When a music company (T-Series) and a production house (Maddock Films) that is known to produce films with good music come together for a romantic drama, you definitely have good expectations from the music of the film. ‘Shiddat’, a film that depicts the story of two couples, has a soundtrack put together by multiple composers. Young composer Manan Bhardwaj, who has a couple of hit non-film songs to his credit, makes his debut as film composer. Sachin-Jigar, who are a regular with Dinesh Vijan’s Maddock Films, are credited with two songs. One song is contributed by Gourov Dasgupta.
The album opens with “Shiddat”, the title track written, composed and sung by Manan Bhardwaj. The song has made a good impression when one got to hear a bit of it in the trailer and now, when you hear the song in its entirety, you can be sure about the fact that it is a well-composed rack. There is a rawness in Manan’s voice which works well for this sweeping melody. There is a reprise version of the song in which his pronunciation of “khud” as “kood” does bother one. As a lyricist, he seems to have a better command over the language than his contemporaries like Mithoon and Arko but lines like “tujho sazaa aur adaalat banaa loon” confirm the fact that the song has been written by somebody who needs to polish his skills further.
After recreating several of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s songs in the recent past, T-Series has now presented the late singer-composer’s classic “Akhiyaan Udeek Diyan” in a new avatar. More than anything, it’s Master Saleem’s rendition that makes it a highly engaging track. The way he renders some of the lines takes your breath away and make you wonder why he isn’t better utilized in Bollywood. Manan does well in recreating the song in a soft-rock space. The original lyrics () sound powerful as ever. Some of the new lines written by Manan (“….dil chillaaye!”) stick out as a sore thumb.
“Barbaadiyaan”, the best original track on the album, has been composed by Sachin-Jigar and Priya Saraiya. Bringing a sense of sufi-ness to this club dance number works very well and the line “madhoshiyan hain madhoshiyan….” (with aalaaps being heard in the background), in particular, is very addictive. Three singers (apart from Sachin – Jigar) have been credited for singing the song and it’s Madubanti Bagchi who leaves the maximum impact with her rendition. The arrangements bring out the trance-like, almost hypnotic feel in the song adequately. This is the kind of song that has the potential to be played in clubs and lounges on a loop.
Composer Gourov Dasgupta, lyricist Kunwar Juneja and singer Ankit Tiwari, who had last teamed up for the song “Ishq Namazaa” from ‘The Big Bull’, come together again for “Hum Dum”. The free-flowing tune doesn’t break any new ground but is hummable. Ankit brings out the emotions in the song well. The lyrics (Kunwar Juneja) are good.
“Chitta”, a popular Punjabi folk song that has been used in and recreated several times for films, is re-imagined by Manan Bhardwaj here. Manan Bhardwaj has recreated the song fairly well. The lyrics written by him are average. What he does go overboard with is his awkward/raw singing style. The way in which he pronounces a few words bothers you as a listener. At one point, he pronounces “main” as “mainhh”.
It is rare to see Sachet Tandon and Parampara Thakur team up as singers for a song that has not been composed by them. Here, they sing “Jug Jug Jeeve”, a wedding/celebratory number for Sachin – Jigar. Parampara does better than Sachet as a vocalist. Her voice sounds clean and her rendition is flawless. Sachet, just like Manan, sings awkwardly at times. The tune sounds a little familiar but is engaging nevertheless.
‘Shiddat’ lives up to the kind of expectations one had from its music especially after watching the trailer. It turns out to be one of the best ensemble/multi-composer albums by T-Series in the recent times.