It’s been more than two years since Tabu’s last Hindi film (2007’s Cheeni Kum), so expectations are high for Toh Baat Pakki, which releases on February 19th. Directed by Kedarh Shinde the film finds her taking the role of a matchmaking elder sister who wishes to set her younger sister (Uvika Chaudhary) up in a good marriage. Sharman Joshi and Vatsal Sheth play the two potential suitors. The tone of the film seems to be a family-friendly comedy and Pritam has written a cheerful soundtrack to match!
The album opens with Mika Singh singing Jis Din, a bhangra flavored dance tune. The celebratory mood of the song is infectious and the pace is peppy. It should get your toes tapping. There is also a remix of the song by DJ Suketu, which retains the flavor of the song while evening out the beat for the dance floor.
Next up is Phir Se, sung by Sonu Niigaam. Breezy guitars provide the backing for this love song. It’s pleasant enough but Sonu’s vocals seem really stretched thin. His voice wavers, sliding past notes instead of hitting them right on. It’s not one of his better performances. The remix of his performance is even worse, with the choppy nature of the editing making a mess of the original breezy tone of the song.
The Punjabi comes out on again Dil Le Jaa, sung by Jassi Sidhu, Javed Ali, and Shilpa Rao. This filmi bhangra sound is one Pritam has perfected in songs like ‘Nagada Nagada’ from Jab We Met and ‘Dil Le Jaa’ is a fine addition to the genre. Jassi Sidhu trades off verses with Shilpa and Javed Ali sings over the breakdown. The remix actually mixes up the song structure a bit but keeps the feel of the song and is a fun listen.
A wailing guitar opens the next song, Karle Mujhse Pyaar. Sung by Pritam, Soham, and Rana, the song is a total throwback to the 1980s power ballad complete with a Western drum kit, a synth breakdown, a guitar solo, and a key shift up at the end of the song. Although the song is a bit cheesy, the ‘ooo ooo’s’ of the chorus put a smile on this reviewer’s face. But the remix of this song feels unnecessary and labored and should be avoided.
The album then moves from Western power ballad to a traditional song, Aarti, sung by Antara Mitra. It’s a sweet performance accompanied by tinkling chimes and the ex-Indian Idol 2 contestant shows off her versatility again. Pritam has chosen well to work with her the last few years.
Finally, the album closes out with an alternate version of Phir Se sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The track is exactly the same except for the vocals but the more traditional sound of Rahat’s voice makes for a different listening experience — his vocal runs on the long held notes are really nice and he just sounds much more confident throughout.
Overall, the album isn’t fantastic but it does have some nice moments and there is enough variety between the bhangra-flavored tunes and the ballads to keep to you listening all the way through. It’s a pleasant collection of songs and should fit the light-hearted mood of the film.
