Though the Tamil language film ‘Kolamaavu Kokila’ didn’t have much scope for music, Anirudh Ravichander managed to put together a very engaging album for the film. While the original film had six tracks, its Hindi remake, which has been titled ‘Good Luck Jerry’,features five original tracks plus an alternate version of one of the songs. The album for the Hindi version has put together by composer Parag Chhabra and lyricist Raj Shekhar. Apart from composing some interesting tunes for the Hindi feature film ‘Waah Zindagi’, Parag has scored the music for a bunch of digital shows and documentaries. Raj Shekhar is known for his work in films like ‘Tanu Weds Manu’. ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’, ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’, ‘Saand Ki Aankh’ and ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’, among others.
Though the film is set in Bihar, the album opens with a song that has traces of Haryanvi language in it. “Mor Mor” is a quirky song that benefits greatly from the spirited rendition by Deedar Kaur. Gurlej Akhtar and Vivek Hariharan, the other vocalists on the track, lend adequate support. The many vibrant elements in Parag Chhabra’s composition and the upbeat rhythm of the song help you stay invested in it as a listener and you keenly look forward to what else the album has to offer.
“Paracetamol”, the name of a commonly used medicine that serves as a cure for fever, is the title of the second song on the album. Parag Chhabra uses Jubin Nautiyal’s voice interestingly and gets him to sing the softer portions of the song. The composer comes behind the mic himself to render the hook-line in a suitably boisterous manner. The quirky lyrics written by Raj Shekhar contribute greatly towards elevating the joie de vivre quotient in the song. A qawalli portion is introduced at the 2:43 mark and it makes the song more colourful.
“Ek wahi hai andar, wahi hai andar, sabhi nichaavar uspe hai, wahi hai qatra, wahi samandar, sabhi qalandar hain uske hi….”, the lines written by Raj Shekhar for “Jogan” indicates that it might arrive at a point when Jaya Kumari aka Jerry (Jahnvi Kapoor) decides to muster all her courage and strength to battle the odds she is facing. The lyrically-strong song is layered with a good composition, though it sounds monotonous after a point. The monotony breaks to an extent when Rupali Jagga renders some high-pitched lines steeped in melancholy.
Even those who don’t hail from Bihar would have heard the phrase “Jhand Ba” owing to the frequency with which it has been used in popular culture. Madhubanti Bagchi doing a comical take on the blue-sy Hindi songs from the ‘40s and the presence of some scratch-like effects denoting the song being played on an old radio or a vinyl player gives one a fair idea of what to expect from it. Though the song has partly been designed as a parody, Parag Chhabra doffs his hat to the kind of compositions Naushad came up for KL Saigal back in the day. The ‘sad’ version of the track lasts for just about 1 minute and 36 seconds and stands out for its minimalistic sounds.
“Cutie Cutie”, the title of the fifth track on the album, makes one look forward to yet another quirky song. It is a very well-produced track that is sung nicely by Nakash Aziz. Watch out for the sarangi rendition by Dilshad Khan which starts at the 0:59 mark. The old world charm in the song should appeal to some listeners. The song is far from being an earworm but should make an impression with the visuals.
The one thing you notice after listening to the ‘Good Luck Jerry’ album is that each and every track on the album has been produced very well. Through this soundtrack, Parag Chhabra makes it clear that he is not a composer who is afraid to take risks or try out different kinds of sounds. Though the songs in the album are not of the chartbuster variety, they catch your attention as a listener and grow on you as you listen to them a couple of times.