentation and riffs have been retained with just the addition of an electronic bridge before the rap. This was already a hit and thus so there is not much innovation or difference other than the lyrics. Overall the song works and will surely become a hit but rest assured a lot of people will still prefer the 2012 original High Heels.
Mithoon�۪s amazing voice recites Ji Hazoori with his own musical composition which is a soft romantic ballad with a difference. The sufi vibes are strong in this but are simply in the way the song is arranged not in the lyrics which are truly Bollywood. His voice and delivery itself does a massive job in delivering the sufi touch. The lyrics are very well written by Sayeed Quadri that try to break the myths of bondage of love where both are equal in the relation and there are no obligations in the relationship. Quadri does a good job in finding the romance in situations that almost become a chore or a given in a relationship which is very endearing. Mithoon�۪s voice along with Deepali Kishore are very well delivered and very well recorded that bring the emotions alive. Very good song to listen to overall with great ambient musical vibes.
Most Wanted Munda has been sung and composed by Meet Bros with supporting voices by Earl Edgar & Komail Shayan to Kumaar�۪s lyrics. The clich̩d composition is pun intended to mock the typical Bollywood comic situation scenes��_ and in this case describing the role played by Arjun Kapoor in this film. Kumaar describes his position in the house and the society quite well and completely and thus makes this song very situational. Meet Bros keep the vocal simple and rather boring and the lack of compositional innovation rather makes this song a bore to listen to other than what I believe in the film should be more fitting to listen to then.
Foolishq is the work of south�۪s musical king ��� Ilaiyaraaja with the lyrics of Amitabh Bhattacharya. His usual electronic beat patterns dominate this song all through with some decent keyboard work. The song sounds a bit empty with the lack of an orchestra and instrumental depth which could have been a better way to go with this song but Ilaiyaraaja sticks to what works for him best. Although the song is quite melodic, that is pretty much down to the voice of Shreya Ghoshal going out with Armaan Malil to describe love and its foolish antics. The vocals are decent but nothing spectacular to thrill a listener. Amitabh�۪s lyrics are plainly decent too. Overall this quite an average song to listen to.
Meet Bros get on the mic again with Pump It (The Workout Song) as Kumaar creates a song for a workout. The music is peppy and works for a workout but the lyrics are a bit too cheesy��_ and rather annoying. The song is rather senseless and can get a bit annoying too but the electronic music helps you sail through and tolerate the average vocals. One can quite easily skip this song if you don�۪t like it in the first few seconds.
Kabir Most Wanted Munda is a repeat of the earlier Most Wanted Munda but only in first person now sung by the character Kabir himself and thus also the vocals of Arjun Kapoor himself in parts although mainly with Meet Bros vocals as the lead performers. The addition of Palak Muchhal as the female lead works quite well bringing more balance to the song. The music is better on this song as well but with the same clich̩d composition.
FINAL WORD
Meet Bros Anjjan lead the music on this album but barely bringing any innovation to the music of ��Ki & Ka�۪. They do a decent job of reviving the Jaz Dhami & Honey Singh superhit High Heels but then deliver a sloppy job on Pump It and clich̩d music on Most Wanted Munda. Ilaiyaraaja�۪s Foolishq is a let-down too with nothing better than Shreya�۪s vocals. Mithoon is quite clearly the star of the album with Ji Huzoori being the best song on the album. It is different, unique and very classy. Sayeed Quadri�۪s lyrics are awesome and quite refreshing. Overall the album starts on a high note with 2 good songs but then takes a slump with average pieces of work and situational songs. This could have been a lot better and that is where this album is a let-down.
BizAsia Showbiz Rating ��� 6.5/10
