Mixed bag!. Review on Besharam Songs

Ranbir Kapoor is on a roll, especially after the super success of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and he returns on the big screen for his last outing of the year, Besharam. The director in charge of this project is Abhinav Kashyap, the Dabanng man. The promos suggest an out and out massy affair, which is quite a big departure from the kind of films Ranbir has chosen until now. To everyone's surprise, the composer at the helm of affairs for this movie is Lalit Pandit. Jatin-Lalit were a very popular duo and it remains to be seen how Lalit can manage alone, though he gave a big chart buster in "Munni Badnaam".So, lets check out what the soundtrack has to offer.

The first song in the album is the title track "Besharam" jointly composed by Lalit, Ishq Bector and Shree D. With a strong club feel throughout, this song is ably handled by Ishq Bector and is a good song to begin the proceedings. There is a slight hint of "Dilliwaali Girlfriend" of YJHD in the middle portions  and the lyrics of Himanshu Mehra are pretty functional. Though one expected a more dhamakedar song, this one is good enough for Ranbir to show off his dancing skills, which would take the song a notch higher on screen.

My Rating:3/5.

Next song is the item number "Tere Mohalle" sung by the item song specialist Mamta Sharma supported by Aishwarya Nigam. There is nothing new in the song and it's just a part-2 of Munni Badnaam and Fevicol as the music and the singing seem like a continuation of those hugely popular numbers. The lyrics by Nikhat Khan are pretty mundane and the singing, though effective is repetitive because of the jaded tune.

My Rating:2/5

Next up is "Love Ki Ghanti" sung by Sujeeth Shetty, Amitosh Nagpal and Ranbir Kapoor. A purely situational song which has been confidently handled by the singers, this one will depend on the picturisation on screen which would decide the ground it can cover ultimately. Ranbir belts out some lines with his usual exuberance and one can assume that it is going to be a fun affair on screen.

My Rating:2/5

Surprise surprise!Abhijeet returns after a long hiatus to sing "Dil ka jo haal hai". The once leading singer returns with his sugary voice intact and it's nice to hear him again after a long time.Shreya Ghoshal lends him able support. The background reminds one of the 90's, but a part of the song is totally inspired by the signature tune of the hit song "Tera Mera Rishta" of Emraan Hasmi's 2007 film Awarapan.But, this song never comes close to the brilliance of Tera mera rishta. One just wishes that the arrangements were a bit more contemporary.Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable song.

My Rating:3/5

Next up is the best song of the album "Tu hai" rendered brilliantly by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal. With imaginative lyrics by Nikhat Khan, Jatin is the zone in this song and creates a wonderful love ballad.Shreya is at her usual best and does a fine job, but it is Sonu Nigam who takes away the cake with a flawless performance behind the mike.It's his arrival which takes this song to bigger heights, especially his high pitched crooning of "Maahi ve" which is incredible.One just wishes that he sings more often in Hindi as people would love to hear more from this gifted singer.

My rating:4/5

The next song is "Aa re aa re" sung by Mika and Shreya Ghoshal. A full on masti song penned by Rajeev Barnwal, this one is indeed enjoyable. Shreya Ghoshal walks away with the honours with a high energy tapori rendition and overshadows the king of such numbers, Mika.It must be said that Mika is getting slotted to a particular genre and it's time he breaks away from it and does something different, which would do him a world of good. Overall, an entertaining song.

My rating:3/5

Daler Mehndi, Mika and Sunidhi Chauhan come behind the mike for "Chal Hand Uthake nachche". This one is another massy affair and it's a big surprise to hear so many of such songs in a Ranbir Kapoor movie! There is nothing noteworthy in this song and it is just like a space-filler. The singing and the music are ordinary and the lyrics by Kumaar are ignorable. Mika pretty much sleepwalks through the song and Sunidhi sounds shrill and Daler Mehndi seems disinterested. A below average song in the end.

My rating:1.5/5

"Tu hai" makes one more appearance in the form of an unplugged version and though Shreya Ghoshal has been credited as the singer, it is not her and it's a huge dis-service to the singer for not including her name in the credits. Everything remains the same apart from the background instrumentation here and it's a good effort.

There are 4 remixes in the end of the title song, Tere Mohalle, Love ki Ghanti and Aa re which are passable. The remixes have been done in a hurry and are just more fast paced versions of the originals and bring nothing new to the table.

One expected a massy, entertaining album and that is what one gets in the end. But it needs to be said that this album could have much better than this.Tu hai stands out from the rest and is the pick of the lot. Dil ka jo haal hai, the title song and Aa re are good inclusions in the album while the rest range from below average to average and would depend heavily on the promotions and picturisation.

Overall Rating: 2.5