‘Aap Jaisa Koi’, a romantic drama featuring R. Madhavan and Fatima Sana Shaikh in the lead roles, is scheduled to drop on Netflix this Friday. While the quality of the film will be determined upon its release, one has good expectations from its music. ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’, Vivek Soni’s debut directorial feature, had a terrific album put together by composer Justin Prabhakaran and lyricist Raj Shekhar. The reins of the music of Vivek’s new film, too, have been given to the composer-lyricist duo. Out of the five songs listed on the album, three are credited to Justin and Raj. The remaining two songs (“Jab Tu Sajan” and “Dhuan Dhuan”) have been composed by Rochak Kohli and written by Gurpreet Saini.
The album opens with “Jab Tu Sajan”, a mellifluous number by composer Rochak Kohli and lyricist Gurpreet Saini. The romantic number has a calm and serene vibe to it which implores you to listen to it a couple of times before you move on the next song on the album. This is the kind of song you would want to listen to after a hard day at work. The extremely pleasant melody has been produced very well by Rochak and Sharan Rawat. Mohit Chauhan’s vocals complement the song very well. A special mention must be made of the background vocalists, who remain uncredited here, who sing the very catchy qawalli-like part (“dhuaan dhuaan….”).
As you hear the voice effects produced by Padmaja Sreenivasan in “Mila Tujhe”, you get reminded of the sound that was synonymous with the ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’ album. “Waise zyada nahin hai pehchaan tujhse, lage phir bhi kyun sab hai aasan tujhse…”, the lyrics written by Raj Shekhar encapsulate the feelings of two individuals who meet each other as a part of an arranged marriage meeting and wish they had met earlier. The lyrics, which have a conversational feel to them, are well complemented by the tune composed by Justin Prabhakaran. The coyness of the two character is brought to the fore very effectively by vocalists Vishal Mishra and Prateeksha Srivastava.
The prelude music of “Dhuan Dhuan” indicates towards it being a dark, edgy number. As Sanjith Hegde starts crooning, you realize Rochak and Gurpreet have carved out a new song out of the few lines rendered by background vocalists in “Jab Tu Sajan”. Though the song reminds one of several other songs one has heard in this space, it still makes for an engaging hear. Based on the way the song has been designed, one expects it to arrive at a juncture in the film when the lead characters are going through a tough time in their relationship.
Both Abhay Jodhpurkar and Aanandi Joshi had contributed to the ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’ album as vocalists. While Abhay was one of the vocalists on “Tu Yahin Hai”, Aanandi had sung “Mann Kesar Kesar” with Shashwat Singh and Goldie Sohel. This time around, Justin pairs them up for “Saare Jag Mein”. “Jaan jalati hai, chheel jaati hai teri naaraazgi, zindagi mein bhi, har khushi bhi lagti hai ik kami”, going by the lyrics written by Raj Shekhar, one assumes this song would mark its arrival at a point when the protagonists/one of the protagonists has a realization about the mistake they made. Justin composes a dulcet melody and layers it well with different instruments. Raj Shekhar writes some beautiful lines that stay with you long after you have finished listening to the song. Abhay does an incredible job as a vocalist. Aanandi does well in the limited scope she gets. Watch out for the aalaap she renders towards the end of the song.
“Aankhon ka taara, dil hai humaara, kya hi kahein, kya hi kahein apni Madhu ka”, Raj Shekhar’s verses serve as a clear indication of the fact that “Jaadu Wali Chimki” is a song that talks about the many characteristics of Madhu Bose, the character played by Fatima Sana Shaikh in the film. Raj Shekhar writes some wonderful lines laced with humour that give you a good idea about Madhu and make you chuckle as well. While the song engages you as a listener, it should leave a bigger impression when accompanied with visuals.
The soundtrack of ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’ has a much shorter duration than the ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’. That one, of course, featured some pieces from the background score as well. As far as quality is concerned, it is almost as good. While Justin Prabhakaran and Raj Shekhar create some good songs again, Rochak Kohli and Gurpreet Saini, too, add good value to the album. One hopes Justin does more work in Hindi cinema. It would also be interesting to see the kind of music Vivek Soni manages to extract from Sachin – Jigar in his next film, ‘Chaand Mera Dil’.