Cocktail Music Review

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2

Deepika, Saif and Diana

"Cocktail" starring Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and the sensational Diana Penty; has been creating buzz since its theatrical trailer gathered instant positive response from the audience. It's the third Home Production for Saif Ali Khan; after Love Aaj Kal and Agent Vinod; where both got 'HIT' music from Pritam Chakraborty and this time also Pritam has been assigned the task of composing. Three names of artists attract attention (apart from Pritam): Imtiaz Ali as Story Writer: His name raises the bar enormously high both as a movie and an OST; Irshad Kamil as Lyricist: A regular associate with Imtiaz Ali and a talent house; Homi Adajania as The Director: He last directed Saif Ai Khan starrer 'Being Cyrus'(2006) which was an offbeat movie and his name comes as a surprise and develops curiosity for a forte like this. Coming to the music ''Tumhi Ho Bandhu'' is already topping the charts and is going to be an anthem among the youth. Looking at the covers, eleven tracks, yes, you read it right, eleven tracks which sky shoots the expectations one has from the music and on top of that, the song 'Angreji Beat' which was made viral almost 20 days back is missing from the soundtrack. Without wasting any more time on facts and figures, let's dive into the field of dreams of Pritam and Irshad Kamil!

 

Without surprising anyone, it opens with "Tumhi Ho Bandhu" which is insanely catchy and one that is sure to rule the charts for at least a month if not more. Right from the peppy arrangements to the choice of singers to some fresh and easy going lyrics, everything is top notch and defines the signature style of Pritam which is sure to be picturised at a crucial juncture in the movie post interval. Kavita Seth, who hardly has any track record in Bollywood apart from the beautiful 'Iktara' (Wake Up Sid); gets an opportunity and certainly makes it big. Her voice is raw, rustic and heavy as a result describes the emotions perfectly and Neeraj Shridhar is at his usual best with the hook line 'Tumhi Din Chade, Tumhi Din Dhale, Tumhi Ho Bandhu, Sakha Tumhi'. Sing along friends!!

Pleasant guitar strums starts of the second song "Daaru Desi".. The flamboyant voice of Benny Dayal makes it an easy-on-ear, light and carefree stuff that would grow with time, wonder why a talent like Benny is not used very often by other composers apart from A.R.Rahman and Salim-Sulaiman. The new sensation Shalmali Kholgade ('Pareshan' from Ishaqzaade) is fantastic with her part and impresses yet again. The lyrics by Irshad perfectly defines the 'Friendship' as a synonym for Daaru Desi, as a result both the antara's are high on melody and one that is sure to be hum around. PERFECT!

Mohan Kanan aka K Mohan ('Agnee' fame) name is enough to generate curiosity..The next track "Yaariyan" kicks off with solid rock beats (drums and guitar) and soon K Mohan joins in with his painful voice which is beautifully crafted and interwoven alongside Irshad stupendous heart touching lyrics. Into to the Second interlude and one hears Shilpa Rao with some classical/sufi alaap which are sheer listening delights and shows the immense hard work put in by the composer. A striking and absorbing composition which promises to stay in the favourite's list of the listeners for a long time. Strongly Recommended! A Pritam soundtrack is incomplete without some reprise versions.."Yaariyan (Reprise)" by Sunidhi Chauhan is intense and my God..What brilliant use of Piano in the background and in the interludes. Pritam's find Arijit Singh joins in at 3.10 for some short but quite outstanding alaap portions and one feels why he has been given only thirty seconds in such a beautiful version. Forget everything..Just listen!

Guest Lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya (AB) writes "Second Hand Jawaani" which is more inclined towards a fun, Punjabi item number with catchy beats and traditional melody. Punjabi Queen Miss Pooja starts of the song and is soon joined by Nakkash Aziz with his high pitched notes and hang on..Neha Kakkar is also heard in the antaras but it's real hard to differentiate between both female voices as a result on first few listen, one may call it an average affair but it has the power to create havoc once its video is out and rolling over the small screens. Wait for the Video!

Tighten your seat belts, as the soundtrack takes a 180 degree turn after these four tracks and is instilled with traditional Punjabi flavour with a list of singers that has the power to drive a music lover crazy and insane.

To start with, "Tera Naam Japdi Phiran" by Javed Bashir is a grandiose fusion of Punjabi and Western arrangements. A traditional tune majestically re-created by Pritam and aptly written by Irshad Kamil, Nikhil D'souza is first rate for the English vocals and the auto tuned voice of Shefali Alvaris (still awaiting the day to hear her voice with the auto tuned effect) overall makes it a superb composition that will be a very interesting watch onscreen as if used only as a background score in a club or for some situational scenario. Add in some more adrenalin thumping pumping, you have "Tera Naam Japdi Phiran (Version 2)" which is a foot tapping version where one can't resist but dance to the powerful energising beats with no change in singers and lyrics. Recommended: Both Versions!

Hold your breath as "Luttna (Saif Ul Malook)" will leave you in trance and speechless. Another traditional melody, re-created by Pritam with the chorus being composed by Sahir Ali Bagga and the more said is less for a talent like Irshad Kamil who gets his poetry in motion and proves his menace yet again with phrases like:

"Log Chirag Jalate Ghee Ke, Maine Dil Ka Deep Jalaya

Log Hai Khaate Kasam Wafa Ki, Main Zeher Hijar Ka Khaya

Log Gavande Dil Ishq Mein, Maine Apna Aap Gavaya"

Sufi King Dr.Masuam Anwar leads the vocals and is simply 'Extravagant' with ample support from Sahir Ali and Anupam Amod for the chorus part. The inclusion of Rock beats in the interludes alongside the chorus is an innovative experiment that is worth hearing. For the unplugged fan's, there is "Luttna (Version 2)" which is re-created by Bunty Rajput A soft, soothing, refined and magnificent version with same set of singers and some heavy bass guitar for the chorus part with the focus being more on the vocals and lyrics. Magical! 

"Jugni" yes, the Punjabi traditional folk song makes an entry with the melody and music being kept intact as in the original. Arif Lohar spreads his charm and Harshdeep Kaur replaces the female vocalist from the original and is a perfect voice for a genre like this. Both the interludes are heavily arranged and lots of orchestration is used. For all those, who have heard the original or the coke studio version will easily relate to this one and for the first timers, give some time to this epic song which provides a graceful end to the soundtrack.

Cocktail is Pritam's finest soundtrack after a long time which has every genre of music, be it Western, Indian, Rock, Folk, Sufi- Everything. Two guest compositions of Honey Singh 'Angreji Beat' and 'Main Sharaabi' aren’t included in the ost but have been made viral and certainly 'Main Sharaabi' is going to be a smash hit with all the party animals. To sum up, every composition has the artistic touch and therefore will enjoy a certain shelve life. Easily one of the best soundtrack of 2012 till date and a strong contender for Best Music Album of 2012, although it's too early to say that. Pritam strikes not only gold but Gold Mines this time!

I rate it a 4.5 on 5.0

Edited Version @Planet-Bollywood

Agent Vinod Music Review

Rating: ★ ★ ★ 1/2

Saif Ali Khan in Agent Vinod

Musical Thrillers and Pritam Chakraborty goes hand-in-hand; for instance consider 'Dhoom', 'Chocolate', 'Race', 'Gangster', 'Jannat' and more recently 'Dum Maaro Dum'. "Agent Vinod" lays immense expectations both as an OST and an action packed thriller with today's hottest couple ('Reel' and 'Real') Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor sharing screen space after their last outing 'Kurbaan' went dhadaam at the Box Office. A look at the CD cover, eleven tracks with few reprises, few remixes, typical Pritam..add to that unconstrained and vivacious talent of lyricist (and singer also) Amitabh Bhattacharya (A.B.) ..well, there is much more than the usual Pritam this time!

The proceeding kick-starts with the much promoted "I'll Do The Talking (Steal The Night)", a resurrected (official) version of a pop song called 'Rasputin'. An English Rap soon joined by Barbie Amod's chirpy tone with some electrifying pumping and thumping beats, 55 seconds and Pritam brings on his regular 'soundtrack opener' Neeraj Shridhar followed by Shefali Alvaris (wonder if ever could hear Shefali without the auto-tuned effect). Aditi Singh Sharma is used well for the English part and the Na Na Na NaNaNaNa. The harmonica piece in the interlude could have been much more innovative, still is arranged well. A.B. is effective with some Desi Punjabi and English lyrics. The music at places though reminds of 'Jhoom Jhoomta Hu Main' (Players) but nevertheless it embarks a perfect thrilling start and should be used for a crucial sequence in the movie.

"I'll Do The Talking (Steal The Night) Remix" is perfect dance material with some useful changes here and there. Loved the ending 'Come Together and Sing Ringa Ringa Ringa Ring'!

Kareen Kapoor in the song 'Dil Mera Muft Ka'

"Dil Mera Muft Ka" certainly is not the usual 'Umrao Jaan' mujra types and is instilled with quite a lot of rock and rolla which certainly needs few hearings to settle down and adjust to the unusual techno arrangements. An attempt to be innovative but lacks the punch as in 'Chikini Chameli' and 'Chammak Challo' and so the shelf life will be restricted and directly proportional to the film's fate at the box office. Nandini Shrikar ('Bhare Naina'-Ra.One) leads the vocals among a gang of credited artists for the backing vocals/chorus (Muazzam, Rizwan, Shadab Faridi, Altamush Faridi, Sabab Sabri). Guest lyricist Neelesh Misra is excellent in the mukhda (with all the pachchttar's and sattattar's) but doesn't meets the expectations in the following antaras. Without a doubt a climax sequence should be picturised on this and may gain some taali's and seeti's from the front runners, still could have been much better. Average stuff and honestly hated the Ni Main Kamli Kamli part!

"Dil Mera Muft Ka Remix" is without all the rock ribbed effect where Malini Avasthi replaces all the artists and works as a good filler. The treatment is different from the original but still nothing extraordinary.

Hamsika Iyer ('Chammak Challo'-Ra.One) and Arijit Singh ('Jhoom Jhoom Ta Hu Main Film Version'-Players) together creates an aura in "Raabta (Siyaah Raatein)" than can't be expressed in words. Beautiful soothing piano starts the proceedings with soft guitar strums and Hamsika manages to make one fall in love instantly in the breathless mukhda and later Arijit Singh (a classical trained artist) with his refined alaap leaves no stone unturned and makes everyone speechless and completely numb. Joi Barua brings on a perfect end to this jaw dropping composition with the English vocals. A.B. at his best with the lyrics and the more said is less for this talented artist. Pritam is the 'King' of love genre and he proves it yet again with three other versions of the song desperately waiting to be heard!

"Raabta (Night In A Motel)" sees Aditi Singh Sharma (a blunder with Hamsika credited instead of Aditi on the covers) replacing Hamsika for the female lead and is top notch. The composition turns more soft and unplugged as Arijit is made to skip the alaap (as in original). Joi Barua part is eradicated. Some change of lyrics would have been appreciated with both ears but still- Brilliant!

A solo by Arijit Singh "Raabta" is intoxicating and best of the four versions (although it depends). After a minute of pure orchestration, Pritam makes Arijit almost does a Ash King (especially at the end) but the young talent makes the song his own with A.B. providing the much required change in the lyrics (mukhda). The extra beats provide the extra zing and ensure that one can't resist playing the song in loop for hours at stretch.

Now the last version "Raabta (Kehte Hai Khuda Ne)" lands in a forte that belongs to the wonderful saccharine filled voice of Shreya Ghoshal and boy, her combination with Arijit blasts dynamite..Boom! Speechless...go hear all the versions and let your mind and heart wander in a world created by Pritam and A.B. Majestic!

Now here comes the addiction "Pungi" where Pritam brings on his hot favourite Mika Singh for the vocals with support from A.B., Nakash and himself. A.B. writes some wacky lyrics that will surely catch attention and if heard carefully, apart from the lyrics, the composition has many arrangements that are funny to the core and brings a smile on the face of the listeners (leave apart the video). Javed Jaffery inputs a short rap after 3.50 where it's impossible to guess what he is trying to say. The composition has in it to be a rage in the coming days if promoted (and used) well!

“Pungi Remix” wasn’t required and offers nothing new.

"Agent Vinod (Theme)" is what everyone has heard since the first teaser of the movie was released; a more of a Bond meets Bourne and some Mission Impossibles! Starts off well, but becomes a tad bit overstretched and repetitive after 2.5 minutes with the never ending horns sound. Definitely would be used for various junctures in the narrative.

To conclude, First of all Thumps up to Pritam for showing immense confidence in the young talented Arijit Singh where any other day and Mohit Chauhan would have bagged at least one version out of four. Agent Vinod is one of the finest works from Pritam (considering 2011) with all the ingredients of 'Hit' material. 'Raabta' will rule the charts for at least a month or two and certainly will find place in playlist of every music lover. An entertaining soundtrack indeed!

I rate it 3.5 out of 5

Edited Version @ Planet-Bollywood