Music Review: ‘Gehraiyaan’
Shakun Batra created the brilliant family drama ‘Kapoor & Sons’ (2016) with some amazing music that delivered some of the biggest hits of the decade. His next release is a romantic drama with what looks like a complicated new-age love story starring Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ananya Panday. The trailer has some strong emotions running through it with a world of crossed wires of love and attraction. The maturity in Bollywood cinema really pops out in this trailer of ‘Gehraiyaan’ and it looks like it is going to be yet another masterpiece from Batra. The music for such a contemporary romantic saga should in itself have all the elements of party, love and heartbreak songs in it but going by the director’s last project the expectations are even bigger here. What’s really interesting is the artist line-up features a lot of fresh new talent and that should bring a whole new dimension to the soundtrack.
If the first single is anything to go by then this album is going to be huge! Doobey is one really sick tune!! If one doesn’t fall in love with Kausar Munir’s lyrics then they will definitely fall in love with Kabeer Kathpalia (OAFF) and Savera Mehta’s music.. and if that isn’t enough then one has to completely go head over heals in love with Lothika Jha’s vocals! All in all this song has everything right about it and one to completely fall in love with. The melody is super refreshing and sets the bar really high for Bollywood music in 2022. The modern vibes with a sexy deep bass layer on an up-tempo beat evolves effortlessly from what initially sounds like a slow romantic song. But this romantic song is actually a really well composed dance number to get anyone bobbing along to. Be it in the car on a drive or a club, or simply in the living room, the ambience that the music creates around the listener really puts one in a groovy mood. Munir’s lyrics are deep but have such a smooth flow to it that the complications of love, lust and attraction almost feel like a breeze. Every line is made of just two to four words and that simplicity is truly divine showcasing the master this man is with his lyrics. Jha completely stuns in her first Bollywood vocal! The deep husky voice is truly unique and her delivery is extremely sexy. Her vocal style is almost representative of a jazz singer but the way she blends it into a dance number has some real class to it. This is clearly a masterpiece of a song and kudos all the new entrants on showcasing some real talent here. Easy 4.5/5 to this must be heard on a repeat song!
The magic of Jha’s vocal continues in the next release which is Gehraiyaan – Title Track. A more soulful and acoustic song that showcases a lot more depth in her voice, synonymous with the title of the song really, she demonstrates some exceptional control in the gehraiyaan of her voice. Her tone is like droplets of honey and smooth as butter that exuberates the expression of every word. Ankur Tewari’s lyrics are truly captivating! He absorbs the listener from the first line “Tu Marz Hai Dawa Bhi” and pulls one in deeper into his poetry. “Lehron ki zidd ha aisi, Lehron mein bahein, le dubay ja rahi hai, gehraiyaan”. Each line is mesmerising and shouts deep emotional uncontrollable love. To top these two the music composition is truly fine. The arrangement is smooth like a flowing water and that is representative in the choice of musical instruments. The bare acoustic styling of the song brings out the depth of the song. The western instrumentation with some fabulous violin and guitar work is worth a listen. Even though it is a slow number it has a great build up that signifies the intensity of love and other emotions expressed in this song. Truly a gorgeous number to listen to! 4.5/5
More singles from ‘Gehraiyaan’ will be reviewed on this page when they become available.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
