Listen to the songs here. Complete credits at the end.
The sweetness of Dugg Duggi Dugg is quite aptly captured in that cute sounding title itself (penned by Shellee). The melody is very likeable, arrangement quite simple, a combination that is perfect for Vishal Bhardwaj’s style of singing (incidentally his first song for a different composer, fitting that it comes for a person who has produced/arranged a lot of songs for him). Suffice to say that it leaves you with a warm feeling. In a soundtrack that features most of composer Clinton Cerejo’s regular collaborators from his Coke Studio @ MTV stint et al, singer Vijay Prakash is a prominent absentee. He does however get another classical powerhouse from across the border to sing some of the folk/classical flavoured pieces – Javed Bashir. He starts with the frenzied title song that could very well have fit into Clinton’s Coke Studio set. Supported by a fabulous guitar base laid by Clinton and Sachin Mittra (thought I heard something lighter too, like a mandolin or something, but nobody is credited), Javed aces the rendition to nobody’s surprise (shades of revathi/bairagi raga I think). The absence of guitars takes the edge off the song in its shorter unplugged version, but it too has its positives, like Neha Kakkar joining Javed on vocals and Jazim Sharma’s harmonium getting more prominent airtime allowing him to produce some excellent solos. Clinton does a smart rock-based adaptation of a traditional qawwali for Javed Bashir’s other song, Dilaan De Saude, amping up the dark vibes in the composition. Once again the use of guitars is fab (Clinton and Sachin again), especially the electric solos that play companion to the singer’s practised sargams. Hatt Mullah is another of the soundtrack’s wonderfully composed songs, Baba Bulleh Shah’s verse (with some apparent additions by Shellee) neatly interspersed with English phrases penned by Clinton. While Bianca Gomes handles the English parts well, the rough edges in Clinton’s rendition of the classical nuanced traditional verse are the only minor blip in the song. Shorn off all the trippy arrangement, the reprise version – also sung by the pair – does not come off as effective.
The only track in Jugni not composed by Clinton Cerejo involves A R Rahman, who produces a track originally written and composed by Kaashif Sahib (who also penned ARR’s Khwaja Mere Khwaja from Jodhaa Akbar). A fairly regular composition as far as prayer songs go, but the arrangement features some nice clarinet (oboe?) duduk (thanks to Ajit Mundra for this info) and flute. With the lounge-ish arrangement kept at a minimal level for a large part, Bolladiyaan is Rekha Bhardwaj’s game and she excels at it. Zarre Zarre Mein Noor Bhara has Rahat Fateh Ali Khan producing an energetic and finely nuanced performance, but the repetitive nature of the filmy qawwali style arrangement bogs the song down considerably. Dil Ke Sang too is dominated by a familiar sound, but the wacky rhymes and Nakash Aziz’s energy make it marginally more engaging. Nakash’s second track is a short, melancholic rendition of Waris Shah’s Heer, a pretty functional track. Neha Kakkar takes the lead on the fun piece called Joban Hai Shawa that makes for an engaging listen mostly owing to the singing, as a composition it rates among the weaker songs of the album.
Even considering the couple of tracks that don’t work so well, Jugni has enough quality music in it to make this a Clinton Cerejo‘s long overdue solo debut a brilliant one!
Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10
Top Recos: Dugg Duggi Dugg, Hatt Mullah, Jugni, Bolladiyaan
Music Credits
- Jugni : Javed Bashir 5:45
Lyrics : Shellee
Music : Clinton Cerejo
- Dugg Duggi Dugg : Vishal Bhardwaj 3:34
Lyrics : Shellee
Music : Clinton Cerejo
- Hatt Mullah : Bianca Gomes & Clinton Cerejo 4:55
Lyrics : Traditional (Baba Bulleh Shah), Shellee, Clinton Cerejo (English)
Music: Clinton Cerejo
- Bolladiyaan : Rekha Bhardwaj 4:07
Lyrics : Shellee
Music : Clinton Cerejo
- Dil Ke Sang : Nakash Aziz 3:47
Lyrics : Shellee
Music : Clinton Cerejo
- Zarre Zarre Main Noor Bhara : Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Jazim Sharma 7:02
Lyrics : Shellee
Music : Clinton Cerejo
- Dilaan De Saudey : Javed Bashir 4:30
(Lyrics: Traditional Folk)
Music : Clinton Cerejo
- Joban Hai Shawaa : Neha Kakkar 3:12
Lyrics : Shellee
Music : Clinton Cerejo
- Lakhon Salaam : AR Rahman 5:32
Music and Lyrics: Kaashif Sahib
Produced by : A R Rahman
Mixed by Nitesh and Suresh Perumal
- Heer : Nakash Aziz 1:37
(lyrics: Waris Shah)
Music : Clinton Cerejo
- Jugni Unplugged : Neha Kakkar & Javed Bashir 2:59
Lyrics : Shellee
Music : Clinton Cerejo
- Hatt Mullah Reprise : Bianca Gomes & Clinton Cerejo 2:09
Lyrics : Traditional (Baba Bulleh Shah), Clinton Cerejo (English)
Music : Clinton Cerejo
Mastered By : Pete Maher
Produced By: Clinton Cerejo
Additional Programming & Production : Sachin Mittra (1,3,5,6,7,8), Simaab Sen (6,11)
Mixed By : Devang Rachh (1,2,), Clinton Cerejo(3,6,), Chinmay Harshe(3,8), Abhishek Ghatak(4,5,), Sachin Mittra (6,7,10,11,12)
Recorded By : Hemant Baral (1,2,3,5,6,7,8,10,11,12), Tanmay Bhatt(2), Clinton Cerejo(4), Chinmay Harshe(6), Adnan Gill(7), Simaab Sen(11)
Guitars : Clinton Cerejo(1,2,3,5,7,8), Sachin Mittra (1,5,7,8)
Bass : Rushad Mistry (3)
Drums : Willy Demoz (3)
Dholak : Sanjiv Sen (11), Raju Sardar (6), Hafeez Khan (6), Navin Sharma (6), Sharafat Khan (6), Manoj Bhatti (6), Surinder (6)
Tabla : Sanjiv Sen (6), Yusuf Mohammed (6)
Harmonium : Jazim Sharma (6,11)
Backing Vocals : Clinton Cerejo(6), Simaab Sen(6), Shefali Bhushan(8), Archana Natarajan(8), Roshnee Shah(8)
Rhythm Section Arrangements by : Sanjiv Sen (6)
