When it’s an action film starring Salman Khan, you expect vibrant and catchy songs that would befit the star’s persona and do justice to the scale at which the songs will be shot in the multi-crore budgeted film. ‘Radhe Your Most Wanted Bhai’, the new Salman Khan film that has been directed by Prabhu Dheva, has four songs and three music directors. While Devi Sri Prasad and Himesh Reshammiya have a song each, Sajid-Wajid have done two songs.
Devi Sri Prasad recreates his super-hit song “Seeti Maar” from the Telugu film ‘DJ – Duvvada Jagannadham’ and the result is quite underwhelming. A lot of interesting things DSP had sone, in terms of arrangements, with the original song are missing here. A big problem here is that singers Kamaal Khan and Iulia Vantur fail to bring even an iota of the spun which Jaspreet Jasz and Rita lent to the original song.
Kamaal Khan was never an extraordinary singer but it was his unconventional voice that helped him stand out and made him a sensation with the chartbuster “O O Jaane Jaana” (‘Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya’), a recreated version of his own pop song from a private album. His voice sounds quite different from the time he sung those peppy numbers for Salman Khan and occasionally for other actors like Hrithik Roshan (). While Kamaal’s voice lacks punch, Iulia sounds awkward. Shabbir Ahmed’s street-smart verses are strictly functional.
The opening notes of “Dil De Diya”, which are in the mould of a traditional Hindi film song, catch your attention immediately. However, as the song progresses further, you realize Himesh Reshammiya tried to make up for his lack of imagination with ‘inspiration’. Himesh’s tune is an amalgamation of bits and pieces of several popular Hindi songs. His most prominent inspiration behind this song seems to be the Rajesh Roshan composed “Pardesiya” (xxxxx). The song does grow on you with time but the absolute lack of novelty is disturbing. Payal Dev goes overboard with trying to lend an ‘oomphness’ to the song. Kamaal is just about decent. Shabbir Ahmed’s lyrics are simple and catchy.
Ten seconds into “Radhe Title Track” and you know it is a Sajid-Wajid number. The song boasts of the kind of boisterous energy that one associates with the composer duo, especially with the songs they make for Salman Khan. The song has an interesting groove and catchy beats courtesy Aditya Dev who has arranged/programmed it. However, the tune falls flat. So does the singing and lyrics by Sajid.
The late Wajid Khan had lent his voice to many of the songs composed by him and brother Sajid. He had a good voice and barring a few occasions (“Mukhtasar” – ‘Teri Meri Kahaani’) his voice suited the songs he sung well. In first outing as a solo singer, Sajid doesn’t really leave a good impression. He does not seem to have a flair for writing. He also seems to be inspired by some of the songs composed by Meet Bros () here. The song is an absolute mess and might just make a feeble impression if it is accompanied by strong visuals.
The other song credited to Sajid-Wajid is “Zoom Zoom”, penned by Kunaal Vermaa. This one turns out to be worse than the title track. With a tune that tries to be too cool, the song just falls flat on its face. Sajid does not write the lyrics this time around but the one who does (Kunaal Vermaa) does not do it well either. Ash King tries to salvage this noisy number with his rendition but nothing really works here. Iulia, who gets more scope here than “Seeti Maar”, struggles with the Hindi lines given to her to sing.
Devi Sri Prasad’s “Seeti Maar” doesn’t match up to the original and Himesh just about manages to keep you engaged with his sole contribution to the album. The two songs by Sajid-Wajid are absolute duds. ‘Radhe The Most Wanted Bhai’ deserved a soundtrack that would leave you ‘wanting’ for more. What you get here is a largely uninspiring and forgettable album.