Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Sanjay Leela Bhansali (SBL) is one such name which takes one's expectations to all new levels and moreover to a sky high when he composes music for his films ; 'Saawariya' (One Song) and 'Guzaarish'; Now with "Ram-Leela", an adaptation of Romeo-Juliet, listeners craves for a pure musical outing with an aroma of romance and love with extreme repeat value. Music of SLB directorial ventures has certain auras of their own that takes some time to establish/grow and are mostly situational based with a grand lavish picturisation and some heavy choreography. With a huge tracklist of ten (10) songs without any filler remix/reprise versions, let's enter into the field of dreams of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and lyricists Siddharth-Garima!
Sanjay Leela Bhansali (SBL) is one such name which takes one's expectations to all new levels and moreover to a sky high when he composes music for his films ; 'Saawariya' (One Song) and 'Guzaarish'; Now with "Ram-Leela", an adaptation of Romeo-Juliet, listeners craves for a pure musical outing with an aroma of romance and love with extreme repeat value. Music of SLB directorial ventures has certain auras of their own that takes some time to establish/grow and are mostly situational based with a grand lavish picturisation and some heavy choreography. With a huge tracklist of ten (10) songs without any filler remix/reprise versions, let's enter into the field of dreams of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and lyricists Siddharth-Garima!
The soundtrack kick-starts
with "Ram Chahe Leela", a rock genre layered
with some Gujarati interludes/prelude; where debutant Bhoomi Trivedi (Reality
Show Contestant) instils energy and style with her renditions and then we have
some bold lyrics that throws some light on why the society/family interferes
between the two lovers who can do anything for each other. The picturisation
will see Priyanka Chopra in a guest appearance and is bound to ignite fire and
fumes! Chartbuster!
"Lahu Munh Lag Gaya" has a
Bhansali stamp all over, starting from the folk’s Gujarati arrangements to the
beautiful poetry rendered magically by Shail Hada (remember 'Tera Zikr Hai'
from 'Guzaarish') to the garba interlude ..Everything has a
trance feeling that needs some hearings to settle down. The picturisation
displays a scorching chemistry between Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh which
instantly takes one back to the days of 'Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyaan' from
'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', although only visually and not by any means
close to that musically. The first half of the song is about the male protagonist
describing how he has got addicted to her lover with the phrase 'Lahu
Munh Lag Gaya'...Amazingly written! Later it has various layers with lots
of instruments being used, particularly Bhungal which is a
trademark of Gujarati folk...Creativity at its best! Commercially it may not
gain the popularity that it deserves as it caters to only a niche segment of
listeners but will be loved by everyone post the movie release!
Another reality show contestant (Indian
Idol Season-1) Adyta Paul marks her mainstream Bollywood entry (after a small
stint in recently released 'Warning') with "Ang Laga
De" which oozes romance, love, passion and sensuality with
each word where we hear very minimum arrangements. Aditi Paul enters the
territory of Shreya Ghoshal and cast a spell with her renditions, Shail Hada's
classical notes in between and towards the end adds sugary touch to this
lyrically rich composition. The gratifying visualisation will definitely enhance
the repeat value! Must hear!
Shail Hada's "Poore
Chand" is a soothing number with poetic lyrics; although the
four minutes offers nothing much special or new with just one single paragraph
and gets a bit repetitive towards the end but still it has the aroma of romance
which would make it a good watch onscreen.
Up next "Nagada Sang
Dhol" is certainly the best of the lot which portrays
the Gujarati folk/Garba with some heavy lavish
choreography brilliantly performed by Deepika Padukone. Words falls short for
an artist like Shreya Ghoshal who is so amazing with her energetic yet charming
renditions here, Osman Mir does a five second alaaps at the end. Certainly,
comparisons are ought to be made with 'Dholi Taaro Dhol Baaje' from
'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' but there isn't any similarity apart from the
word 'Dhol Baaje', the previous one was a complete dance
number with some western arrangements here and there and some Ched-Chaad lyrics whereas
this one is completely Indian or I would say Gujarati at heart
and has a completely different theme and picturisation. The Gujarati chorus
part from 2: 22 to 2: 48 and then from 3:52 till end has a trance feel attached
to it and transports the listeners to somewhere else. A composition which will
be placed at a crucial juncture in the movie and is Chartbuster element!
Arijit Singh, who has been a
household name ever after ''Tum Hi Ho Meri Aashiqui' (Aashiqui 2)
happened (very few know that he has sung 'Phir Mohabbat' - Murder 2) has
been roped in for "Laal
Ishq", his name
alone generates enough curiosity and expectations these days and when we have a
track duration of almost about 7 minutes, we know we are in for some sheer
listening delight. The composition flows like a soothing poetry around Arijit's
refined mesmerising vocals, it certainly demands time and patience to develop a
taste for such melody but once it does, it's going to stay for a long time.
Notice how various instruments are being used in tandem- Shehnai, Sitar, Guitar to name a few..Intoxicating, let
the magic prevail!
Aditya Narayan, who is still to
cement his place in the music industry, brings on "Ishqyaun
Dishqyaun"
which tries to add variety to the soundtrack and is composed
keeping in mind the commercial listeners/Aam Janta with some
entertaining lyrics but sadly it doesn't carries the required hook and the
overall result is quite average. Aditya Narayan maintains the same pitch during
the five minutes and sounds sweet and cute where a vociferous voice like Vishal
Dadlani would have suited more to such genre. As an audio this one tries too
hard but who knows Ranveer Singh may pull this one in style!

"Dhoop" by Shreya Ghoshal has a haunting prelude
and suffers from "Devdas" hook and reminds of Aishwarya Rai
dancing around with a Dia in
hand (‘Silsila Yeh Chahat Ka Na Maine Bhujne Diya' ) although that feeling diminishes
as the song progresses. The tempo is kept at minimum slow; Shreya is a mistress
of this genre and delivers this one with élan. This is pure situational stuff
where Leela has just fallen in love with Ram (Ranveer Singh) and is rejoicing
this lovely feeling of being in love.
The song that has been heavily promoted from past two weeks stands
tall at number ten.."Tatta Tattad" marks the introduction of Ram
in the movie where Aditya Narayan make amends and brings on the required energy
at the same maintaining the naughtiness and raapchikpan that
we can very easily associate with the character of Ranveer Singh. The hook line 'Tattad Tattad' which plays non-stop in half of the
song and that choreography where Ganesh Acharya makes Ranveer
does that thing to his back hair, gets a bit repetitive and may irritate to a
certain segment of audiences but never mind as it's the USP of this composition
and listeners/viewers get used to it after certain hearings/views. This one is
for the visuals where Ranveer has hit the nail on his head. Hit!

The writer is editor/music/movie critic at www.planetbollywood.com
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