When the music of ‘Stree’ released in 2018, most of the songs from the Sachin-Jigar composed album ended up becoming popular. With ‘Stree 2’, the sequel of the film arriving six years later, one has good expectations from its soundtrack as well. Interestingly, just like ‘Stree’, the album of ‘Stree 2’, too, features four original tracks. Vayu wrote the songs for ‘Stree’, with one song (‘Aao Kabhi Haveli Pe’) being penned by Jigar Saraiya and Badshah. All the songs of ‘Stree 2’ have been written by Amitabh Bhattacharya. The lyricist first collaborated with Sachin-Jigar on a couple of songs on ‘Happy Ending’ (2014) . In the last few years, one has seen Amitabh and Sachin – Jigar collaborating quite frequently for films produced by Maddock Films. Since the team has worked very well recently on films like ‘Bhediya’ (2022) and ‘Zara Hatke Zara Bachke’ (2023), one expects them to do a good job on the soundtrack of ‘Stree 2’ as well.
The album opens with “Aaj Ki Raat”, sung by Madhubanti Bagchi who has collaborated with Sachin-Jigar on a bunch of songs in the past. While “Aaj Ki Raat” can be broadly classified as a techno ghazal, Sachin-Jigar bring in a variety of influencers here. There is a qawalli portion which fits in quite well in the song. The tune is simple, catchy and strikes a chord with one instantly. “Waqt barbaad na bin baat ki baaton mein kijiye, aaj ki raat mazaa husn ka aankhon se lijiye”, the verses written by Amitabh add a lot of weight to the song. Madhubanti, who has excelled in several semi-classical and traditional numbers in the past, does a brilliant job as a vocalist yet again.
Up next is “Khoobsurat”, a breezy melody sung with a lot of tenderness by Vishal Mishra. The warmth in this romantic number engulfs you as a listener as soon as you hear the opening lines rendered by Vishal. Though the song is in a very different space from “Aaj Ki Raat”, it also has qawwali-like parts in it. These portions, of course, are designed very differently and do not come across as oddities. Amitabh writes several heart-warming lines including “dhoop bhi tere roop ke sone pe qurbaan hui hai, teri rangat pe khud holi ki rut hairaan hui”.
The third song on the album is the kind that can be described as ‘viral-material’. “Aayi Nai” is the kind of song one expects reels and memes to be made on. Even if we set aside the ‘virality’ of the track and how well it can trend on social media, one must acknowledge the fact that it is a fun, irreverent and smartly packaged track that brings a smile to your face. The three vocalists, Pawan Singh, Simran Choudhary and Divya Kumar, play an important role in making this a fun track.
“Phir se milne ki jahan mein…”, these lines rendered by Varun Jain mark the arrival of “Tumhare Hi Rahenge Hum”. Sachin-Jigar put together a layered composition the beauty of which you discover with repeated hearings. It is the most emotionally intense song on the album. The emotions in the song are brought to the fore beautifully by Varun and Shilpa Rao. Going by the lyrics, one expects this song to arrive at an important juncture in the film. Interestingly, this is the third song on the album which features a qawalli portion. One wonders if it was a conscious decision on the composer duo’s part to have this common thread running through the album.
Sachin-Jigar had created a very popular album for ‘Stree’. This time, they do an even better job. Just like ‘Stree’, the ‘Stree 2’ album has four songs. This one, however, has the potential to become much more popular than the former. Sachin-Jigar deliver yet another winner of a soundtrack for Maddock Films.