Director Rohit Shetty has kept fans waiting for a full year while he prepared his next film: Golmaal 3, starring Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, and Tusshar Kapoor as old friends in Goa who get up to some mischief. As the third installment in the Golmaal series, Golmaal 3 has a lot to live up to and so does the soundtrack. The first installment had a phenomenal soundtrack by Vishal-Shekhar (with songs like ‘Aage Peeche’ capturing quite a bit of humor in the melody and lyrics), but the second was handed over to Pritam whose songs didn’t quite live up to the first film. Now, Pritam has another chance to prove that he can provide a fun-filled album.
The first track whirs to life with a callback to the original ‘Golmaal’ theme but then Pritam kicks it into high gear with his own take on the theme, also called Golmaal. Unlike the somewhat tepid theme to Golmaal Returns, this ‘Golmaal’ has a high-intensity beat with a nice mix of percussion and plinky synthesizers. The original theme weaves in and out as a nice tribute to the original but this ‘Golmaal’ is 100% Pritam. Vocals from the chocolate-voiced K.K. along with Anushka Manchanda and Monali signal that, indeed, “Go go go Golmaal is back again!” The Golmaal (Remix) simplifies the beat for the dance floor but isn’t anything special.
Next on the album is Apna Har Din which promisingly trumpets its arrival with a candyfloss mass of synthesized strings and horns only to swiftly devolve into the type of song that plays over the ending credits while the entire cast poses for the camera. One almost wants to begin to look around for the theater exit while it plays. Shaan and Anushka Manchanda give good performances but the song is forgettable. Apna Har Din (Remix) is serviceable but also unmemorable.
Ale moves at a pace fast enough for an aerobics workout and is so shiny and happy that it could easily be used as the theme for the next World Cup with a few lyric changes. The song itself isn’t particularly noteworthy (the piano solo, in particular, is exceptionally mediocre) but the beat is infectious the vocals from Neeraj Shridhar (with the adorable Antara Mitra on the bridges) are enjoyable. After the groove settles in, you’ll be shouting “Ale” along with the chorus!
After two rather uninspired tracks, Desi Kali comes as a nice surprise. A driving beat, sparse instrumentation, and a simple percussive hook showcase Sunidhi Chauhan at her peppy best. She shares the vocal work with Neeraj Sridhar but it is Sunidhi’s voice that gives the track its sparkle and this should be a good song for Kareena Kapoor to strut her stuff. The Desi Kali (Remix) is actually pretty good for a dance remix and should bring everybody out onto the floor.
Finally, there are two remade tracks from the 1982 film Disco Dancer, which famously starred Golmaal 3 co-star Mithun Chakraborty. Bappi Lahiri takes on Disco Dancer (originally sung by Vijay Benedict), which is a bit more plodding and cluttered than the original and famous vocal mimic Sudesh Bhosle sings Yaad Aa Raha Hain (originally sung by Bappi Lahiri) with a bit of Kishore Kumar to it but the backing track suffers for the painfully obvious synthesized strings.
Overall, the music should work well in the context of a Rohit Shetty film (and the inclusion of the two Disco Dancer songs has me hopeful that we’ll see some dancing) but the album as a whole is not that strong.’Desi Kali’ and ‘Golmaal’ are both fun tunes but the others are best left to the film itself.
