Sanju – Music Review

Rajkumar Hirani’s films have never been known for their music. Though a couple of songs from each of his films are popular owing the massive success of those films, they are not the kind of songs one would speak highly of as standalone audio tracks. After working with Anu Malik in his first film ‘Munnabhai MBBS’, he collaborated with Shantanu Moitra on three films (‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’, ‘3 Idiots’ and ‘PK’). ‘PK’ also had a song each by Ankit Tiwari and Ajay-Atul. For ‘Sanju’, he ropes in Marathi film composers Rohan-Rohan and Vikram Montrose along with A R Rahman. Each composer chips in with two songs in this six album soundtrack.

“Main Badhiya Tu Badhiya” is a parody on the kind of songs made in the 40s when K.L Saigal was ruling the roost. Apart from being exceptionally talented singers, Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi Chauhan are also known for their mimicry skills. So, getting them on board for this song was a good decision indeed. The tune, composed by Rohan-Rohan is fairly tuneful and the lyrics (Puneet Sharma) are functional. It is a fun track that makes a good impression visually.

“Kar Har Maidan Fateh” is the track, bits of which one had heard in the trailer. Vikram Montrose puts together a song which is mildly rousing and inspiring but is not the kind you would like to play on a loop. Shekhar Astitwa’s lyrics are quite good and help in giving the song a bit of a push. Sukhwinder Singh sings very well and Shreya Ghoshal modulates her voice appropriately to sound a little more mature as she is lending her voice to Nargis (Shreya Ghoshal).

A R Rahman’s “Ruby Ruby” starts off with an immensely catchy electric guitar piece that plays on a loop. The song aims to give the viewers a glimpse of Sanju’s (Ranbir Kapoor) state of mind after he consumes drugs and starts hallucinating. The track is layered with a well-designed sound but the tune reminds one of several songs composed by Rahman in the past and barely offers any novelty. Irshad Kamil writes some simple yet catchy verses for this one.

“Baba Bolta Hain Bas Ho Gaya” is the much talked about end-credit song featuring the real life and the reel life Dutt – Sanjay Dutt and Ranbir Kapoor. The song takes a dig at media and talks about how it played a vital role in tarnishing the controversial actor’s image. Though it is interesting to see the two actors’ energies play out on the screen, this Vikram Montrose composed track offers little as an audio track. The concept of the song is quite interesting but even the lyrics (Puneet Sharma, Abhijat Joshi and Rohan Gokhale) fail to bring any cheers.

The sound of saxophone and trumpets mark the arrival of this song which is titled “Bhopu Baj Raha Hain”. Nakash Aziz’s spirited rendition is the only thing that stays with you after you are done listening to the song. Neither the composition (Rohan-Rohan) nor the lyrics manage to leave any sort of impression. This is clearly the weakest track on the album.

Rahman’s other track “Mujhe Chand Pe Le Chalo” has a hypnotic sound like that of “Ruby Ruby” but this song is much better than the latter. The jazz-like structure, the arrangements coming together to deliver a hypnotic effect, Nikita Gandhi’s sultry voice – all come together to deliver a song that has a calming effect on one’s senses. This is, perhaps, the only track on the album one would like to play on a loop. Irshad Kamil’s lyrics, too, hit the right notes.

Rajkumar Hirani’s films continue to disappoint with their music. One wonders whether Vidhu Vinod Chopra intervenes in the music making process as the film he has directed have always had good music. It is high time Hirani starts introspecting and try to up the quality of music in his films.