Bunty Aur Babli - Music Review

I have been awaiting this album for too long, so I can't resist myself from writing my my music review after the immense satisfaction I've received after hearing it. The wait has been worthwhile. SEL have developed a gifted ability to come up with songs that titillate something deep in you every time you hear them. I must say that even with music maestros like A R Rahman or Anu Malik the songs take time to have an effect on you and that sometimes goes to their disadvantage since people shun them if they don't like it on the first hearing. SEL (and also Sandeep Chowta) create songs that mostly appeal in one way or the other (the tune, the voices, the mixing etc) on their first hearing. You don't have to wait for THE song of their album once you begin hearing them one after the other. Every song is unique and its own way THE song of their album.


Bunty Aur Babli 

Bunty Aur Babli has 6 tracks in total, all unique and refreshing. Gulzar handles the lyrics for SEL (a deserved break for Javed Akhtar!) this time around. With Gulzar you can't expect the ordinary. He is like the baadshah of lyrics. Javed Akhtar writes beautifully, but Gulzar writes innovatively. In this album he doesn't refrain from free use of English words in his songs. It gives the songs a unusual contemporary feel!

You know that right from the first track of the album which is "Dhadak Dhadak". It is another train number from Gulzar (after the immensely popular "Chaiyyan Chaiyya"). Udit Narayan and Sunidhi Chauhan along with Nihira Joshi (hidden among voices) form the singers. Gulzar takes us on a train ride passing through the sky, through the clouds and around the moon. It talks about two aspirant fish, Bunty and Babli, from a small pond who want to make out into the big ocean. Along with such clever metaphors, the music of the song is what really catches you. It starts with a two liner from AB Sr and then begins smoothly. After the first few lines by Udit Narayan it gets into the SEL groove and then you're hooked thereafter. An immensely enjoyable song to start the album.

"Chup Chup Ke" is the next song rendered by Sonu Nigam and Mahalaxmi Iyer. SEL, as usual, bring the best out of Sonu Nigam in this song. His vocal interludes remind you of Mohammad Rafi. Witness vintage Sonu Nigam in this song. Mahalaxmi Iyer supports Nigam well. This song proceeds like a ghat. The melody and rhythm start slowly, attain a fervour, again get slower and proceed likewise. When you hear the beginning lines of this song, you cannot imagine where it finally reaches. You can't predict whats coming, just like a ghat! But similar to the view from a ghat that is scenic all along, so is the melody in this song! An innovative use of programmed Sitar is observed in this song all along.

"Nach Baliye" begins with a distorted voice announcing the change in the platform assignment of a train! and then proceeds to a rock 'n' roll, punjabi, techno mix of a dance number. Shankar Mahadevan and Soumya Rao handle the singing reigns of this track. "Balle Balle on a Sunday Sunday" forms the techno chant in the track. Not a really innovative track in terms of composition, but passes on all counts with the crucial elements of a dance number. Brief Caribbean interludes makes it unique again.

The title track "Bunty Aur Babli" follows and is sung by Sukhwinder Singh, appearing after a long break, Jaspinder Narula, Shankar Mahadevan & Siddharth Mahadevan (hidden among the other voices). Gulzar gets into his groove describing the characteristics of Bunty and Babli. An enjoyable song with the return of the zesty Sukhwinder Singh.

What follows next is the changing face of Hindi movie music. Its the rap version of the title song called "B n B". Written and rapped by Blazee, ARRs favourite rapper, this number is extremely catchy. It hints at possible story plots in its rap lines. While the rap version of the Yash Raj film's earlier Hum Tum was a bit too ostentatious, this one is milder and therefore thoroughly enjoyable. Blazee has a amazing control over words and creates an effective rap. While Javed Akhtar had ventured into Hindi rap writing for Kyun! Ho Gaya Na, this rap is in English and keeps Gulzar away from his pen for a while.

The album concludes with "Kajrare", a innovatively composed mujra-cum-qawwali number sung by Alisha Chinai, Shankar Mahadevan and Javed Ali. This number keeps the rural feel intact with its typical chorus and whistles! Alisha shows why she is a force to reckon with even after so many ears after her heyday. Gulzar flourishes with his lyrics here as well.

kajrare kajrare tere kaare kaare naina
tera naina tera naina tere naina judwaa naina

surme se likkhe tere vaade,
aankho ki jabaani aate hain, hai,
mere rumallon pe lab tere,
baandh ke nishani jaate hain..

aankhein bhi kamaal karti hain,
'personal' se sawaal karti hain,
palkonn ko uthaate bhi nahin,
parde ka khayaal karti hain

kajrare kajrare tere kaare kaare naina
tera naina tera naina tere naina judwaa naina

Apart from Alisha, Javed Ali stands out as accompaniment to her along with Shankar Mahadevan. His voice is the freshest thing to happen to Hindi movie music. After his successful stint with Sandesh Shandilya on Chameli, he effectively sings here for the first time for SEL. Hopefully he gets a lot of songs here on with the talented trio. This number is one of the new genres of techno qawwalis like Anu Malik's "Tumse Milke Dil Ka" from 'Main Hoon Na' and A R Rahman's "Noor Un Ala Noor" from 'Meenaxi'

All in all a great album after a long break from Shankar Ehsaan Loy and more so from Gulzar. Hardcore Bollywood music fans cannot miss this one!

(I will be adding unique lines of each song in this review after I hear them well enough. Keep watching this space!)