Rohit Shetty’s Singham Returns sees Ajay Devgan reprise his much-applauded role of D.C.P Bajirao Singham.
For an action thriller, Singham featured a short yet well composed soundtrack by national award-winners Ajay-Atul and lyrics by the incorrigible Swanand Kirkire. Shetty has opted for another short album again, comprising of five tracks composed by Yo Yo Honey Singh (‘Lungi Dance’ – Chennai Express), Jeet Ganguly (Aashiqui 2), Ankit Tiwari (Ek Villain) and Meet Bros Anjan (Kick). Vocal talents featured in the album are that of Mamta Sharma (‘Munni Badnaam’ – Dabangg), Arjit Singh (‘Muskurane’ – Citylights), Ankit Tiwari (‘Galliyaan’ – Ek Villain) and Mika Singh (‘Jhumme Ki Raat’ – Kick).
The album opens with Aaja Mata Satakli. If you are not tiresome of the overuse of Yo Yo Honey Singh in Bollywood yet, then ‘Aaja Mata Satakli’ just might be impressive or the push you needed to feel otherwise. It is a typical Yo Yo fare, a single hook repeated multiple times with his signature quirky rap. Mamta complements the track well with her Marathi interludes but the number is too reminiscent of ‘Lungi Dance’ if not a poor derivative of it.
Ankit Tiwari’s Kuch To Hua Hai is a beautifully melodious duet with a single drawback, Tulsi Kumar, who neither complements Ankit nor the track as whole. It also falters in comparison with Ankit’s compositions in Ek Villain and Aashiqui 2 in that it lacks the haunting raw edge usually featured in his numbers. This track very much sounded like a track from the repertoire of either Vishal-Shekhar or Salim-Sulaiman. Otherwise, it is a strictly likeable track.
Sun Le Zara sees Jeet Ganguly successfully reuse his rock ballad from Bengali film Boss with Arjit Singh returning to render the track in Hindi. Arjit’s powerful rendition of Sandeep Nath’s well-penned lyrics makes the track worth you while and easily the best number from the album. This track is yet another reason why Arjit Singh is one of our most bankable artists today.
Meet Bros Anjan reimagine the title track originally composed by Ajay-Atul to tragic results. The original, arguably loosely modeled after title tracks Dabangg and Omkara, was a far superior track. Even the remix was impressive. However, the remix of Singham Returns is even more of a mess, a first for Meet Bros Anjan whose mixing skills are rather impressive. Mika Singh even sounds under the weather.
In summary, unlike its predecessor, Singham Returns fails to impress as a wholesome album. ‘Sun Le Zara’ and ‘Kuch To Hua’ can only save face to an extent. To be fair, Jeet, Ankit, Yo Yo and Meet Bros Anjan are the rising names in music today, who have been steadily and consistently impressing listeners. Therefore, it is surprising that a compilation of their work has been so disappointing. Here’s hoping the film fares better.
Singham Returns also stars Kareena Kapoor in a pivotal role and releases 15 August 2014.
