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Music Review: ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’

After writing the super successful ‘Shubh Mangal Saavdhan’ (2017), Hitesh Kewalya is now making his directorial debut with ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ out in the cinemas on the other side of Valentines Day. After tackling erectile dysfunction taboo in the society in 2017, interestingly, this 2020 movie centers around homosexuality and gay marriages. It must be one hell of a script as the entire family of the superhit ‘Badhaai Ho’ (2018) is back in this movie starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao along with Jitendra Kumar in the lead roles. Khurrana’s enactment as a gay person is just brilliant in the trailer with the other cast coming around him beautifully to deliver what looks like a laugh riot. The 2017 movie was a niche film at the time but the great reception around it has catapulted this 2020 movie to be a commercially anticipated project. The music should also have traces of commercialism as well and be starkly different from the 2017 project. With Tanishk Bagchi in control of the music and Vayu leading the lyrics one does expect this to be a fun album.

In the typical Bagchi style the first single Pyaar Tenu Karda Gabru is a remake of Honey Singh and J-Star’s 2011 Punjabi hit – Gabru. Vayu has flipped the lyrics around to make this a song with subtle gay tonalities and to be a lash out against the society stereotypes about homosexuality. The lyrical execution is very interesting as the song mixes Punjabi and Hindi switching the direction of the song from a female to a male target. Romy delivers the vocal with a swag delivering the Punjabi in an authentic style although there is not much range in the vocal and there sounds to be a lot of vocal processing on it. Bagchi simplifies the traditional Punjabi music in the original and strips it back to a more Bollywood style urban beat. The bassline addition gives the song more of a personality along with all the trumpets to make this effective as a wedding dance song. Compared to the original this remake feels slower and more laid back but the addition of Hindi lyrics gives a wider appeal compared to the original. Not the best remake musically but this is a win for Vayu on the lyrical front and should be an easy one to land somewhere in the charts. 3/5

With the new single Mere Liye Tum Kaafi Ho consider this to be the return of Khurrana the singer of Pani Da. This song is as good as that super hit that really bought him forward as a brilliant talent. He is not just in his cute element in this song but is also delivering it note perfect like a pro background singer. This song works perfectly with his personality and the arrangement plus styling of each word works like a charm with his voice. Vayu has written a masterpiece here that is novel delivering perfect rhymes with some precision. It is a short song but really sweet and there is great amount of content squeezed in such an effortless flow that it even sounds charming. Bagchi has done a genius job with the music using acoustic guitar as a leading instrument that it sounds like Spanish guitar in parts and like a Rabaab in others. The composition is just amazing as one can’t get the melody out of the head after just one listen. Simplicity in complexity is the key here and this is a master stroke by Bagchi. An easy favourite and should definitely become a popular one on radio during this month of love as it brings an aura of happiness with it every time it plays. This one is bound to bring a smile on the face. 4.5/5

In this era of remakes, one has been sitting wondering when this Bappi Lahiri classic would be brought back. Well the wait is over as Arey Pyaar Kar Le drops next using the original chorus lyrics and original vocals of Lahiri. This remake is an easy one to dance to as the original groove is kept intact by Bagchi and he uses the original iconic start of the song. The music hasn’t changed much expect the addition of some programmed beats, scatting and vocal loops. He even drops some of the original 90s disco sound effects that reminds of the classic hit. Vayu adds just one stanza to give it some difference and bring the song closer to the story of the movie but it is nothing great to be completely honest. Additional rap by Ikka fails to add much zing to the song either while Khurrana’s additional vocals for a couple of lines is easy to miss altogether. For such a big classic hit it was always going to be difficult to remake it and this is a fair attempt but honestly it fails compared to the original. 3/5 for being a decent attempt.

The new single is an original one and quite literally be a called the Kakkar family song. Ooh La La feature the vocals of the three siblings Sonu Kakkar, Neha Kakkar and Tony Kakkar with lyrics and music by the former as well with the help of Bagchi. A fun cheesy number, the song has all the elements to be a successful wedding party song. Layered with a bright upbeat music on top of a danceable beat this is a very easy one to bob along to for people of all age groups. Rather the tempo and arrangement of the song is designed in a way so as to make it easy for older folks to find it easy to dance to it. It has that contemporary music style that makes is sound like a remake but it is not one. The use of accordion and mandolin solos in the bridge music gives it a very retro contemporary touch. The lyrics are typical of Tony Kakkar’s style with a mix of Hindi and English but that is very easy to sing along to considering the type of the song. It has that catchy repetitive characteristic but it’s nothing brilliant to boast of. Vocals of all three are average with Neha Kakkar being the most powerful one while Tony Kakkar is the most memorable vocal while Sony Kakkar is quite lost within the trio. None of the three make a great impression though but overall they do work together in making this a fun song with some legs to it. 3.5/5

Good to hear Mika Singh back with his first song of 2020 Aisi Taisi singing to the music of Bagchi and Vayu’s lyrics. The lyrics tell a love story in a corny way and rather in a blunt way. As the movie tackles the taboo in India about gay marriages, this song is pretty much a direct address to that topic but in a fun slapstick way as it shoots down typical “sanskari” love stories. The song has a nice groove to put that message through that is definitely written well but the music is a little on the heavy side. The deep bass and beats are a bit too much and drown out some of the vocals. The trumpets are a nice touch and impart a wedding-style big brass band effect to the song. The big bold vocals of Mika are powerful enough to make an impact while still have a bit of fun with this song. The music is overdone here and that is perhaps the biggest downfall of the song while also being niche in its topic. 2.5/5

Raakh by Arijit Singh is all about the lyrics and vocals. Bagchi has left the music rather bare and simple but with a soothing and easy flowing arrangement. The use of plucked guitar sounds is quite cool and well laid around the acoustic guitars and accordion. Singh is spot on with his vocals and delivers it with a lot of deep painful emotions. The clarity of his voice is pretty much without any vocal effects which makes it even more worth listening to. The lyrics on the chorus are the best part and with a good first stanza but then it fades to an average second stanza. The core message is the real focus of the song with fight for true love that goes beyond all stops that the world puts in front of it. Good simple song that works well in the setting of the song. 3/5

Kya Karte Thay Saajna is rather more of a sampling based original than a remake song. It uses the original chorus as a hook in the original vocals of Anuradha Paudwal classic Kya Karthe The Saajna from the movie ‘Laal Dupatta Malmal Ka’ (1989) but the original music of Anand – Milind is only used at the beginning & during the chorus on top of the fat urban beat that Bagchi has designed for this song. The beat is beautifully programmed and the sampling technique is pretty cool to listen to. The new lyrics by Vayu are well arranged too in a classic style to accompany the original Majrooh Sultanpuri chorus. The lyrics have the retro styling but the message is relevant to the movie setting giving singer Zara Khan a good base to deliver a retro black n white style vocal. This song has a nice groove to it and the retro sampling is balanced well. It’s not a leading song by far but it is a decent background one. 3/5

FINAL WORD

The soundtrack of ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ is a decent 7 song album with some good material that relates well to the movie and has a fair standing on its own in the music world. Continuing in the trend of remakes and with the remake king Tanishk Bagchi at the helm of the album, there are about two and half remake songs that are only decent overall. Definitely not his best work but Gabru and Arey Pyaar Kar Le have some potential to be successful on the dance scene with Romy making a good impression as a singer on the former. The album is best with its original songs with Ayushmann Khurrana bringing back his original vocal magic on the lovey-dovey Mere Liye Tum Kaafi Ho being the best song this album has to offer. Tony Kakkar & family’s Ooh La La is another original that has good potential for wedding celebration parties bringing some cute fun to the album. Raakh with Arijit Singh brings the sad romantic side to the album and is well delivered on the music and vocal front while Kya Karte The Saajna being a cheeky retro classic song with good sampling skills demonstrated on the production front. The Vayu – Bagchi team deliver run-of-the-mill lyrics and music throughout on this album not coming close to the standout work they last delivered on ‘Badhaai Ho’ (2018). Overall there is a good variety and content on the album ticking all the boxes except the box of something different and brilliant making this a mediocre album, but a better mediocre one at that than most others recently.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.