There are several films, directed by Anil Sharma, which have had some good songs to boast of. Though his last film ‘Singh Saab The Great’ did not really have a great soundtrack, the film which he directed prior to that (‘Veer’, 2010) had one of the best albums by Sajid-Wajid. With ‘Genius’ serving as the launch pad for his son Utkarsh, one expects him to give good attention to the music of the film; after all music has played a big role in the success of the films featuring newcomers.
The album opens with a song called “Tera Fitoor” which is steeped in old school melody. The song sounds faintly similar to “Tera Chehra” (‘Sanam Teri Kasam’) which, incidentally, had the same composer-singer (Himesh Reshammiya-Arijit Singh) team. Everything about the song sounds pleasant, except for one crucial thing – orchestral arrangements. It is high time Himesh Reshammiya attunes himself with the current sound and gets an arranger who can help him understand the same.
“Dil Meri Na Sune” has a relatively better orchestral structure than “Tera Fitoor” but as a tune, it sounds far more melodious and catchy than “Tera Fitoor”, which was a good composition itself. Manoj Muntashir writes some heart-warming lines that bring out the feelings of a lovelorn very well. Atif Aslam’s voice, which is just apt for the song, warms up the cockles of your heart. This can be easily counted amongst the best compositions of Himesh Reshammiya in the recent past.
A dated sound plays spoilsport in an otherwise engaging track. Himesh’s seemingly unusual choice of Jubin Nautiyal as the vocalist does wonders for “Holi Biraj Ma” as his youthful voice blends in well with the traditional tenor of the song. Manoj Muntashir’s lyrics are one of the highlights of the song. Just like the first two songs, this one, too, registers an impact almost instantly but suffers from dated orchestral arrangements.
There was a time when Himesh Reshammiya would end up singing most of his compositions. Now, he lends his voice only to a handful of songs. For “Tujhse Kahan Judaa Hoon Main”, he teams up with Vineet Singh and Neeti Mohan, whom he had collaborated with on several occasions, and the result is a song that seems to be straight from the 90s. The composition is just about average and the song fails to make a lasting impression.
Himesh obliges his one-time mentor Salman Khan by getting Iulia Vantur, who seems very uncomfortable with speaking Hindi, to sing “Pyar De Pyar Le”. Joining her is the otherwise competent Dev Negi who sings in a weird accent. There is also a lame rap portion by Ikka. To be fair, the tune is alright but there are too many factors, including a dated sound, that work against the song.
After listening to the soundtrack of ‘Genius’, one thing is very clear. Himesh Reshammiya is in dire need of a good arranger who can give his compositions the sound that is in sync with the current times. The album has three outright winners in the form of “Tera Fitoor”, Dil Meri Na Sune” and “Holi Biraj Ma”. The rest of the songs are just about alright.