The Dhoom franchise has carved out its own niche in Indian cinema and one associates it with cool action scenes and trendy music. The music of the first installment was a mammoth hit and continued to sell even a year after the movie released. The music of the second part was less successfull, but the presentation and the magnetic presence of Hrithik Roshan ensured that it still sold like hot-cakes. Needless to say, expectations from the third part of this series are sky high. The presence of Aamir Khan makes it all the more special, with Katrina Kaif giving him company. It needs to be remembered that Pritam had a smashing debut as a solo composer in Dhoom. Looking at the form and the consistency he has shown over the years, one expects nothing short of a firecracker of a musical album. With such a stellar cast and the backing of Yashraj Productions, it is a given that the album will be successfull. But what remains to be seen is if the quality can really match the success! Lets find out.
The album begins with the title track Dhoom Machaale written by Sameer. Aditi Singh Sharma gets a chance to sing one of the cult tracks of the decade. Trumpets begin this track and Aditi takes it over from there and makes quite a nice impression. Pritam amalgamates the title versions of the previous 2 films and makes quite a heady cocktail. Though this version is a lot weaker than Sunidhi’s in Dhoom and Vishal Dadlani’s version in Dhoom2, it creates its own space. The portions in the interludes do dip, but Pritam makes sure that the listener does not get bored as he dishes out a wide variety of instruments throughout the song. Katrina dancing to this song is sure to make it a chartbuster, not that it’s not one already!
My Rating:3/5
The next song is Malang, touted to be the costliest ever song in bollywood! Siddharth Mahadevan returns after a super successfull debut in Zinda of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Shilpa Rao gives him company while Sameer writes the lyrics again. For the first time in the Dhoom series, we get to hear a Sufi track. Aamir Khan influence perhaps! The song is certainly impressive and the high point of the song is when the singers croon Malang Malang. The lyrics are quite ordinary, but what catches the attention is the very impressive orchestration by the composer. Shilpa is just about right for such a track and Siddharth makes another confident portrayal of his singing abilities. Watch out for the superb classical Sufi style signature Dhoom tune in the interludes! The makers are promoting this track as the most spectacular track with stunning choreography.If that is so, then be ready for another huge chartbuster. Extra points for trying something absolutely new in the Dhoom series.
My Rating:3.5/5
Next is the Amitabh Bhattacharya written Kamli, Dhoom 3’s version of Crazy Kiya Re(Dhoom2). Here too, Sunidhi Chauhan handles the mike. Pritam never ceases to surprise the listener in his every project. He surprises here with some catchy background music, but the basic tune is very average which pulls down the song. This one is more to be enjoyed in the theaters along with the visuals. Sunidhi Chauhan more than does justice to this track and it has to be said that she elevates the average tune with her energetic vocals. But, since it is competing with the much better Crazy Kiya Re, it is quite a downer in the soundtrack.
My Rating:2/5
Kausar Muneer writes the next song Tu hi junoon, a track Aamir Khan was speaking highly about. Mohit Chauhan returns to the music scene after quite a long time this year(Not counting the shoddy "You are my love" of Krrish3 which was not used in the movie). If Kamli was average, this one gives it very tough competition. Mohit is absolutely wasted in the track.There is a lazy vibe in his voice which can work both ways. It can be wonderful if the tune is good, or else give an irritating impression. In this case, it goes the latter way. Nothing works in the song and it remains to be seen how it is incorporated in the movie. The 30 seconds promo would work best for this track!
My Rating:1.5/5
Shivam Mahadevan and Anisha Mishra handle the mile for the next track Bandhe hain hum uske. Interestingly, it is a different composer, Julius Packiam here! The lyrics by Kausar Munir and Vijay Acharya have some depth and makes one get more interested about what the story of the movie has to offer. It might appear at a crucial juncture of the movie. It does leave a good impression at the end with the innocent, feel good vocals by the little kids Shivam and Anisha.
My Rating:3/5
Next up is an instrumental version Dhoom Tap. It’s quite an interesting track to demonstrate tap dance. Pritam again excels as he manages to create an admirable instrumentation. But the promos show a laboured dance performance by Aamir. It is better to watch the whole dance in the movie to judge the impact of this song as it solely depends on Aamir’s moves!
My Rating:3/5
One more instrumental makes an appearance in the form of Dhoom 3 overture. This is the instrumental of Bandhe hain hum uske and as expected, Julius Packiam handles the music and this one creates the desired ambience till it plays.In the middle, it suddenly changes track and gets into high energy mode.Dhoom Machale signature tune is well integrated into the piece as well. Expect this track to play on in the background at crucial junctures in the movie. A nice hear.
My rating:3/5
As one expects the soundtrack to have ended with the 2 instrumental pieces, on plays Dhoom machale again! This time in an Arabic version. Naya is the singer here, and she is completely devoid of any kind of energy and her voice is too soft for the heavy orchestration. The inclusion of an Arabic version is completely unknown. It needs to be remembered that Tata Young had sung an English version of the Dhoom Machaale track in Dhoom with good results. But that’s not the case here as this version hardly makes an impact and ends up as a gimmick in the end.
My Rating:2/5
So, what works for the album are the first 2 tracks.The promotions are on in full swing and expect the title track, Malang and Kamli to be chartbusters. As pointed out earlier, it is a given that an album of this magnitude will be successful. But quality wise, it is only Malang which tries something very new in the Dhoom series and comes out triumphant. Bandhe hain hum uske can be expected to work well on screen when integrated well into the narrative. Tu hi junoon sticks out as a sore thumb along with Kamli, though the latter will be popular due to katrina’s pyrotechnics. This soundtrack is quite sedate compared to the previous 2 installments, which boasted of racy music. One more noticeable thing is that Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra do not seem to have any song, which makes it quite apparent that it’s going to be an Aamir Khan show all the way. But, the truth is that the music could have been much better. Yet another biggie does not quite pass the "High quality" test and it is quite disappointing. Nevertheless, enjoy the visuals and the songs till they last, as the title of the review suggests!
Overall Rating: 3/5