Listen to the soundtrack here (link courtesy @iPeeKay
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Jis Jagah Pe Khatam is basically an announcement that this soundtrack comes from the same team that gave you Race, such is the memory it evokes of its title track. But the arrangement, and the singing by Neeraj Shridhar, Mauli Dave and Siddharth Basrur, does pack enough punch to make the song engaging despite that factor. The remix is run of the mill. Pritam’s East European-styled retro arrangement (how I love the use of accordion in this genre!) and Ritu Pathak’s flawless rendition form a potent combo, and Kyun Dooriyan (Jhoom Jhoom) is an instant winner! In fact the allure of the tune works even for the two alternate techno versions by Siddharth Basrur and Arijit Singh respectively, taking on a yesteryear disco flavor in places.
Ho Gayi Tun has interesting factors, but the overall noise factor and the tedium of the heard before-ness outweighs all the nice things. Particularly noteworthy among the good things is the rendition by Yashita Yashpal which is sadly disfigured by the processing. Similar fate awaits Buddhi Do Bhagwaan, except in this case the vocals also fall among the bad things, Abhishek Bachchan being the man involved. His conversational style has started getting quite monotonous over time. And after the testing stint with Rahman in Rockstar, Mohit Chauhan gets back to his bread-and-butter zone, delivering another Pritam-mark breezy romantic melody with Shreya Ghoshal, Dil Ye Bekarar Kyun Hai. Lovely listen, as usual. Equally alluring is the Reprise version where the composer makes some well-imagined changes, especially mention-worthy being the sax solo in the second interlude. Nikhil D’Souza and Priyani Vani match up quite commendably with the originals. And yes this too has a third version, a redundant remix of version 1. I have lost count of the number of three-version tracks that Pritam soundtracks have featured. Numerology, eh?
After a disappointing show in Desi Boyz, Players is fail-safe material from Pritam where the composer treads familiar paths and ends up producing a desirable result.
Music Aloud Rating – 6.5/10
Top Recos – Dil Ye Bekarar Kyun Hai, Jhoom Jhoom, Jis Jagah Pe Khatam
