Music Review: ‘Dil Bechara’
Mukesh Chhabra’s directorial debut ‘Dil Bechara’ has become the most significant movie of recent times. Releasing as the last movie of actor Sushant Singh Rajput after his recent passing, this movie has this additional layer of emotions other than what it brings with it in its story. A remake of ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ (2014) inspired from John Green’s novel of the same title, ‘Dil Bechara’ comes with a message to live with love before the inevitability of death. Sadly the inevitable came early for Singh Rajput shaking up entire Bollywood industry but at the expense of the tragic loss of a good actor. ‘Dil Bechara’ will be a surreal difficult to watch experience for many Singh Rajput fans around the world. The fans will also not be able to come together as the movie will not be a shared cinema experience thanks to the pandemic. Releasing exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar platform free around the world, ‘Dil Bechara’ has the world digging for it in the memory of the actor. The movie also stars Sanjana Sanghi making her debut with Saif Ali Khan and Jaaved Jaaferi in supporting roles. With the music of AR Rahman and lyrics of Amitabh Bhattacharya there is this additional bit of good talent going for this movie building more anticipation and expectations from this movie.
Rahman opens the album with the title song Dil Bechara to a Jazz fusion styling. A very smooth romantic melody rules the music throughout. It has a breezy style that makes it very cool and easy to listen to. The deep jazz guitars are programmed very well by Rahman while his vocals layer up nicely on top of the music. He imparts the song his trademark high pitch vocals as well on the para that make it iconic for a Rahman song. The lyrics are a mix of Hindi and English words nicely arranged giving the song its smoothness. They are not the best of Bhattacharya lyrics but they are very different from his usual style which is good to see him getting out of his comfort. Clearly that is a Rahman influence and it works overall giving it that memorable music personality. The defining melody of the chorus is easy to hum along to and definitely has a sticky characteristic. Perhaps it is a bit too slow for its target young market but the vibe works. 3.5/5
Taare Ginn is yet another romantic song that handles romantic music in a different way compared to current trend. Trust Rahman to break boundaries and stereotypes, and he does that well here. The real beauty of this song is its instrumentation. The symphonic orchestra with the violins, piano and flutes is gorgeous to listen to. The jazz setup is taken down a notch to give the song a more global sound with a nice progression as if in the middle of a theatrical performance in Europe. The lyrics are nicely arranged with simplicity in the words. Bhattacharya doesn’t go for fancy words and keeps it simple as if two young people describe the different emotions as they fall in love. But there is a lot going on with the lyrics and music so at times it does get confusing and the songs do get lost. The voices of Shreya Ghoshal and Mohit Chauhan work well together and deliver that soft melodic tough that goes well with the styling of the song. The subtleties in their vocal is a sign of sheer talent that not many singers can deliver that well. Ghoshal really sounds divine with the innocence she brings in her vocal. A unique romantic number that does have a large musical credibility. 3.5/5
Rahman brings in a little more chirp and quirkiness to the music with the next one called Khulke Jeene Ka. The lighter side of the relationship is explored here that is almost the story of just really good friends. The lyrics capture these fun moments really well and bring the fun side out to an upbeat music composition. It’s almost a lesson in how to live a happy life without worrying about the length of the life. The programming captures a good range of instruments continuing with the modern European vibe with strong Spanish and Greek music influences. The piano solo is really good in the bridge. The vocals of Arijit Singh and Shashaa Tirupati are good but not their best work. Singh almost sounds like a different person but delivers well for the character in the movie. This song almost puts one in a happy mood thanks to its music but is not the best of Rahman. 3/5
Hriday Gattani opens the next song Main Tumhara which is a sad romantic number. The pure acoustic vocal delivery at the beginning is really engaging and builds slowly to deep bass music. Jonita Gandhi joins in for supporting vocals throughout but gets a chance to solo later for just a couple lines. The deep music is haunting in a way and is arranged so as to really pull on the heart strings. The music amplifies the sad emotions and Gattani’s vocal delivery further pierces the feelings in. He almost feels as if in tears while singing and this is a big win for the song overall as it captures the real sentiments. Rahman’s decision to keep it simple musically helps make the song even more effective. Lyrically there is not much in there as the chorus repeats many times. Perhaps that is an area that could have developed further. 3/5
Gattani gets to go from a sad, slow song to a happy number next doing a duet with Sunidhi Chauhan on Maskhari. That word describes fun and buffoonery in Marathi but, sadly, it is below average as a song. The music programming comes with a really poor arrangement that is, unfortunately, hard to listen to and the lyrics don’t seem to make up for what the song lacks either. Thumbs down! 1.5/5
Afreeda next is more like what one expects from Rahman. The maestro creates something different here as he experiments with rap in a sufi setting. Quite a unique blend with mainly English rap lyrics with a classical sufi chorus for the first half that evolves into a Urdu para towards the end. Lyrics don’t have a major role in this song but they work really well with the composition and music. The instrumentation is quite strong here as the vibe that Rahman has gone for needed a lot more than standard musical programming. He throws in Banjo, Mandolin on top a sic synthetic beat. The use of acoustic guitars is quite refreshing too giving it a very interesting musical texture. Sanaa Moussa and Raja Kumari lead the vocals here and they are just brilliant. They showcase personality along with the talent to deliver sufi range with the punchiness of rap music. This is just a musical background piece in the movie but it is one good piece of music! It feels a little out of place with the rest of the soundtrack but it adds a different dimension to the album. 3.5/5
It’s a real treat to hear Poorvi Koutish on Mera Naam Kizzie next. She brings this refreshing innocence to her vocal that it is easy to visualise the character in the movie. The simplicity of her vocals sit nicely with the chilled music vibe. Aditya Narayan leads the male vocal and Rahman has brought a totally different side of him to the forefront. Never heard him sing like this and it actually suits him. The music has this Charlie Chaplin movies styling that is a little funny and cheeky sitting in the Portuguese Goan style of music with Jazz being the main genre of the composition. The lyrics are much better here even though they are simple. They introduce both the leading characters in the movie describing their real self beyond their sickness and problems. It works nicely to get to know the leading pair through this song but sadly this is not a leading song and does not have something really different or exciting about it. Overall a mediocre song but a fair addition to the album. 3/5
Rahman takes his original opening song and remakes to a song called Friendzone to a totally contrasting musicality. This one feels more like the perfect song for the target young demographic with its dance music. Although in parts the dance music sounds tad over done as if trying too hard but it has that larger than life fun element to it. It has a strong beat with some sic bass overlays throughout that is easy to get up and dance to. The lyrics are reordered too to give that climax uplift and end on a high. The overall party vibe is improved further with tons of backing vocals and party shouts. Rahman reinvents his vocals in a higher key to give a brighter personality to the song. This is a strong party number that fills the void of a party song on the album and will hopefully find its way into clubs. 3.5/5
The album ends with a musical piece called The Horizon of Saudade that is the background theme music for the movie. The soothing melodies that this piece incorporates is really worth a listen. Perhaps this is purely the genius of Rahman and it is meticulously recorded. It sounds so precise that it brings out emotions with every note. The piece has its journey going from the sad to the happy parts in an effortless way. This music piece almost sums the life of Sushant Singh Rajput and one can visualise his life in images on this music piece. Great orchestration and packed with emotions even without the use of any words. Hats off to Rahman for composing this one! 4/5
FINAL WORD
Rahman truly knows how to emote through his music as he brings expressions very effortlessly through each song. The soundtrack of Dil Bechara has the eyes of the world on it being the last movie of Sushant Singh Rajput and it is perhaps in the most capable hands in the industry. Of course when he was making the album no one knew what the significance of this album be so evaluating it in the context of the movie itself would be a fair thing to do. He packs in a full range of genres with romance being the primary genre. The use of modern European sounds gives the album the young personality that the script needed and Rahman caries that through well across the album giving it a homogeneous sound. The music material is good throughout although different from the current trends which one can expect from Rahman who creates his own style. Also this movie was made in 2018-19 so music was definitely recorded a couple of years ago and only releasing now. The lyrics are not the best work of Amitabh Bhattacharya and definitely a big let-down overall in this album. The big-bad orchestration of Rahman clearly is not matched by the lyrics or even the vocals. Even with a whole range of big singers, not many create a memorable impact. The title song Dil Bechara, its remake Friendzone, Afreeda, Taare Gin and The Horizone of Saudade are all worth a listen. On the whole the soundtrack of Dil Bechara does sound like a consistent soundtrack with lots of genre variety, whole host of youthful musicality and talent but lacks depth in words & vocals that kills the soundtrack a bit.
BizAsiaLive.com Rating – 3/5
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
