Sohail Sen has already made an impression in Bollywood with his compositions for Ashutosh Gowariker (What’s Your Raashee? and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey). With the highly anticipated Mere Brother Ki Dulhan soundtrack, Sohail Sen hops on over to YRF to try his hand at composing for mainstream, commercial cinema…with excellent results.
The title track Mere Brother Ki Dulhan opens the album with a bang. This track is so much fun to listen to – it’s poppy and addictive, combining desi beats with all kinds of instrumental flourishes – including a Bollywood favourite: horns! The track is all held together with KK’s driving vocals and an infectious singalong chorus…it’s total pop confection that sets a super tone for the album.
A grungy guitar riff ushers in Dhunki, a jewel of a track that Neha Bhasin absolutely owns. Her voice is breathtaking – fierce and confident and soaring. The track is an intoxicating mixture of rock with a rustic edge – all grungy electric guitars and pounding drums, but Neha Bhasin’s delivery of the vocals really lifts this track out of the stratosphere. The teaser video for ‘Dhunki’ has been causing a sensation – the combination of an absolutely killer track and Katrina Kaif rocking out an edgy rock-chick look is sure to take this one to superhit status.
Choomantar is an upbeat, largely piano based track with a vast array of beats and digital flourishes mixed throughout. While the high-pitched, chipmunky “Oh baby oh baby” detail is perhaps a tiny bit grating, the rest of the track is an enjoyable grungy/hiphop/techno influenced groove, with the vocals crooned by a supremely confident Benny Dayal and a nicely husky Aditi Singh Sharma. Their voices are interestingly different and the contrast is quite lovely when they duet. Also included on the album: Joshilay’s Choomantar (Remix) – definitely one for the dancefloor! The funky remix increases the bpm and boosts the bass line to get your booty bouncing.
A burst of static, then a radio announcer intro for Isq Risq ushers in a change of pace as Rahat Fateh Ali Khan weaves a rustic, classically-influenced tale of risky love. Khan’s emotive voice is undeniably a highlight of this track. The album also includes a remix – Joshilay’s Isq Risk – Risky Mix. With a different vocalist (Sreeramachandra, winner of Indian Idol; with a guest appearance from Neha Bhasin who sounds completely different from her stint on ‘Dhunki’), soaring synths, frenetic electronic beats and a boneshaking bass-line, it’s dance floor ready and it’s a radically different track – this is how you remix, kids.
It’d be verging on criminal to have Ali Zafar in a film and not let him sing, so on Madhubala he gets to exercise his vocal chords. ‘Madhubala’ is a cheeky, bubbly, almost retro seeming, crowd-pleasing track – reminiscent of ‘Son Titariya’ from Yamla Pagla Deewana or ‘Humka Peeni Hai’ from Dabangg. This one is all about giving the people what they want: and what we want is Ali Zafar’s gorgeous voice (with some help from Shweta Pandit), a song that compels us to dance, and those desi beats. LOVE this one!
Do Dhaari Talwaar is sneaky – a plaintive, slow-building intro soon gives way to an infectious Punjabi influenced pop track that’s as addictive as the opening title track. Shahid Mallya and Shweta Pandit breathlessly alternate verses against a fast and furious electronica/beats tinged backdrop.
While this album may not break any new ground or push many boundaries, it’s a fun listen that will DEFINITELY get your feet moving. Sohail Sen has definitely got what it takes to pack some populist punch into a commercial soundtrack – this one definitely won’t be leaving my CD player for a while!
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan stars Imran Khan, Katrina Kaif and Ali Zafar and is set to hit cinemas on September 9th!
