Music Review: ‘Entertainment’

In a list of debutant directors releasing their films this year, Sajid-Farhad are perhaps the most experienced in the film industry with over 15 films to their credit as screenplay or dialogue writers. The duo specialise in slapstick comedies and thus so have now decided to direct their own with ��Entertainment�۪ releasing in August. Starring the common factor in most of their films viz Akshay Kumar along with Tamannaah Bhatia, the film looks like another cheap laughs light comedy movie from the duo. Upcoming music duo Sachin-Jigar are in charge of the music for this film. Riding on the current success of some of songs they have on the recent hit ��Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania�۪ (2014), this is a chance for them to have back-to-back hits in a year that would surely help elevate their status compared to the big music tycoons in the industry. But considering the genre of the film and the slapstick style that works in this style we expect the same cheesiness in the songs as well.

Veerey Di Wedding is the perfect song for Mika with the authentic Punjabi flavour and a cool urban vibe. The song fits in nicely in the wedding music and club music genres and will thus work well on radio and TV airplays. The song reminds one of Bhootni Ke from ��Singh Is Kinng�۪ (2008) but in a much modern setting. Mayur Puri has penned the lyrics that are fun to say the least while being witty and catchy at the same time and fit perfectly with Mika�۪s signing and Akshay Kumar�۪s on-screen style. The song lacks a bit of tempo but I would imagine a good remix would fix that. Mika�۪s vocals are quite standard and lack oomph. The composition is good with some interesting soft riffs in the background and bridge instrumentation sections. The mastering of the song seems week though as not all instruments in the song sit clearly in their range with low levels. Overall this is a good listen and a fun song to bob around to with definitive plays at all forthcoming Punjabi weddings around the world for the groom�۪s best men.

Tera Naam Doon in the voices of Atif Aslam and Shalmali Kholgade is a soft romantic number with lyrics by Priya Panchal. The song is soulful and sounds common like a few others on the chorus and is something which Sachin-Jigar could have bettered with putting in better arrangement for the song. But their work on the verses is commendable keeping it simple and soulful. The interesting use of classical Indian instruments is refreshing in the modern melody of the song. The use of flute and violins is quite cool and makes the song sound like a breeze. Vocal performances by both the singers are average with Shalmali doing a better job clearly on the delivery of the lyrics. This song has potential to work with the right marketing and airplay in a crowded segment of recent romantic songs.

Johnny Johnny is by far the most well known and perfectly associated song with this movie and synchronous with the theme and slapstick style of the film. With a very strong cool summer themed party melody the song has a strong appeal to the young with a Yo Yo Honey Singh style that Sachin-Jigar have done well to deliver without sounding imitative or paying the big Honey Singh fees. Mayur Puri steals the show with creating really good rhymes to deliver a modern day version of the nursery rhyme. Already ruling the charts across the world, this song has delivered well in creating hype for the film with its innovative lyrical and composition style. Although the song stays far from sensibility and is meant for a drunk party, it is catchy and groovy that even the most sane minds will find difficult not to hum along to. Singers Jigar himself with Priya Panchal and Madhav Krishnan do a good job in bringing some attitude to the song. A definite hit!

Vetran Udit Narayan seems to be back on the scene with doing quite a few songs these days. Teri Mahima Aprampar is his recent delivery mapped yet again to another nursery rhyme – Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He does a fairly good job sounding just like his hay days but singing to a more modern beat pattern without any orchestration behind him. He is brought in to deliver a UP/Bihari style that he used to deliver to perfection for the likes of Govinda. It would be interesting to see the visual execution of this song. But there is no hiding from the fact that the song is annoying and just plain dud as a song. Lyrics by Aashish Pandit are typical and clich̩d while being slapstick. The composition doesn�۪t work standalone as a song and thus so it would be interesting to see Sajid-Farhad can breathe some life into this below average song. Anushka Manchanda doing the female vocals is good but cannot save this dull song.

A very short less than two-minute vocal acoustic piece by Atif Aslam is a surprising addition to the song as it has a sad romantic feel to it and definitely not what one would expect in a super slapstick comedy with a dog as a hero! Atif redeems himself by delivering a good vocal performance on Nahin Woh Saamne at a high pitch towards the end. However, the song is quite pointless as a track on the OST and doesn�۪t add any value to the album.

When we expected an upbeat pacey version of Veeray Di Wedding we did not exactly have this in mind! Veeray Di Wedding (Remix) is a Punjabi beat remix that already had tons of Punjabi feel to it already. The tempo doesn�۪t pick up a lot in the song except for the dhols in the chorus parts and there is no innovation to the mix at all in anyway. A total wasted remix that could have been so much better!

FINAL WORD

Sachin-Jigar do a fairly decent job doing the full album music for ��Entertainment�۪ and have created two easy hits in there but the album lacks quality. The mix quality of the songs, vocal performances and simply a couple of the songs as whole could have been so much better! Veeray Di Wedding and Johnny Johnny are the commercial success winners from the album although Tera Naam Doon is much better when it comes to trying to deliver high-end music quality to the soundtrack. None of the singers create a great impression with Mika being the only stable and consistent singer with a natural loud voice that helps him stand out from the rest on the OST. The album clearly meets the theme and genre of the film and delivers two hits which are nothing but quick fads and do not have the calibre to be remembered as iconic songs of the year. However, is the album worth buying? Not really we say.