KHILADI 786 - MUSIC REVIEW
Himesh Reshammiya is an enigma. And no, don’t take my word for it. Just look up Wikipedia . It lists him as a music director, singer, actor, television producer, lyricist, film producer, script writer, and distributor. I daresay that no other artiste in the world today has these many occupational attributes. Alas, nothing could be further from the truth. That Mr Reshammiya is a good music composer. Nothing more. All his other digressions have met with disastrous results. That he continues on his blunderous ( if there is such a word ) ways undeterred is what makes him such an enigma. Naturally it is with a slight trepidation that one listens to the KHILADI 786 soundtrack. And even more difficult was the decision to review this album. More on that later.
The promos of KHILADI 786 call it " The biggest franchise of Indian cinema " From 1992 to 2000, Akshay Kumar acted in 7 of these movies. Interestingly, in the last 12 years that there has been no KHILADI series movie, the actor has done his career’s best work ( HERA PHERI, NAMASTE LONDON, KHAKEE, WAQT & JANN-E-MANN to name a few ) Which brings us to the moot question. Does Akshay Kumar need a KHILADI franchisee today ? Not really, for he has outgrown that persona for some time now. One can only hope that debutant director Aashish R Mohan ( previously AD with Rohit Shetty whose influence shows even in the promos ) can bring something new in vision. Personally speaking, I doubt it but for now, the music review.
LONELY : Like most songs here, LONELY has good parts and bad ones in equal measure. The good parts are the inventive intro, charming vocals of Hamsika Iyer, the i-am-so-cool rapping of Yo Yo Honey Singh and the catchy calypso beats. Unfortunately the transitions between interludes ( there is even a weird ’ teri yaad saath hai ’ interlude ) are quite abrupt and put one off. And about Himesh Reshammiya (sounding even more nasal than before, if that is possible ) and his vocals, less said the better. The lyrics credited to a certain Shabbir Ahmed are strictly pedestrian.
BALMA : In the promos of the song, we see a huge cut out of Panchamda in the background. And listening to the song leaves one in no doubt that this is indeed a tribute to the great maestro. In some style. Here again the groovy intro gets you into the mood followed by pulsating beats ( which remind one of the vintage number ’ dhanno ki aankhon mein ’ ) are perfectly complimented by the sensous vocals of Shreya Goshal. ( Check out her lustfully singing " Fire brigade mangvaade tu, angaaron pe hai armaan " ) Recommended.
LONG DRIVE : This is arguably the best song of the album. As is his wont, Himesh keeps fiddling with various sounds here also, but thankfully it comes together nicely here. The deliberate slow beats accompanied by stunning guitar work is off set by the contrasting tunes of the harmonium. And it helps to have the flamboyant Mika Singh ( who seems to belt out chartbusters as if it was his ’ baaye haath ka khel ’ ) at the helm of affairs. Hit hai boss !
SAARI SAARI RAAT : There has always been a mellow side to Himesh Reshammiya. Simple yet lilting melodies. No fuss, no frills whatsoever. Right from the TERE NAAM OST to last year’s much feted ’ Teri Meri Prem Kahaani ’ from the blockbuster " BODYGUARD " these songs bring out the best in HR. SAARI SAARI RAAT belongs to this style. Yet on first hearing, this reviewer felt compelled to hit the ’ SKIP ’ button almost right away ( thanks in no less measure to the terrible singing ) Sometimes one wonders, is HR his own worst enemy ? For the tune is quite pleasing and a better singer would taken this song places.
HOOKAH BAR : In recent film music, love has been called all kinds of names ( KAMEENA, KAMBAKHT and so on ) Just when you thought you had heard it all, along comes the line ’ Tera Pyaar Hookah Bar ’ leaving you totally befuddled. ( Who else but the one and only HR can write such stuff ) The beats and the hook of the tune though catchy seem strongly inspired by the cult number ’ Lambada ’ And the chorus credits are given to Band of Power (comprising HR and two others who you cannot make out at all ) Really, what next?
KHILADI ( Title track ) : Except the small guitar piece which kicks off the song, there is nothing special about this song. And as seen in the promos, this song introduces not only Akshay Kumar but also his large extended family. If you have heard the title tracks of DABBANGG and SINGHAM, then you can give this a miss. Vineet Singh and Aman Trikha ( of the BAND OF POWER trio ) are regular in most of the songs including this too.
TU HOOR PARI : The singers credited here ( Javed Ali, Shreya Goshal and Harshdeep Kaur ) raise one’s hopes about this song. Both Harshdeep and Shreya try their best to salvage this song but to no avail for the tune itself is very ordinary. And one cannot recall the last time the silken voice of Javed Ali sounded this bad. ( One wonders if HR has been a bad influence ) And the chorus that goes ’ Sher-e-Punjab ’ gets unbearable after a point.
Apart from these songs, there are five remixed songs here too. Cannot for the life of me figure out why though. Of these, the remixed versions of LONELY, BALMA and LONG DRIVE pass muster. The remixed versions of HOOKAH BAR & KHILADI add nothing new & seem totally unnecessary. All in all, the soundtrack of KHILADI 786 is at best, good time pass. Enough said.