Kill Dil is Yash Raj Films’ latest offering starring Ranveer Singh (Ram-Leela), Ali Zafar (Tere Bin Laden), Parineeti Chopra (Hasee Toh Phasee) and Govinda (Raavn) in pivotal roles. The films bring together the winning combination of Shaad Ali, Shankar-Eshaan-Loy and Gulzar (Bunty Aur Babli and Jhoom Barabaar Jhoom). It features the vocal talents of Sunidhi Chauhan (‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ – Tees Maar Khan), Siddhartha Mahadevan (‘Malang’ – Dhoom 3), Sukwinder Singh (‘Bismil’ – Haider), Sonu Nigam (‘Abhi Mujhme Kahin’ – Agneepath) and Arjit Singh (‘Tum Hi Ho’ – Aashiqui 2) amongst others.
The title track opens with Gulzar introducing the film’s male protagonists with some well-written couplets. The track is a clever blend of Spaghetti Western and rock with some pretty decent yodeling from Shankar Mahadevan and Sonu Nigam. Nigam and Mahadevan demonstrate great camaraderie and the enthusiastic rendition makes the track worth your while.
Happy Buddy gets off to a slow start, as the tempo does not pick up until a minute and a half into the song. Despite some trendy lyrics from Gulzar and an energetic delivery by Sukwinder, the track is relatively mediocre.
Sajde is easily the crowning glory of Kill Dil. It brilliantly combines a beautiful Punjabi folk-y melody with semi-classical and contemporary rock, hats off to Shankar-Eshaan-Loy. Arjit, who is arguably getting typecast of late, is heard in new avatar and it is awe-inspiring. He effortlessly moves from a softer portions of the track to the power-packed chorus and encapsulates Gulzar’s lyrics perfectly. Nihira Joshi of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa fame compliments Arjit well but it is his show all the way and he does not disappoint!
Bol Beliya sees the father-son duo of Siddhartha and Shankar Mahadevan behind the mike along with Sunidhi Chauhan. It has an infectious hook at its helm with powerful renditions from the Mahadevans and Chauhan. It is effectively loud with a desi 80s vibe to it interwoven with a rock and roll. Somehow, it also has an elegant flare to it courtesy of Gulzar superb lyrics.
Sweeta is quite simply, short and sweet. It is reminiscent of a 1920s Hollywood musical number and Adnan Sami captures the rose-coloured dreamy lyrics brilliantly.
Daiyya Maiyaa is too fragmented for its own good. The individual fragments in themselves are impressive but ill fitting as a whole track. In a word, disappointing.
Baawara is in the same line as Sajde in that is it a clever combination of enchanting highs and lows. Shankar Mahadven gives yet another formidable rendition thus doing Gulzar’s lyrics justice. He is well supported by Nihira Joshi.
Nakhriley is a rather dated sounding number unless Shankar-Eshaan-Loy were going for a 80s Bollywood qawaali. Even then, it is quite an unremarkable number, odd against Shankar-Eshaan-Loy’s repertoire. It seems to belong in a Sajid-Wajid type soundtrack. Ali Zafar is wasted on such a miserable number.
In summary, Kill Dil is a mixed bag of tracks but is mostly enjoyable. ‘Sajde’, ‘Baawara’ and ‘Bol Beliya’ are easily the superior tracks of the album followed by the title track and Sweeta. The remaining, Nakhriley and Happy Buddy may be saved with engaging picturisations but on their own, the tracks are rather ordinary. Daiyaa Maiyaa is just plain dismal. Shankar-Eshaan-Loy have attempted to compose out of the box with Kil Dill and they have been mostly been successful but given their great track record, one expected better.
