Songs at the end.
Composers Vishal Shekhar use Julius Packiam’s Tiger’s Theme from Ek Tha Tiger – which also appeared in the trailer of Tiger Zinda Hai – as the basis for Swag Se Swagat, the “swag-laden” paean to love and fraternity penned by Irshad Kamil (I am not quite sure what the song’s choreography has to do with the message though). Passable song that is just about makes the cut because of its arrangement along with Vishal Dadlani and Neha Bhasin‘s vocal prowess. And definitely more effective than the second song that has its roots in the Tiger Theme – Zinda Hai that has Sukhwinder Singh and Raftaar doing vocal honours. In Dil Diyan Gallan the composers sort of reprise a combination they employed in their previous Salman Khan project (Sultan) – a folksy track with a main version sung by a (Pakistani) male singer and a female unplugged version sung by Neha Bhasin. Though not as effective as Jag Ghoomeya, Dil Diyan is still a pretty charming tune – in fact the folk aspect is accentuated here as Kamil’s lines are in Punjabi. While Atif Aslam does a neat job of rendering the lead version of the song, like with Jag Ghoomeya, here too it is the unplugged variant that works better.
Singing for Vishal Shekhar after a long gap, Shreya Ghoshal gets the prayer song titled Daata Tu in the soundtrack. The lady treats the poignant melody to a characteristically nuanced and soulful rendition, while a competent chorus supports her with some fine harmonies. The surprise shift in rhythm towards the end too is a nifty touch. The album’s best track goes to the vocal powerhouse Jyoti Nooran – a pulsating sufi fusion piece Tera Noor. Fab singing by Nooran, and groovy arrangement highlighted by the searing guitars and drums.
Tiger Zinda Hai. Vishal Shekhar’s only release for 2017 is a definite improvement over the first instalment of the Tiger series.
Music Aloud Rating: 3/5
Top Recos: Tera Noor, Daata Tu, Dil Diyan Gallan (Unplugged)
This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.
