Ajay Devgan is one of the most unique and unconventional actors in Bollywood today. He is one of the few actors who can switch from masala hero to masala villain, from art house tragedian to mass-market comedian. It is the latter role that we will see Ajay Devgan performing in the Rohit Shetty directed All the Best – Fun Begins, which is shaping up to be another action-comedy rib-tickler along the lines of Golmaal: Fun Unlimited or Sunday. Along with Ajay, the film stars Bipasha Basu, Sanjay Dutt, and Fardeen Khan and will release on October 16th.
The music director for All the Best is that master of the pop hit, Pritam. He is true to form on this album delivering four up-tempo pop songs, one sappy ballad, and two bland remixes. Pritam starts things off with a bang on the title track of the film, All the Best, which opens the album with a scorching guitar solo, a signifier of things to come because electric guitar is all over this album! The track itself is anchored by a heavy dhol beat that has some extra low-end making it bottom heavy but guaranteed to get your feet tapping. The vocals are straightforward, with the tentative Antara Chowdhury as the weak link, and accessorized by more wailing electric guitar – a Bollywood rock hybrid!
Dil Kare is another rock hybrid but this one is less accessible on the first listen than ‘All the Best’. It took me a few times to really get the trick of it but once you do catch it, ‘Dil Kare’ is by far the best track on the album. Using heavy percussion and a 1960s R&B beat, the song pushes forward with a loping stride, a shouting chorus of background singers cum cheerleaders to help it along. Suraj Jaggan and Rupam Islam on vocals are powerful without loosing the melody. It’s a shame the remix is so bland because this one has the potential to steam up the dance floor.
Moving from 1960s R&B to 1980s pop, Haan Main Jitni Martaba continues the same rock theme from the first two songs but firmly anchored in the 1980s. The track alternates heavy distorted guitars, delicate college rock guitars, and some massive doses of synthesizers. The melody doesn’t go much of anywhere but Yashita and KK do their best to keep the momentum moving forward. Yashita, in particular, is helped along with some interesting vocal effects. It’s a unique sound, for sure, but it doesn’t quite gel together. The remix clears away some of the clutter but doesn’t do much with the material left.
Kyon is a straight-up soft rock ballad, with an almost country-western touch. Clinton Cerejo does an admirable job with the material, sounding as earnest as Bryan Adams in his heyday. This one should strike a chord with the ballad-lovers out there!
Closing out the album is the fluffy You are My Love, which gives off a celebratory carnival air and has the sound of a song played over the closing credits. While nothing special, it has a certain innocuous appeal and some cute Latin touches in the form of a Spanish guitar and some fun horn lines.
Overall, I found the All The Best – Fun Begins soundtrack album to be a fun listen and among the more clever soundtracks that Pritam has done in the last few years. ‘Dil Kare’ is particularly catchy and while the rest aren’t going to be life-changing, together they form a pretty solid album. So, if you’re looking for something upbeat and a little out of the ordinary with just a hint of rock and roll, then All the Best in picking up this album!
