Given the premise of the film, one expects ‘Doctor G’ to be one of the quirkiest films done by Ayushmann Khurrana in the recent past. The film traces the journey of a medical student is coerced into studying gynecology, a department which most male health professionals stay away from. The film has music by Amit Trivedi. The film, interestingly, has been directed by Anubhuti Kashyap whose filmmaker brother Anurag Kashyap was responsible for giving Amit his first break in films with ‘Dev D’ (2009). ‘Aamir’ (2008), which was co-produced by Kashyap, turned out to be Amit’s first release.
Since Amit has a reputation of not following trends and churning out the kind of music that is described as experimental and edgy by many, one feels he was the best choice for a film of this nature. ‘Doctor G’ is the second film produced by Junglee Pictures this year which Amit has scored the music for. Just like ‘Badhaai Do’, Amit shares the credits with a bunch of other composers (Sultan Sulemani and Amjad Nadeem Aamir) on this album.
The album opens with “Har Jagah Tu”, a 90s styled melody composed by Sultan Sulemani and written by Kumaar. While the song is reasonably pleasant, it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. The structure of the composition clearly indicates that Sultan has been hugely influenced by the composer from the ‘90s. The “meri kya ghalti hai” line (the way it has been tuned) reminds one of a particular musical phrase (“….woh kar dikhaaya na”) from the Jatin-Lalit composed ‘Who Jo Kaha Tha Maine’ from ‘Yaara Dildaara’. Raj Barman does a decent job as a vocalist on the track. Palak Muchhal does better in the reprise version of the song.
Designed as a promotional song, the Amjad Nadeem Aamir composed “Dil Dhak Dhak Karta Hai” turns out to be the weakest song on the album. The tune doesn’t make any impact and the lyrics (Amjad Nadeem) are juvenile. Raj Barman gets behind the mic again. Sakshi Holkar is heard towards the final moments of the song and gets to sing just about one line. The song could have been lifted to a certain extent had the vocalists sung it with some energy but that does not happen.
One first heard Ayushmann Khurrana sing when he rendered a Punjabi romantic ballad (“Paani Da Rang”) for his debut feature film ‘Vicky Donor’. For ‘Doctor G’, he sings a Punjabi ditty named “O Sweetie Sweetie”. Amit Trivedi’s engaging tune has a free-flowing structure to it. Raj Shekhar write some simple Punjabi verses to convey the feelings of a young man for his beloved. Ayushmann brings out the innocence in the song effectively to the fore with his expressive rendition.
From this point, Amit and lyricist Puneet Sharma take over the album. The first song credited to the duo is the interestingly titled “Idiot Aashawadi”. “Kehte hain sab beta buddhu hai tu, dekh achcha nahin itna optimism…” Romy opens the song by singing these quirky lines written by Puneet Sharma. Soon, Anand Bhaskar, who sounds like a cross between Amit Trivedi and Mohan Kannan, makes an entry and sings the song with a certain attitude that works very well for it.
By the time “Newton” arrives, you are almost certain that the brief given by the director to Amit and Puneet was to come up with an album full of quirkiness. You get a sense of déjà vu as you listen to this track as both the tune and the arrangements remind you of several other songs in this space by Amit in this space. The song makes for a fun hear but is nothing extraordinary. Casting Altamash Faridi was a brave choice as her hadn’t sung something in this space (“Fake Ishq” from ‘Housefull 3’ was slightly similar though). The decision works very well.
As you listen to “Step Copy”, you are tempted to check the credits and find out whether it has been composed by Meet Bros. The song, after all, is similar to some of the songs composed by the duo (earlier a trio) including “Most Wanted Munda” (‘Ki & Ka’). Puneet, too, writes the kind of lyrics that you would expect a Kumaar to write. Then, you realize Amit is one of the vocalists on the track, so he must have composed it. Keeping comparisons and complaints aside, “Step Copy” is a fairly catchy track that should work very well with visuals.
Musically and lyrically, “Ek Boond” is a complete departure from the kind of songs Amit and Puneet have put together for the album. “Meethe khaare dare thhe nainon se judaa, is ek lamhe mein kuch toh hua, saawan laut ke aaya, ghan aisa barsaaya…” – as Madhubanti Bagchi renders these lines in her rustic voice, you get the feeling that here is a song that is designed to bring some thehraav into the album (and the film). The composition is very nice and the lyrics, too, are good. This song, perhaps, arrives in the film at a time when the narrative takes a positive turn or a triumph is being celebrated.
For ‘Doctor G’, Amit Trivedi composes the kind of quirky songs that complement the theme of the film. Some of his tracks, though, lack originality and reminds one of the songs he has composed in the recent past. There is also a soulful number in the form of “Ek Boond”. Guest composer Sultan Sulemani leaves a mark with “Har Jagah Tu” which seems to be the campaign song for the film.