Film editor turned director Akiv Ali is making his debut with ‘De De Pyaar De’ starring Ajay Devgn, Tabu and Rakul Preet Singh. A rom-com with a middle-age man falling in love with a young girl, this movie does deliver the laughs in the promos as Devgn travels back to his family home to seek their approval. With a major part of film based in the UK, the movie has a connect with the local market and that should perhaps reflect in the music influence as well. With a mix of music directors and lyricists, the album is a fusion of music that could work in the favour of the soundtrack bringing the best of music together from various artists. The album is expected to have fresh vibes of romantic music and the excitement that goes with it.
The album opens with a high energy and peppy Punjabi dance number called Vaddi Sharaban. Vipin Patwa has been around for some time doing jingles but this is by far his biggest song to date and it should definitely change the course of his career. The melody and composition of the song is very strong that should connect well with the masses. It is an easy party tune to bob along to and shake your booty to with its strong Punjabi vibes. Dominant Punjabi dhol beats, lyrics and celebratory vibes make it another addition to the wedding music line up… this one being a purely Punjabi in its appeal. The vocals by Sunidhi Chauhan & Navraj Hans give the song an edge with tons of fun enthusiasm and upbeat vibe thanks to Chauhan’s powerful female lead while Hans gives the song its earthy Punjabi folk vibe. Both vocals are quite good and impactful. Kumaar’s lyrics are all about the outgoing and uninhibited female lead that the character demands and increasingly connects well with extrovert party settings while being cute and likeable. The flow of the song is quite addictive and easy to groove to making it an easy party and airplay favourite for the summer party season.
Amaal Mallik conducts Arijit Singh next on Tu Mila To Haina which is a fresh romantic number that talks about finding love eventually and all the feelings go with finding that new love. An upbeat but sombre melody dominates this composition by Mallik. The modern instrumentation with guitars and keys are almost in the background to them from overpowering Singh’s vocals. The light vibe keeps the song bright and chirpy although there is not much musical content instrumentally. The arrangement is easy flowing and soft on the ears. Major part of the soft tonality of the song is thanks to the soft jazz style vocals and the depth that Singh brings to this song in his typical style. There is not a whole lot of range but there is good expression in his voice which works well. Lyrics by Kunaal Vermaa are simple and effective to allow a nice flow for Singh’s vocal styling. Overall a good listen but nothing impressive or memorable about it.
Hauli Hauli is the big club party tune of the album featuring a colab between Punjabi artist Garry Sandhu with Neha Kakkar on Tanishk Bagchi’s music. This song is all about riding on the major Punjabi culture brewing deep inside the Bollywood music scene and perhaps the big launch for Sandhu in Bollywood. His authentic & crude folkish vocals balance off well against Kakkar’s sultry and boldly exuberant vocals. Bagchi gives the song an urban composition leaving the Punjabi only to the lyrics and vocal styling. The hook music is quite strong and rides on a strong urban beat blended with a rap piece by Mellow D. The arrangement is nice with repetition that works well in club music to repeat the dance steps to. Lyrically the song is average with simple, cheesy and repetitive lines that becomes boring to listen to after a few plays. But Bagchi’s focus on creating a strong club tune delivers a decent and easy number to dance to but nothing that is spectacular.
Mallik gets together with his favourite cousin Armaan Malik to deliver Chale Aana next. Vermaa has written a soft and soulful separation song that has very catchy chorus line but the stanzas don’t really flow that easily. There is good expression in the words and the situation they capture pertaining to the story of the movie, but the poetic flow doesn’t work well in favour of the song making the melody a little complicated. The instrumentation is nice and soothing typical to Mallik’s sombre style in romantic songs. He conducts the composition well and mixes the sounds nicely. Armaan Malik sounds like his every other song failing to bring something new to this number even though he delivers a good controlled & soulful vocal. This is a basic nice song with nothing really exciting or memorable about it except the chorus line.
Mukhda Vekh Ke brings the Bollywood king of party Mika Singh collaborating with ex-RDB brother Manj Musik to the lyrics of Kumaar. The Punjabi melody is strong in this song and the touch of RDB style of music is quite evident in the composition with the use of tumbi and dhols all through layered over electronic beats. The chorus is very strong and quite memorable with its melody and lyrics. But the moment the song comes to the bridge and the stanzas there is a sudden loss in personality of the song. The music changes to more urban and in a way disconnects with the rest of the song. Female lead vocals by Dhvani Bhanushali are mediocre really while Mika is on a chorus loop but his vocal style is what really works for this song. Without him this song would be rather dud piece as even the lyrics are quite average. The composition aims for another wedding Punjabi dance number but the production delivers a rather common melody heard on my songs before taking away the excitement from this song.
Rochak Kohli delivers the final song of the album with Dil Royi Jaaye with Arijit Singh behind the mic and Kumaar on the lyrics. The three of them together again try to repeat the magic of Tera Yaar Hoon Mein going for a similar musical vibe and sombre sad feel but the texture and melody of the song is not as strong. The composition is very nice overall with soft rock instrumentation and the arrangement does really get stuck in the head thanks to Kohli’s top skill and Singh’s haunting deep voice. The plastic strings plucking guitar piece is quite amazing and works beautifully in the bridge of the song. There is not much pain in Singh’s voice going with the feel of the song but his delivery makes up for it bringing the emotions of the words. Kumaar delivers the separation and sorrow piece of the song quite simply which is down to his years of experience and style that comes out well in this song. This is a good song and perhaps could do better than many of the other leading songs. Just the sad theme could be limiting factor in its success.
In the era of remakes it is interesting to see a remix added to the album. Vaddi Sharaban (Talli Mix) is not really an exciting remix and quite simply tries to subdue the traditional Punjabi vibes in favour of a more club beat without really changing anything much with the composition, vocals or lyrics leaving this remix rather monotonous and flat. Not an impressive remix to listen to.
FINAL WORD
The music album of ‘De De Pyaar De’ brings together some of the best talent in the Bollywood music scene with songs picked from different music directors, lyricists and singers. As such the soundtrack sounds like a line-up of singles rather than an OST. There is no consistency in the songs going from one to the other and each song seems to be trying hard to be a chart topper but just about all failing to get there. Thus every song is a good song on this album but there are no great songs and definitely no bad songs on this album. Amaal Mallik with Kunaal Vermaa lead the romantic songs on the album with Chale Aana and Tu Mila Toh Hain both being good songs to listen to lead by the romantic biggies Armaan Malik & Arijit Singh respectively. There are more party songs on the album with a strong focus on Punjabi vibes on Vaddi Sharaban, Hauli Hauli and Mukhda Vekh Ke trying hard to make it big on the charts but just about doing the job. Neither Vipin Patwa, Tanishk Bagchi or Manj Musik manage to really kill it with their dance tunes although Sunidhi Chauhan truly brings it home with her strong vocal. Dil Royi Jaaye is perhaps one of the better songs really but lost considering its sad theme. Overall this is a decent album with all good songs… but that’s how far it goes. It doesn’t impress or create a statement.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
