Sultan Music Review

Sultan Music Review by Abhishek Sharma tweets @abhu_sharma

The seasoned and supremely talented duo of Vishal-Shekhar have been entrusted with the music direction responsibility of arguably the biggest Hindi movie of 2016 i.e. Yash Raj Films’s ‘Sultan’. Although they have worked before with YRF in many musical hits like ‘Salaam Namaste’, ‘Tashan’, ‘Tara Rum Pum’, ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ and the most recent ‘Fan’; this is going to be their maiden outing with the biggest of them all - Salman Khan.

Now, composing for a movie featuring current biggest star has its own pros as well as cons. Well, if we look at the greener side, the album will have maximum listeners and every song will get more than required attention. We have seen that due to lack of demand, many master compositions in relatively smaller movies go unnoticed. But in a movie like Sultan, each song has the potential to reach out to the widest nook and corner of the country and hence desperate attempt by a singer of the caliber of Arijit Singh to retain his song in the album is completely justifiable.

However, on the flip side, there is an industry of Salman Khan fans who are having exponentially high expectations from the music of Sultan. And God forbid if the songs are not chartbusters, strong waves of criticism will come from all quarters targeting the music directors. So without further ado, let’s review the music album and find out if Vishal-Shekhar have successfully lived up to one of the biggest challenge of their career so far.

Baby Ko Bass Pasand Hai: The album opens with a bang as this highly energetic song boasts of a catchy tune. It bears a resemblance to Khan’s 2015 chartbuster ‘Selfie Lele Re’. Both the songs have powerful vocals by Vishal Dadlani, typical massy lyrics and mediocre Rap by Badshah. Apart from the tagline ‘Baby ko Bass Pasand Hai’ having the signature tune (which is enough for First Day First Show Fans to rejoice), there is nothing special about this song. (3 on 5)

Jag Ghoomeya: Here comes the song for which reportedly Arijit recorded earlier but the album features male version sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and female version by Neha Bhasin. It’s a soulful composition perfectly rendered by Rahat and it’s a treat to have him crooning for Salman after ‘Surili Akhiyon Wale‘, ‘Tere Mast Mast‘, ‘Meri Ada Bhi‘, ‘Teri Meri‘ and ’Dagabaaz Re‘. Female version by Neha Bhasin is kind of unplugged and touches right chords straightaway. Irshad Kamil’s meaningful lyrics deserve a special mention. (4 on 5)

440 Volt: Vishal-Shekhar have nailed the initial catchy tune of this full on peppy and fun number with innovative ‘tapori’ lyrics. Mika sings with passion and his crooning is pleasantly much sober than his usual loud and blasting dance numbers like ‘Dhinka Chika’ or ‘Jumme Ki Raat’. He has given Haryanvi touch to the words and is superbly aided by naughty yet lively beats throughout. (4 on 5)

Sultan: The title track is a high-powered composition and provides an adrenaline rush which leaves the listener gasping for more. Sukhwinder Singh and Shadab Faridi have lent energetic vocals. We have seen classic title songs for sports based movies ‘Chak De India’ and ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ and Sultan’s title track has the potential to join the list. There is another version ‘Rise of Sultan‘ rendered by Shekhar himself. It’s relatively slow but the chorus arrangements succeed to leave an impact. (4 on 5)

Sachi Muchi: Mohit Chauhan and Harshdeep Kaur make their presence felt in ‘Sachi Muchi’ which comes as a pleasant surprise in an album filled with dance numbers, inspirational and melodious songs. The track is like a light hearted conversational track similar on the lines as Mohit’s ‘Chicken’ song for Khan in Bajrangi Bhaijaan. (3 on 5)

Bulleya: Arguably the best song of the album, ‘Bulleya’ is a master sufi composition sung by lead folk singer Angaraag Mahanta popularly known as Papon. Irshad Kamil is in top form with lines like ‘Kuch rishton ka namak hi doori hota, naa milna bhi bohot zaroori hota hai’. It’s a mood uplifting number with bewitching qualities throughout and leaves a long lasting impression on the listener. (4.5 on 5)

Tuk Tuk: First Class! In this one single track itself, Vishal-Shekhar have shown their tremendous range as music composers. It starts off as an engaging traditional folk song with desi Haryanvi chants. Noorani sisters convert this to a full on foot tapping number with their enthusiastic vocals and then enters Vishal Dadlani with his superb rap. Song will be picturized on Anushka and might be used as entry song of her character in the movie. (4 on 5)

Overall, Vishal-Shekhar have managed to bring so much variety in one single album which is commendable. Each composition sounds different from another whether it be a DJ song (Baby), Melody (Jag Ghoomeya), Sufi (Bulleya), Tapori (440 Volts), Folk (Tuk Tuk), Motivational (Sultan) and Fun (Sachi Muchi). The final result is like a delicious Indian ‘Thali’ with all the required dishes.

The movie is super-hot in trade and the theatrical trailer has further raised the bars of expectations. The music album release is like a cherry on the cake. Yash Raj Films have the license to go for the full Monty now. Expect full throttle promotions and master release strategies in the days to come. It’s a foregone conclusion that 2016 EID is going to witness a plethora of box office records.

Music Review By Abhishek Sharma tweets @abhu_sharma