Music Review Catch Up | April-June 2017

It is interesting that out of the seven music albums to catch up in this quarter, three of them are based on parent-child relationship including two with mothers. Two of the other movies are based on other family ties. A lot of you readers might not be aware about some of these movies, hence I have provided IMDb links to plot summary. So without further ado, let's get right into it!

(Songs highlighted in RED are my picks from the each album. You can just listen to these and get the feel of entire album in case you are short on time or feel like you have better things to do in life than listen to music)

(Click on the movie name to listen to the songs on Saavn)

Maatr
Music: Fuzon, Kavita Seth
Plot Summary: IMDb
Zindagi Ae Zindagi is entirely in midscale (lower and upper) which leaves less variation in terms of the emotional feel in the song. The song is too long for my taste (8 minutes)
Aisi Hoti Hai Maa started beautifully with mellow music and Kavita Seth's bass vocal. I would have liked if the entire tone of the song was maintained throughout.
Zindagi Ae Zindagi (Version 1) is exactly the same song but is sung by Khurram Iqbal. I liked this one better
Zindagi Yun Guzar is another beautiful soft song sung by Khurram Iqbal. Though it is a sad song just like rest of the songs in this album, it is not too dark
Zindagi Ae Zindagi (Version 2) is exactly the same song but is sung by Kavita Seth. How much is too much? With each song being 8 minutes each, 3 out of 5 songs is definitely too much for an album.

Sarkar 3
Music: Ravi Shankar, Niladri Kumar, Rohan Vinayak 
Plot Summary: IMDb
Angry Mix is such a disastrous take on the iconic "Govinda Govinda" phrase, I did not even cared to finish it
Ganpati Aarti is sung by Amitabh Bachchan and is exactly what the title says.
Gussa completely burnt my ears. I will need to get a new pair of ears now.
Sam Dham is THE "Govinda' song. However, Kailash Kher's voice does not exhale that kind of power.
Thamba. Damn, there goes my ears again. New pair please.
Shakti just like all the other songs in this album is stuck with the "Govinda" catchphrase. Apart from the  catchphrase, the songs in this album are something I would flush down.
Sarkar Trance *please kill me already*

Hindi Medium
Music: Guru Randhawa, Rajat Nagpal, Intense
Plot Summary: IMDb
Suit Suit is the same chartbuster Suit by Arjun and Guru Randhwa
Hoor is entirely in low notes. One of the not so strong points of Atif Aslam.
Oh Ho Ho Ho (Remix) is the fast paced version of the fast paced Sukhbir chartbuster by same name *nostalgia*
Ek Jindari is sung by Sachin Sanghvi's (of Sachin-Jigar fame) daughter Taniskaa Sanghvi who had won hearts with Laadki (Coke Studio). Songs by child singers are usually quite inspirational. This one falls a bit short on inspiration

Behen Hogi Teri
Music: Kaushik-Akash-Guddu (JAM8), R. D. Burman, Yash Narvekar, Amjad Nadeem, Jaidev Kumar, Tony D'souza, Amul Vikas Mohan, Nitin Upadhyaya 
Plot Summary: IMDb
Jai Maa is a shameless devotional parody of Kala Chashma. Fortunately, Badshah is not rapping in this one
Tera Hoke Rahoon is an averagely churned out Arijit Singh number
Jaanu gives an electronic music twist to one of my favourite old song Jaanu Meri Jaan (Shaan). Reiterating once again, Raftaar is a better rapper than Badshah. I enjoyed his rap in this one.
Teri Yaadon Mein is a confusing song. The lyrics are romantic but the beats are hip hop.
Tenu Na Bol Pawaan is a cute song if you can get past the autotune in the higher notes.
Tenu Na Bol Pawaan (Reprise) made me close my eyes and enjoy the soothing vocals. Better than the original one
Teri Yaadon Mein (Reprise) brings the best out of the song with a duet.

Bank Chor
Music: Kailash Kher, Rochak Kohli, Shamir Tandon, Baba Sehgal, Shrikanth Sriram, Drum The Bass Ltd.
Plot Summary: IMDb
There is nothing extraordinary or worth talking about Hum Hain Bank Chor except for the catchphrase "Bank Chor" which is homophonic with a sister cuss word
Tashreef has a catchy beat with funky Hinglish lyrics. The entire song is just one big euphemism. If you don't know cup songs, then do check out the video of Tashreef - Cup Version.
Bae, Baba aur Bank Chor is one of the other antics by Baba Sehgal in the world of cringe-pop.
Skip these songs: BC Rap Knockout: Mumbai vs Delhi, Jai Baba Bank Chor


Guest Iin London
Music: Raghav Sachar, Amit Mishra 
Plot Summary: IMDb
Frankly Tu Sona Nachdi sounds so outdated. It should have been released a decade ago. Even the video did not interest me.
Dil Mera is another meh! song. Skip it!
Daru Vich Pyaar is sung by It's Magic (Koi Mil Gaya) singer Taz. The magic was unfortunately not recreated with this one.
Guest In London is a modern take to the title song of the original movieAtithi Tum Kab Jaoge. The original itself was not worth listening to. So....
Not sure why Rabba Meray Haal Da Mehram Tu exists. It's a bhajan. Even the original movie had a bhajan.

Mom
Music: A. R. Rahman
Plot Summary: IMDb
O Sona Tere Liye talks about what a child will do for his/her mom. The first half of the song is sung by A. R. Rahman and the second half by Shashaa Tirupati. This song seems like a perfect sequel to Lukka Chuppi (RDB)
A. R. Rahman used crow sound in Patti Rap (hum Se Maqabala) and I did not like that song. He has used it again in Kooke Kawn which is a party number. Using a desi phrases in a party number is like doing dandiya to Blue Eyes (Honey Singh)
Raakh Baakhi is a mysteriously scary electronic song sung by Jonita Gandhi. Watch out for NYC based singer Rianjali's parts. I want to play this song on repeat but scared.
The beginning of Freaking Life sounds like Anaconda (Nikki Minaj). The entire song sounds straight out of High School Musical.
Chal Kahin Door is a long song and its own sweet time to build up and it is amazing. At the end of build up you are greeted with soulful flute.
Muafi Mushkil is another scary song. With this song, the lyrics are not even understandable which makes is more mysterious. The bursts of change in music every now and then brings in confusion.
Be Nazaara is an Indian classical song with the title of the song as the entire lyrics.

So, this quarter I did not miss out on much of good music. Most of the albums in this catchup are pretty average. However, few songs distinctively stood out. So, here is a list of all my favourite songs from the above mentioned movies:
Aisi Hoti Hain Maa (Maatr)
Zindagi Ae Zindagi (Version 1) (Maatr)
Suit Suit (Hindi Medium)
Ek Jindari (Hindi Medium)
Jaanu (Behen Hogi Teri)
Tenu Na Bol Pawaan (Reprise) (Behen Hogi Teri)
Teri Yaadon Mein (Reprise) (Behen Hogi Teri)
Tashreef (Bank Chor)
O Sona Tere Liye (Mom)
Raakh Baakhi (Mom)
Chal Kahin Door (Mom)

That is all I have for this album now. I hope you found this review useful. If you did then feel free to share it. Let me know you favourite song of the album in the comments below. Until then, Ciao...!!

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