Writer – director Milap Zaveri is back with his next action project called ‘Marjaavaan’ starring Sidharth Malhotra, Riteish Deshmukh, Tara Sutaria and Rakul Preet Singh in the leading roles. Zaveri comes up with very emotional stories that are topped with action which connects well with audiences for all round entertainment. So the music should be good and deliver well on expectations. The soundtrack seems to be a mix of artists and so it should be a best of stuff cherry picked for the album.
For a violent love drama the soundtrack opens with a love ballad called Tum Hi Aana. Payal Dev has now turned composer and she does create an impression with this song even though she is not behind the mic herself. Her arrangement of the song is quite cliched, but it does have a very deeply moving and soulful instrumentation that makes this a gorgeous melody to listen to. The simplicity and deep ambiance gives this a strong romantic vibe. She has done a good job in making this a modern Bollywood ghazal of sorts as the composition has an overpowering ghazal style to it hidden away behind Bollywood instrumentation and Jubin Nautiyal’s husky voice. His delivery is very beautiful as expected of him and his voice gives it the depth that goes deep beyond the ears of the listener. But his performance is limited by the typical composition and there is nothing unique about the song. Kunaal Vermaa’s lyrics are the highlight of the song with some good poetry and drives deep emotions of that secret hoping in a young romance before confession of the love happens. Overall this is a promising romantic song blending ghazal styling in a Bollywood song and it should do well on late night airplay. 3/5
The second single release is the big party number of the must have remake category. Ek Toh Kum Zindagani is yet another remake of the classic Pyar Do Pyar Lo from ‘Janbaaz’ (1986) in the Tanishk Bagchi style. Bring Bagchi together with Neha Kakkar and you know there is a hit song here to rock the charts. Kakkar and Yash Narvekar drive some good vocal energy with a high dose of sex appeal in the song. Sas shines through the vocals of Kakkar while Narvekar adds some refreshing male vocals to the song. The original melody by Kalyanji Anandji is so iconic that it almost makes Bagchi’s job easy. The original is still a dancefloor burner 30 years on so naturally a remake using that melody can drive further loyalty. But with due credit Bagchi adds some great beat programming, backing vocals, fresh guitar and key melodies plus fresh lyrics with A.M.Turaz that help make this a strong dance number for the forthcoming Diwali party season. Add the hot dance moves of Nora Fatehi to the video and that in itself makes song go viral. The choreography is spot on to the beat with strong sex appeal and the picturization at a cage fight battle is something unique that helps further drive the popularity of the song. This is a well-balanced remake with strong beats and catchy lyrics and thus should be an easy hit. 4/5
Thodi Jagah is a beautiful love ballad featuring the effortless flow of words by Rashmi Virag & the soulful delivery of Arijit Singh. Bagchi goes on to deliver a well arranged and relaxing melody with flutes, acoustic guitars and subtle drum pad beats that is quite soothing to heat but the composition is far too common. Nonetheless he is able to deliver the musical characteristic required for the lovely poetry written for this song. The words are deep and meaningful for that aspirational love that Malhotra’s character is devoid of. Kudos to Rashmi Virag for capturing the emotions really well through the song. It also perhaps gives away the fact that Sutaria’s character could be mute in the film. Singh delivers a moving emotional performance and the pain can be felt in his vocal. His vocal is well controlled at the deep low parts which is effective for the genre of the song. A good song overall but a little too familiar on how it sounds and doesn’t have a strong differentiator. 3/5
Adding to the glamour quotient of the album is the brand new remake single called Haiya Ho with the video featuring a stunning Rakul Preet Singh in a dance bar setting. Bagchi has taken on the music and lyrics for this song and done a good job with it as he reinvents the original from ‘Dayavan’ (1988). It is not a dancefloor blazer but it has decent dance vibes to it thanks to the mix of dance bar synths with some Arabic influences in the music. The melody is unique and quite catchy and Singh moves well to those beats compared to the corny dance moves of Feroz Khan in the classic version. The arrangement is crisp and has a memorable characteristic about it and it resonates well with the film setting. The lyrics are well written and are a deep but not sleazy as one would expect in an item number as they talk about that distant love and desire. Vocals by Tulsi Kumar are very seductive although quite flat due to the sad element in the song. Jubin Nautiyal has a para in the song too and that is quite basic although he is a good addition to the song. Overall a decent number but not one that is break the charts scaling upwards. 3/5
Talk about taking remakes beyond the dance genre and this next song is a really special one! Meet Bros get together with Kumaar to recreate Kinna Sona originally made famous by the legendry Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The music retains the original melody on the chorus with its Punjabi touch that has been executed well with some Dholki & Harmonium but reinforced with guitars and electronic drum beats to make it relevant in 2019 which really works. For a soulful romantic number the composition is also upbeat giving a very positive and happy aura to the song. The instrumentation is very nicely done giving it a wholesome sound. The new lyrics by Kumaar are just brilliant making this a completely unique song using just the hook line of the original. The words are really cute summarising the smitten feeling of first love and those early exchanges. To top it further the choice of singers with Nautiyal and Dhvani Bhanushali is perfect for this song. Nautiyal sounds truly lovable while Bhanushali has that innocence & shyness about it that works really well with the lyrics. A great remake and a great addition to this album. 4/5
Latest single coinciding with the release of the movie Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram features the vocals of Palak Muchhal in what is a Dussera celebration song. It packs a lot of energy in the song as the song talks about the victory of good over evil. But considering the delayed release of the film this song is two months late missing the festive time. The video is the perfect hero meets villain at the Dussera ceremony while Singh is singing about the hardships faced by the people at the hands of the evil Deshmukh. The music is quite standard for a part religious song like this with dhols, cymbals, bugles and so on with a lot of energy. Nothing great about the composition as it follows the standard arrangement. The lyrics by Manoj Muntashir are quite average too and talk about the setting of the film representing the scene while the vocals are perhaps the best part of the song. For a female lead vocal in a religious festive song Muchhal delivers a clean and powerful performance. Nothing great about this number though. 2.5/5
More singles from ‘Marjaavaan’ 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.
