Songs at the end of the review (link via @soundtrackindia)
The most interesting part of Dum Ghut-ta Hai happens during the second interlude – a guitar playing Indian classical phrases to a ghatam backing – everything else about the song is rather daunting, even with Rekha Bhardwaj and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan on vocals. In fact the presence of the latter might have been a contributing factor to the tedium (took me back at times to Jag Soona Soona, which incidentally was my least favourite song from OSO). Kab Kahaan Se has a dark, contrived sound that comes off as unsettling, and not the way it was possibly intended. Even KK’s singing sits rather uncomfortably atop the convoluted soundscape.
What makes Drishyam’s soundtrack worthwhile is the other half. Had read an article the other day (shared by @p1j) that in Carbon Copy director Nishikant Kamat wanted from Vishal Bhardwaj-Gulzar something along the lines of Ae Zindagi Gale Lagaa Le. Good choice of a yardstick, if you were to compare the visuals of the two song sequences. And VB delivers beautifully with a breezy guitar-laden arrangement engulfing a thoroughly endearing tune set to Gulzar’s lines that still carry the sheen as they did 32 years back. Ash King is splendid on vocals, with his trademark Westernised improvs et al; just for trivia sake it would have been fun had this one too been sung by Suresh Wadkar! Kya Pataa starts off sounding fairly regular, Arijit Singh crooning his heart out on a soulful melody. Things take an awesome turn a minute into the song where the bass section kicks in and the song acquires a jazz flavour, while the lyrics reveal themselves to be a variant of Kab Kahaan Se.
Drishyam soundtrack has two songs too many, compared to its Malayalam and Tamil counterparts. Not that makes much of a difference, I will be revisiting just the two songs!
Music Aloud Rating: 7/10
Top Recos: Carbon Copy, Kya Pataa
