Music Review: ‘Singh Is Bliing’
Taking the reins from Anees Bazmee, Prabhu Deva is now the man in charge of directing Akshay Kumar in his Sikh avatar in ��Singh Is Bliing�۪. Continuing in the same trend as ��Singh Is Kinng�۪ (2008) this should have the fun capers of the original film as well that become a cult as a title and in slapstick entertainment. With the hot British model Amy Jackson starring opposite Akshay, this film should have all the elements of a commercial entertainer with laughter, sex and some action with Kay Kay in the negative role. Based in Goa it should also have the party feel along with the beautiful cinematography of the area. ��Singh Is Kinng�۪ had music that became superhit at its time thanks to Pritam�۪s delivery but for this recent project Prabhu Deva has gone out to all the composers to put a selective score behind his movie. From Sajid-Wajid to Meet Bros Anjjan, Sneha Khanwalkar to of course ex-RDB Manj who have all put their beats behind Akshay�۪s 2015 biggie.
Starting off in true Punjabi style with Dhol beats and the sound of a tractor, Tung Tung Baje in the voice of Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh is the sound of the modern Punjab. A mashup of Punjabi lyrics and urban music both by Sneha Khanwalkar this is a new age blend of cultures in true Sneha style who is a breeze of fresh air to the Bollywood music scene. She does a fairly good job in fusing deep tech synths layered over Punjabi dhol and pungi sounds that is unique and a genuine effort to create a new age sound redefining Punjabi music in Bollywood and Bhangra music overall. The addition of folk lyrics at the end adds extra layers of authenticity to the track. Diljit�۪s vocals are good but rather flat at parts. On the whole the song is a new listening experience and so needs some repeat listens to really feel this song.
Singh And Kaur is the headliner song of the album in a number of ways including being featured on the promos and doing the rounds on radio and TV at the moment. Composed, sung and written by Manj Musik (ex-RDB) along with his crew including wife Nindy Kaur and rapper Raftaar contribute to the vocals and lyrics as well. The trio always work well together and for certain always manage to get a hit out of their compositions��_ especially if it is one for an Akshay Kumar film. The song has a cool vibe with a break beat structure arranged well to a number of Punjabi string instruments. The lyrics are very cool as well and have tons of attitude in the style of Singh Is Kinng title song that was composed by Manj as well. Raftaar�۪s rap is perhaps the best part of the lyrics though. This is a sure shot hit.
Sajid-Wajid compose the next one called Cinema Dekhe Mamma with Shaan back behind the microphone after a long gap. Wajid and Ritu Pathak support Shaan on whoat sounds like a south Indian song rather than either a Bhangra or Goanese song where the film is based. I guess this is a Prabhudeva influence.. and not a great one. If this was a Salman Khan film this composition would suit but neither the lyrics nor even Shaan�۪s delivery works. It is a cheap street song that lacks creativity or any kind of style to it to make it stand out.
Manj revives his RDB classic next with Mahi Aaja which is a smart play to stop going on war with his brother and keep the original rights of RDB on Aaja Mahi safe from any dispute. He has re-written some lyrics of the song to create two new paragraphs with a lot more Hindi lyrics but sadly that don�۪t rhyme that well and clearly sounds like an alternate version to the original. The resemblance to the original is the only good thing here but being that close to the original, one would actually prefer listening to the original itself and this number feels like a waste.
Dil Kare Chu Che in the voice of the amazing Labh Janjua is a better suited Punjabi Bollywood film song with Labh�۪s folkish vocals and Hindi lyrics. Composed by hitmakers Meet Bros, the music has a decent dance beat to it to take this song to the clubs but the lyrics by Kumaar don�۪t really work and will keep this song from going places. Apeksha Dandekar supports on the English vocals and the performance overall by both the singers is limited by the average lyrics and music arrangement.
Arijit Singh has to be on every album and this soundtrack is no different as he does an unplugged version of Mahi Aaja next to the revised lyrics and music of Manj. His Punjabi rendition accompanying Manj on the vocals is quite a unique listening experience as two male lead are very rarely heard together especially on an unplugged version. The depth of Arijit�۪s voice works well on this song and suit the Hindi lyrics to make this is a good romantic song to listen to with a calm composition.
Singh And Kaur (Remix) is a good uptempo Punjabi party remix of the original with additional dhol beats laid on top of an electronic beat. The good thing about this remix is that Manj retains the authenticity of the Punjabi instrumentation and does not change the composition a lot but gives it a faster beat treatment which makes it a fun track to dance along to. This is definitely a good remix and should do well in the clubs.
Mahi Aaja (Remix) is a pure electronic remix of the original and far by bounds from it! Considering the original itself had a western composition with no Indian instruments, this purely electronic trance mix of the song actually does work. But did they actually need a remix of such nature is something we need to wait and watch in the film if it is really used. If not then although it is a well done and structured remix, we could have just done without it and retained the essence of the original.
FINAL WORD
Manj Musik takes the clear lead on the soundtrack of ��Singh Is Bliing�۪ and delivers a hit in the form of Singh And Kaur and an average remake Mahi Aaja of the original RDB hit. But other than Singh And Kaur and Tung Tung Baje by Diljit Dosanjh the other tracks are plain vanilla. The innovation that Pritam had brought with ��Singh Is Kinng�۪ delivering hits on every track is non-existent in this soundtrack. Mahi Aaja sounds quite forced and a last resort with no other romantic song on the OST and proves lack of creativity. Arijit Singh delivers a good vocal and a saves this remake song with his unplugged version and is the best singer on the album. Sneha as always is the most innovative on the album while Meet Bros and Sajid-Wajid deliver purely disappointing tracks. The remixes are good and due credit to Manj for them. To sum it all, the soundtrack of ��Singh Is Bliing�۪ is clearly not as good as what the first film had delivered and we doubt the film will be any better either and thus sealing the short lived fate of this album.
BizAsia Showbiz Rating ��� 6.5/10
