A Madhur Bhandarkar film starts making the news from possibly the very moment he decides on a concept for his film. Critical acclaim, controversial issues and groundbreaking performances are three things that come to mind when you think of his films. However, when it comes to music the director has perhaps never pressured his music directors to bring out the hippest and catchiest tracks that will rock charts, but instead those that will convey the message of his film and character. For example, Corporate, Page 3 and Traffic Signal soundtracks never climbed the charts much, however the music for Fashion was another story with all tracks being quite popular especially ‘Mar Jawaan’ and the title track. With Jail the semi-artistic and semi-commercial filmmaker takes Neil Nitin Mukesh and Fashion debutant Mugdha Godse on board to explore the insights into, well, jails! So, where does Jail’s soundtrack fall within this trend set by Madhur films? Read on to find out.
The first track Sainya Ve has a somewhat rock genre grounding with bits of techno thrown here and there, as well as a Indian classical touch in the vocals. Composition and lyrics by Sharib and Toshi Sabri and sung by Toshi himself, this track goes to show that music in Indian cinema can be a mixture of multiple genres giving the listener so much to experience at once. Toshi’s voice as always is unique, refreshing and very suited for the genre! The lyrics are definitely very catchy, combine that with the foot tapping music and you have a track that is surely going to hypnotise you in the first listen! But, wait that’s not all! There’s out-n-out rock version of the track, which is much more impressive as the vocal combination of Toshi, Sabri and Neil Nitin Mukesh makes the track a whole lot more impactful. Their styles of voices combines beautifully together and if we may say so, these three must consider the prospects of forming a full-fledged rock band as we’re sure they’ll simply set the stage on fire! Kudos to Toshi-Sharib for revamping the track so well. In addition, a remix by Anamika is also on the CD however, the earlier two versions leave this one in the dark, and it just doesn’t match up. Skip this one because it’s nothing too special, but be sure to check the other two.
From ‘Sainya Ve’ we move on to Milke Yun Laga however, we do not switch styles of music because this one too lies heavily in the realms of rock music. This time brother Sharib takes to the mike and impresses as much as his other half in the earlier track. With Indian cinema moving ahead it’s good to see our music is as well, with new styles of music and fresh voices such as that of Toshi and Sharib. Lyrics by Sharib and Turaz capture the essence of a classic love ballad perfectly. The combination of intense notes, vocals and instruments makes the track very much emotionally packed and really leaves an impact.
Sadly, it all doesn’t remain so impressive with the introduction of a track by a Madhur favourite – Shamir Tandon (he previously composed for other Madhur projects such as Corporate, Page 3 and Traffic Signal). His first track for the album Barreli Ke Bazaar Mein, which possibly is an item number, really doesn’t strike a chord. Sonu Kakkar’s voice is rather irritating to the ear and in combination with the repetitive lyrics by Sandeep Nath, the song becomes unbearable! And the torture doesn’t end there! There’s a remix version, which is simply as intolerable, if not more than the original, with its annoying English one-liners. It sounds like a horrid remix track that haunts us on music channels with barely clothed girls in the videos. Take our word for it and when either one of these tracks appear on your iPod either run or press the skip button as fast as possible!
Lata-ji comes somewhat to the rescue with Daata Sun Le in terms of vocals, but sadly the composition doesn’t impress as much as she does. The track may remind you of ‘Ek Tu Hi Bharosa’ because of the combination of the theme, lyrics by Ajay Kumar Garg and of course Lata Mangheshar’s voice. This may not be track that everyone can sit through, as it’s extremely situational. If you do find the original somewhat in a tedious tempo, then switch to the contemporary version of the track which is also on the album, this is an improvement. Frankly, no criticism goes to Lata-ji’s fantastic vocal but instead to the composer, Shamir Tandon. All in all, this track is really dependent upon the individual listener’s taste in music.
In order to critically analyse this album one must take into account that given the genre of the film this album is really not designed to entertain the listener independently of the film, but instead designed to provide an enhancement to the story onscreen. At the end of the day, Jail is not totally a lost course with three out of eight tracks being quite impressive, however that sadly is not a pass and puts the album in the strict ‘below average’ position.
