Phata Poster Nikla Hero – Music Review (Bollywood Soundtrack)

You can listen to the soundtrack here.

Mika Singh is at his exuberant best rendering Irshad Kamil’s wacky lyrics in Tu Mere Agal Bagal Hai even as Pritam provides a happy arrangement to go with them, ruled by the ukulele and accordion in the first half and horns in the latter. The mild déjà vu does little to mar the immense likeability of Main Rang Sharbaton Ka where the composer makes some splendid use of guitars as he generally does with melodies. Atif Aslam and Chinmayi do an equally commendable job on their part, with some super support from the chorus. It is really heartening to see Chinmayi singing for more and more composers in Bollywood; she definitely deserves to be heard more. It is the reprise version that doesn’t work as much, Arijit Singh sounds oddly off-putting in this one. Hey Mr. DJ has some pleasantly surprising elements in its arrangement for a dance track – like that accordion and the banjo (suddenly banjo seems to have become hot property in Bollywood). The song however is otherwise largely reminiscent of 90s dance music and stops being fun after a while; despite the sprightly singing by Benny Dayal, Shefali Alvares and Shalmali Kholgade.

There are times when I think I have had enough of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan singing melodic songs with his now-predictable improvisations. And then there are songs that make me hold that thought. Mere Bina Tu is one such – the man doing a fabulous rendition over Pritam’s flowing arrangements. The duet version works even better, with a contrast in the form of Harshdeep Kaur’s husky voice and some neat tweaks on the arrangement like the understated chorus. But for that tabla-based twist in the second interlude, Dhating Naach follows a kuthu template and is as entertaining as such songs get. Neha Kakkar and Nakash Aziz live upto the energy levels of the arrangement behind the mic. Best of the soundtrack is the pensive Janam Janam eulogizing the mother that comes in three versions. The main version has Atif Aslam crooning away amidst some lovely strings. Atif returns in the much shorter Sad version to do yet another soulful rendition. But top version is the Reprise sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, partly because of the arrangement taking on a more suitable manner with its combination of keys and strings, and partly for Sunidhi’s brilliant delivery.

I seriously didn’t expect this after seeing the movie’s trailer, but Phata Poster Nikla Hero is Pritam’s best work this year!

Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10

Top Recos: Janam Janam, Mere Bina Tu, Tu Mere Agal Bagal Hai