English Vinglish – Music Review

You can listen to the soundtrack here (thanks to @deepakao for the link)

The first time I heard the title song in the teasers I had felt that the only things going for the song are Swanand Kirkire’s playful lyrics and Shilpa Rao’s rendition. But overall listen has given me more reasons to like it. Like Amit Trivedi’s smart bluegrass-y employment of strings (both interludes are lovely), and the chorus, that help sufficiently offset the EMAET hangover that the song carries about it. The male version sung by Amit doesn’t work as much, mainly because those cute-sounding lines are not exactly fit for male rendition. Manhattan comes with a stronger EMAET feel; in fact that flute (synth-generated?) hook is quite evocative of a similar hook in the EMAET title song. And in this case the lyrics or the vocals don’t quite help mitigate that déjà vu. Good energetic effort on the singing though, Clinton Cerejo and the lady Clinton introduced through Coke Studio, Bianca Gomes.

Navrai Majhi is another song to add to the steadily increasing Marathi-flavored/worded songs in Bollywood. @mpmainka tells me this seems to be a modern take on the mangalashtaka songs sung at Marathi weddings. Interestingly done, with a plucky folk-based arrangement and a matchingly lively singing by Sunidhi Chauhan, Swanand Kirkire and his mom Neelambari Kirkire. That mimicry by Sunidhi in between is neat! (Turns out that was Natalie D’Luccio, my bad. Thanks to @mpmainka for pointing out. Amit seems really fascinated by Natalie’s accented Indian diction, he is employing that for the second time now). The cream of the soundtrack are the remaining two songs though – Dhak Dhuk, a sedate folksy (confused whether it is Bengali or Gujarati) melody that the composer himself croons, to a matchingly mellow orchestration highlighted by the flute and that stringed instrument (mandolin?). And Gustakh Dil, the sublime rock-flavored track which the composer totally nails as is his wont with the genre (that opening cello portion is killer!), even as Shilpa Rao holds up her part beautifully.

Not in the same league as Ishaqzaade or his Coke Studio episode, but a neat score from Amit Trivedi, led from the front by Gustakh Dil and Dhak Dhuk.

Music Aloud Rating: 7/10

Top Recos: Gustakh Dil, Dhak Dhuk, Title song (female)