Music Review: ‘Bunty Aur Babli 2’
‘Bunty Aur Babli 2’ is finally ready for its release later this month after multiple delays thanks to the pandemic. Aditya Chopra’s production of his hit ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ (2005) is in the hands of a new director Varun V Sharma making his debut working with a double whammy caste of two set of con artists led by vetrans Saif Ali Khan & Rani Mukerji while Siddhant Chaturvedi of ‘Gully Boy’ (2019) fame pairs up with new star on the block – Sharvari Wagh. The double set of con artists BB would be a good twist to the tale and surely bring a lot of fun to the world of crime. The trailer looks a little over the top but it sure looks to bring on the cool vibes of the 2005 original. The Bachchan father-son duo missing in action is something that definitely strikes one when looking at the trailer but Khan surely has a way of fitting in taking on the role of Bunty quite well. The real pressure must rest with the trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy to bring the musical success to this sequel. Almost every song of the original movie was a massive hit and stood the test of time sounding huge even today with Kajra Re being a defining song of their career. So the expectations are pretty huge from this forthcoming soundtrack that also feature the lyrics of the amazing Amitabh Bhattacharya.
The first single called Tattoo Waaliye is a song true to the Bunty & Babli style and perfectly composed keeping their characters in mind. The beauty of this song is that it blends the current music trends of urban Punjabi into the iconic characteristics of the movie and everything that one would associate with this film franchise. The song is uber cool, fun, edgy and oozes attitude. The music has some serious groove to it with a synthetic bassline that is very inviting to get anyone on the dancefloor. The sound is very different and bold, synonymous with the characters. At the same time the authentic Punjabi with the rustic vocals of Pardeep Sran makes the song more believable and earthy symbolising the other side of the characters. The flow and arrangement is very memorable while being quite easy on the ears. The cheesy lyrics don’t sound trash at all and kudos to Bhattacharya for striking that good balance. The song is easy to sing along to and that is purely down to the strength of its lyrics. Vocals by Neha Kakkar & Sran are not the best thing of the song but they do a good job in their own right. The attitude and charisma surely comes through and that really is the main ask from the singers here as it is not a difficult number to deliver. The glitz and glamour of the video adds an extra bit of zing to the song. The originality of the song is a big deal in itself and very refreshing in this era of remakes and this song surely has the talent to become the big party starter of the season! 4/5
The task of delivering the romantic song of the album obviously falls on Arijit Singh with a track titled Luv Ju. The composition is a modern day urban cool vibe and very nicely arranged by SEL. The soft instrumentation works really well with the video that gives a lot of holiday vibes with the airy and ambient sounds. The hook is very catchy and the lyrical rap gives an extra new-age twist to the song making it sound quite fresh, cleverly executed by the trio. Singh’s vocals are quite stylish for a romantic song and that in itself sets the tone of who the target audience is for this song. The range and melody that he delivers cannot be faulted and his vocals definitely work well with the arrangement of the song. What seems to lack here are the lyrics, although they are quite easy with Hindi-English-Punjabi lines to appeal to the younger TG. But as an overall cool romantic song number it feels a little lacking in love and feelings being rather around the superficial aspects of the relationship. Any success this song enjoys will be based on the musical vibes that SEL deliver here and Singh’s fan following. 3.5/5
The theme song Bunty Aur Babli 2 feature the vocals by Siddharth Mahadevan and rap by Bohemia. The merging of the original theme song with the 2020s sound takes this title song to a new elevation. It first sounds a bit overdone with a hardcore pyscadelic synth on the bridge but on a couple of listens it works as one visualises against the pace of a fun crime thriller. The additional musical elements actually work well to the theme to the old and new Bunty Aur Babli angle of the movie. Mahadevan is pretty spot on with his vocals sounding contemporary, perhaps why senior Mahadevan did not voice it himself. He is dynamic and delivers good progression in the range he delivers to a fine balance of lyrics arranged here. Bohemia’s rap execution is as good as he always his. He sure has a way with words and sums the movie & its characters in a matter of 30secs of his rap. True talent to be able to deliver that! The rap and the large beat actually elevates what would have been just another background theme track into a party club tune too which is rather a smart move and refreshing at that even though it is limited by its appeal. 3.5/5
Mika Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan get together for the final number called Dhik Chik which sounds more from the original 2005 world of ‘Bunty Aur Babli’. A desi dance number at its core, the instrumentation, vocal rendition, arrangement and lyrics add up to that aim, but still create a mediocre sounding number. There is a spark missing here in all aspects that is leading to an average sounding track. The use of Harmonium with Tabla and Dholak gives it a nice touch but the melody is very basic without any twists and turns to it. The composition is quite standard and typical with more than typical vocals by Singh and Chauhan. Both lack any charisma or personality, Chauhan has at least some style and range to her vocal while Singh is rather flat. The lyrics are almost non-existent with the song mostly hedging on the dhik chik dhik chik repeat delivery. Sure this is a popular phrase but there is no creativity around it. Quite a dud average song on the aural front. 2.5/5
FINAL WORD
The soundtrack of ‘Bunty Aur Babli 2’ turns out surprisingly to be a rather short one with just four songs with just two leading songs – a dance party number and a romantic one. The album banks hard on these two numbers succeeding and that allows no depth in this soundtrack. While the dance number Tattoo Waaliye is a great song and thankfully an original, Luv Ju is good but not great. Kakkar and Sran are pretty awesome on the vocals of Tattoo Waaliye and kudos to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with Bhattacharya for creating an innovative master item number here that has strong legs to it. Singh’s vocals on Luv Ju are warm plus the cool music is great at the same time but the song falls a little short on the lyrics. The theme song Bunty Aur Babli 2 is a good addition but limited by its appeal even with some good vocals by Mahadevan & Bohemia while the final song Dhik Chik is just purely disappointing on every front. The overall soundtrack is groomed well around the movie and its theme and well done to SEL for creating that consistent sound but the album leaves one wanting more. Music is a major part of this franchise so it feels a big let-down for the fans not to get a good dose of hits here.
BizAsiaLive.com Rating – 3/5
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
