Waisa Bhi Hota Hai: Part II is an interesting title for a movie without a prequal! Even more interesting is the concept behind the oddly-named film: a copywriter whose wife is a cop and whose best friend is a gangster. And what’s more interesting than the concept is the cast: Arshad Warsi is the copywriter, Sandhya Mridul (Rani Mukherjee’s "Di" from Saathiya) is the cop, and Prashant Narayan repeats his gangster act from Chhal! TV star Suchitra Pali and the Queen of Special Appearances, Mahima Chaudhary (Saaya, Tere Naam, Baghban in this year alone!), make the rest of the mention-worthy cast. The music and lyrics are the creative products of a host of cooks that, as a whole, spoil the broth of this musical stew that had all the potential to become a definite entertainer.

Pop singer Shibani Kashyap makes her debut as a playback singer in this soundtrack and passes with flying colours! She is given three solos, each of different genres, and she does complete justice to them all. The first is the ever popular Sajna...Aa Bhi Jaa. Her voice has been technically manipulated, giving the song a fresh and welcoming touch. Sadaquat Hussain pens the lyrics which are poetic, but nothing extraordinary. The fusion music by Shibani, herself, tends to get a little busy by the end of the song, harming the overall effect. Nonetheless, this song is worthy of multiple listens.

What was newcomer lyricist Virag thinking when he wrote a song like Prem Dunk? This situational item number has peculiar lyrics, especially the chorus. The faulty lyrics, however, can be overlooked because of the flawless rendition by Shibani (in her original voice, which is so much better), and the foot-tapping music (courtesy of Abhinay Dhar, Shibani Kashyap, and Saibal Basu). Give this one a fair chance!

Tum Bas Tum is the premium example of Shibani’s vocal capabilities, as it is her best song. The seductive quality of her voice gels magnificently with the mysterious and enchanting musical composition by Abhinay Dhar and Saibal Basu. The use of the sitar at intervals is novel, and the change in tempo is a successful experiment! Abhinay Dhar and Virag’s lyrics are infectious– the way they sould be! Sadly, the best song of Waisa Bhi Hota Hai: Part II, is criminally short in duration.

Allah Ke Bande is a lyrical revelation, relative to the rest of the soundtrack. Vishal Dadlani has truly outdone himself. In addition, The music by Vishal - Shekhar is perfect, and different from what one would expect with the given lyrics. However, it is singer Kailash Kher who disappoints. He sounds like a pitiful wannabe of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, thus reducing the originality of the song. Overall, either this song will be loved or rejected whole heartedly. This critic has rejected it.

The downfall begins! That is noticed automatically when one reads the title of the next song: My Name is Gurdeep. To make matters worse, the singer is Bali Bharmabhatt. And to add to the woes of this song, the lyrics (by Abhinay Dhar) are imbecilic rap in English! Moreover, somebody ought to let Mr. Dhar know that bhangara and the electric guitar don’t mix. Do NOT touch this song with a 100-foot pole!

Things start to brighten up with Sunidhi Chauhan’s sole contribution, Jism. Sunidhi is back in form after a long time (after Sur, to be exact). This is one of those rare item numbers with excellent vocal quality. Musically, Vishal-Shekhar should give themselves a pat on the back for this superior song! Special credit must be given to Vishal for writing a song about the need of touching one’s heart, and not just one’s jism! A great song!

Waisa Bhi Hota Hai: Part II ends on one of the sourest notes ever heard! Laundiya is so shockingly stupid, that one wonders what was wrong with Abhinay Dhar and Saibal Basu when this song was being written! And was Rabbi Shergill so desperate for a break in Bollywood that he chose to sing a song of such massive stupidity? A truly awful song!

This soundtrack had the potential to receive a rating like 8 or even a 9, with some touching up. The song failed to reach a 7 rating for reasons like the insipid addition of songs like My Name is Gurdeep and Laundiya. Furthermore, no song is powerful enough to withstand the test of time (the remainder of this year). The lyrics, in general, could have used the talent of Javed Akhtar or Gulzar to be truly great; another reason why it is rated 6.5. Many of the musical experiments of Waisa Bhi Hota Hai: Part II have succeeded, but those that failed were absolutely terrible. Go for it if you wish.