Shaad Ali’s ’OK Jaanu’ is an intense romance drama and AR Rahman’s score for it is just that — romantic and dramatic. The film is a remake of the Tamil hit ’O Kadhal Kanmani’, and the composer has reused some of the tunes from the original for this one. The album kick-starts with the upbeat ’OK Jaanu’, and what works in its favour is Rahman’s energetic rendition and an equally spirited background that doesn’t interfere with the vocals. Srinidhi Venkatesh has ably supported the maestro. Interestingly, Rahman and Mani Ratnam have written the lyrics of the Tamil original, ’Mental Mandahil’.
’The Humma Song’, a recreation of Rahman’s ’Hamma Hamma’ ( ’Bombay’) , is Tanishk Bagchi, Badshah, Jubin Nautiyal and Shashaa Tirupati’s tribute to him. Next in line is the soulful ’Enna Sona’. A poised romantic number in the voice of Arijit Singh ( how refreshing is it to hear him render a song that’s not melancholic in nature) , its biggest plus is the electric guitar and flute melody. ’Jee Lein’, performed by Savithri R Prithvi, Arjun Chandy, Neeti Mohan and Rahman, slowly grows on you. While Gulzar’s lyrics are a reflection on life, the trance-like beats, intermittently laced with notes from classical instruments like the veena, give the number a soothing appeal. ’Kaara Fankaara’ is a hip hop-ish rap song and has been rendered by Rahman, Paroma Das Gupta, Shashaa, Hard Kaur, ADK, Kaly and Ashima Mahajan. The hook line is catchy and it is definitely an earworm, but there’s nothing much to write home about, just like the Tamil original.