Coming up on June 21st is Shortcut Romeo directed by Susi Ganesh and starring Neil Nitin Mukesh, Ameesha Patel and Puja Gupta. To create the music of the romantic thriller, the director brought in Himesh Reshammiya. The music director created a cool set of songs with lots of new flavored notes, beats and vocals to back up the movie and from what we have seen so far the rapid, running pace of the film. See the breakdown of what we thought of the sounds of the world of Shortcut Romeo.
Pe Pe Pe starts off the album and it was so not what I was expecting. Very 60s feel and sound, the song is a perfect character theme song, much like they did back then. Himesh Reshammiya sounds fabulous and is having fun on the peppy and at the same time cool track. My only complaint is the electronic drum kit beats, it would have been so much richer with a full on drum kit with high hats, bass and snare drum tamping out the hot beat. But for what I have seen of the film, this song should fit right in and even better, it plays well alone too if you are looking for a different song. There is also a remix, which also is quite good too. Nice beats are added in the synth tracks that are laid down. I still prefer the original, but this one is a good listen too.
Khali Salam Dua begins with a lovely piano and orchestra, which is a beautiful lead in for the incredible Mohit Chauhan. He sings with wonderful inflection and feeling. The track is very pared down showcasing Mohit’s voice with just a very simple underlayment of music. I always love Mohit Chauhan’s songs and this one is another to add to the list. Get lost in the pure gorgeousness, I did.
Then we have Ishq Gangster, which again Himesh Reshammiya has created a new sound. Very percussive in the under beat, it features Himesh Reshammiya in his classic avatar. I liked the music but it got old after while. Himesh’s vocal sounded to be a bit to scream-y and was fighting the music instead moving and melding with the beat. I did like the ‘gangster sala’ hook and wish he had kept to that lower bass he used for that stanza. This one is a skip but it may play well accompanying a scene in the film.
There is a remix of Ishq Gangster that has a killer rap track layered on top that I really liked, but it so did not mix with the original song at all. Just does not work in any way with the original beats and vocals. Maybe give it one listen but sadly this one is a skip too.
Shortcut Romeo features Ash King and yet another new flavor to the sound of the OST. Ash King sounds fabulous in the pop-jazzy track. He sings with great feeling and vibe, he makes the song fabulous. Wonderful harmonies add to the greatness of this track. Again Himesh went with a simple instrumentation and that shined too. Loved this one!
Aman Trikha takes over for the Shortcut Romeo (Reprise). This version has more of an Indian flavor and is sharper in instruments, in attack and vocals. Aman Trikha’s vocals have a great strength, snap and smoothness at the same time that again makes the song. Another excellent track that you can’t really compare to the original, this one is fabulous in it’s own right.
Jave Saari Duniya is a very electronic Punjabi track with the always brill Mika Singh. It is a good song but it feels like it is missing depth, it sort of glides along at a spirited pace but it never really gets into your soul and gets those shoulders a dancing. The best thing is Mika and you wish he had more backing him up. Still it is not a bad song by any means so give it a listen, it is just not my favorite.
Finally there is Shortcut Romeo Mashup, which like its title says, is a mashup of the songs with a very club beat added in. Interesting in creation and experiment it just sounded a bit of a muddle to me and not one I would want to play again and again.
For the OST of Shortcut Romeo Himesh Reshammiya certainly brought something new to the party and did it wonderfully if a bit synth-y in parts (yes, of course, that is a word). I loved the pared down songs the most but all the tracks are good. I will give this a three but it has a strong leaning to 3.5 for ‘Pe Pe Pe’, ‘Shortcut Romeo’ and the reprise and most definitely ‘Khali Salam Dua’, which I know you will have on repeat.
