Mehul Kumar’s upcoming patriotic drama Krantiveer-The Revolution promises to be a hard-hitting piece of cinema that is the follow up to the first installment Krantiveer. Krantiveer took the box office by a storm upon its release as well as garnered accolades at award functions including the prestigious National Award. Now all eyes are on the sequel to see if it has a similar effect. However, as the sequel promises to share the same views of patriotism in the modern India through the eyes of the youth, the music too keeps up with this theme. Jahan Bloch, Sameer Aftab, Aditya Singh Rajput and Harsh Rajput make up the cast of the film whilst the young and talented duo of Sachin-Jigar have been brought in to give the musical backing for the film. Lyrics have been penned by Sameer. Despite only being one album oldm Sachin-Jigar still have to live up to quite a lot since their first album, Teree Sang, came as a pleasant surprise and impressed the who’s-who of the music industry as well as the audiences alike! Now it’s time to see if they’ve lived up to those expectations or not.
Shreya Ghosal swoops in with a grand entrance in the opening number of the album, Khuda Mere Khuda, with her ever so melodious voice. The very introduction of the track impresses with its interesting mixing and subtle instruments. Kay Kay enters next and takes the track to a whole new level with his exuberating energy! This one is a classic, sweet, romantic number with a classic singing duo and a catchy chorus that will have you singing along in no time.
Next up is a youthful party number that will surely be a hit with the masses. Chote Tera Birthday Aaya has a host of vocals backing it including, Hard Kaur, Mika Singh, Anushka Manchanda, Neuman Pinto, Hrishikesh Kamrekar and Madhav Krishnan. They truly bring in the celebratory and youthful feel that the track needs. Lyrics are both catchy and witty so you’ll surely be laughing along to the track every time you listen to it. What’s most commendable about the track is that instead of going for the usual techno styled feel that most youthful-party numbers have, the composers decided to keep it rather Desi with the melody and the instrument such as the classic Punjabi dhols that essentially give the track its own identity.
As the album progresses you truly realize how versatile this musical duo is especially when you come to the next track, Lau Jali, sung by Jigar himself. This one is a first of its kind, a rock or heavy metal patriotic piece truly capturing the emotions of determination, strength of mind and will power that the patriotic youth possess. Patriotic tracks have been made over and over again in the past, but seldom do composers experiment with the music style of such pieces and therein lies the strength of Sachin-Jigar, that is that they dared to do something different. Special mention has to be made to the amazing lyrics by Sameer that captures the essence of the film so well, especially in the lines “krantiveer ki phir lau jail”, which acknowledges very subtly that it’s a sequel! The track is impressive and inspiring both at the same time, however it would not be shocking to encounter listeners who had an opposing view. It’s surely one of those tracks that you’ll either love or hate. So give it a listen and see in which category you fall.
The album ends with what is without a doubt an item number, Firangi Paani, with Anushka Manchanda taking the mic with Master Salim. While you instantly take a liking to the introductory musical portions and interim verses, the chorus doesn’t have the same effect. Perhaps it’s a just a matter of opinion and some may feel the other way. Regardless the highlight of the track is Anushka Manchanda who absolutely shines in this number like never before. You’re left wondering why she hasn’t sung more item numbers because the attitude in her voice is so darn perfect for the genre! Once again Sachin and Jigar must be complemented for keeping a track oh-so-Desi when they could have easily gone the other way.
With just four tracks the album ends and one is a bit disappointed that you didn’t get to hear more. However, at the same time, keeping the film in mind, it’s rather expected it wouldn’t be an out and out musical with 7 or 8 numbers. Sachin-Jigar impress extremely with first three tracks, while the last track despite being quite entertaining doesn’t live up to the high bar set by its predecessors. When analyzed from an overall perspective, ‘Chote Tera Birthday’ and ‘Lau Jali’ are true depictions of the musical duo’s talent and strength. One looks forward to more innovative music from the duo, however for now one is eager to see just how these tracks are featured on screen when the film hits cinemas on 25th of June!
