Songs and musician credits at the end.
This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.
Like they have done many times in the past, composers Vishal Shekhar get to repackage another song of their idol R D Burman, the iconic Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani from the 1972 film Jawani Diwani. While the high point of this version still ends up being the bits from the original melody, especially the parts where they retain Kishore Kumar’s voice, the composers add their own melodic bits around the original tune to good effect (Anvita Dutt adds to Anand Bakshi’s lines). It is the arrangement that is not up to the mark at all times. To sum up, not the best recreation to have come from the duo, but definitely better than the one they did for the first part of this movie franchise. As you can imagine, this is not the only dance/party song in the album (it is a good thing this school is fictional – I would be seriously concerned about the pass rates here otherwise). And each of those other songs only makes you want to come back to this remix, and possibly the original Pancham composition. Vayu writes Mumbai Dilli Di Kudiyaan that features Dev Negi, Payal Dev and Vishal Dadlani on vocals. The song feels dated, in more ways than one. Dadlani and Dev also lead Jat Ludhiyane Da. Aside of the fact that it sees the introduction of another female rapper in Deane Sequeira, nothing particularly interesting in this one either.
It is Neha Kakkar and Shekhar Ravjiani’s Hook-up Song that fares relatively better among the three, with its catchy pop base and that reggaeton-esque rhythm. Kumaar’s lines aren’t anything to write home about, but you can’t expect a lot in a song with that title. Composers deliver their best in the mellower tracks of the album – the two Punjabi folk flavoured romantic pieces, both written by Anvita Dutt. Fakira is the more imaginatively constructed among the two, sung very well by Sanam Puri and Neeti Mohan. Main Bhi Nahin Soya has Arijit Singh behind the mic, and it is his rendition of the sedate melody that helps it rise above the slightly ennui-inducing arrangement. That said, both songs feature some lovely use of guitars and other plucked strings.
Student of the Year 2. It is good to see Vishal Shekhar back after a break of course, but wish the comeback was a more impactful one. Hope they do better in their other soundtrack this year.
Music Aloud Rating: 2.5/5
Top Recos: Fakira, Main Bhi Nahin Soya, The Jawani Song
Musician Credits
Song: The Jawaani Song
Original Music Composer: R D Burman
Music Recreated by Vishal and Shekhar
Original Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Additional Lyrics: Anvita Dutt
Original Playback Singer: Kishore Kumar
Playback Singers: Vishal Dadlani, Payal Dev
Music Producer: Aditya Dev
Mix & Master: Eric Pillai @ Future Sound of Bombay
Mix Assistant: Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky (Future Sound of Bombay)
Backing Vocals: Marianne & Friends
Trumpet: Kishore Sodha
Saxophone: Shyam Raj
Song: Mumbai Dilli Di Kudiyaan
Music Composer: Vishal and Shekhar
Lyrics: Vayu
Playback Singers: Dev Negi, Payal dev & Vishal Dadlani
Music Producer: Aditya Dev
Mix & Master: Eric Pillai @ Future Sound of Bombay
Mix Assistant: Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky (Future Sound of Bombay)
Song: The Hook Up Song
Music Composer: Vishal and Shekhar
Lyrics: Kumaar
Singers: Neha Kakkar & Shekhar Ravjiani
Music Produced by Abhijit Nalani
Guitar: Warren Mendonsa
Song: Fakira
Music composer: Vishal and Shekhar
Lyrics: Anvita Dutt
Playback Singers: Sanam Puri & Neeti Mohan
Music Arranged & Produced by Meghdeep Bose
Drums: Jay Row Kavi
Dholak: Raju Sardar & Sanjeev Sen
Guitars: Warren Mendonsa
Bass: Adi Mistry
Guitars, bass & Strokes: Meghdeep bose
Backing Vocals: Marianne D’cruz, Neumann Pinto, Bianca Gomes, Vivienne Pocha, Shazneen Arethna, Rajiv Sunderesan, Francois Castelino
Recorded by Shantanu Hudlikar, Abhishek Khandelwal & Manasi tare & YRF Studios Mumbai
Hanish Taneja @ VNS Studio Mumbai
Mix & Master: Eric Pillai @ Future Sound of Bombay
Mix Assistant: Michael Edwin Pillai
Song: Main Bhi Nahin Soya
Music Composer: Vishal and Shekhar
Lyrics: Anvita Dutt
Playback singers: Arijit Singh
Music Producer: Aditya Dev
Mix & master – Eric Pillai @ Future Sound of Bombay
Mix Assistant: Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky (Future Sound of Bombay)
Guitars: Krishna Pradhan
Plucked instruments: Tapas Roy
Song: Jat Ludhiyane Da
Music Composer: Vishal and Shekhar
Lyrics: Anvita Dutt
Playback Singers: Vishal Dadlani, Payal Dev
Rap: Deane Sequeira
Music Producer: Aditya Dev
Mix & Master: Eric Pillai @ Future Sound of Bombay
Mix Assistant: Michael Edwin Pillai & Lucky (Future Sound of Bombay)
Guitars: Krishna Pradhan
