music review: Shuddh Desi Romance

Music: Sachin-Jigar 
Lyrics: Jaideep Sahni 
Singers: Sunidhi Chauhan, Mohit Chauhan, Jigar, Priya, Benny Dayal, Shalmali Kholgade, Divya Kumar and Priya Panchal

With a title like this you wonder what the music will be like. But like the title the music too is shuddh, desi and has dollops of romance oozing out from the four songs and five instrumentals. Surprisingly, for a movie dealing with live-in relationships, the music is slightly hatke from all the fast paced numbers which the youth prefer these days. The only thing that gives the song a feel of the present generation is the Hinglish lyrics. The second big surprise is the absence of what is a must in every album these days – jazz, dhol or party remixes. Salim-Suleiman who have been part of director Maneesh Sharma’s earlier ventures make way for composer duo Sachin-Jigar.
 So have Sachin-Jigar finally arrived with their first big ticket release? A Yash Chopra banner film, no less? The album opener, Tere mere beech main kya hai by Sunidhi Chauhan and Mohit Chauhan, is a soft love song that grows on you with repeated listening. Sunidhi brings out the bindaas attitude in Parineeti Chopra’s character in her trademark style, while Mohit takes the song to another level with his velvet voice. The lyrics too standout: sample this – Chaddar khaddar ki, arman hain resham ke. Writing lyrics must have been easy for scriptwriter Jaideep Sahni, as he fleshed out the characters and knew them inside out which reflects in the songs.
 The next song paints everything in pink and it would not come as a surprise if it becomes the official city anthem of Pink City Jaipur. Again a soft melodious romantic number, Jigar and Priya do complete justice to Gulabi. The arrangement gives the song a different feel. The composers and lyricist have actually managed to pull off the unthinkable – turning the odd-sounding title into a track. Benny Dayal and Shalmali Kholgade do complete justice to what sounds like the only dance number in the album. Credit goes to Jaideep for coming up with a song that has loads of local flavor.
 Divya Kumar’s quirky number Chanchal mann ati random again has excellent lyrics by Jaideep. Though at times the song does remind you about the Dreamum wakepum from Aiyyaa, the catchy arrangement takes it to another level. Since the movie is based in Jaipur, there is ample use of the local instruments and singing style. The localised nature of the soundtrack may either work in its favour or will have a short shelf life. The instrumental part begins with the Mujhe kiss kar sakte ho song. As the title suggests, the piece in all likelihood will be played whenever there is a kissing scene on screen (we have seen quite a few in the promos that have been on air).
 Of the remaining four – In Jaipur, Tezz wala attraction, Boyfriend banogey, Bhanwara ma bhatke – they are situational and fail to add any value to the soundtrack. The album had all the potential to go above the ordinary. But it just manages to keep you hooked with the interesting arrangement. Yash Raj Films projects are known for their music, which is remembered for years. Sadly, Shuddh Desi Romance disappoints on this front.