Billu Barber — Music Review

The long awaited film of Priyadarshan and SRK that starrs Irrfan Khan in the lead , Billu Barber , is finally ready for release and the music of the film is out now . The film has been produced by SRK’s Red Chillies Productions and that means this project means more to SRK than anyone else . This film is again a remake of a south film which has been already made twice in Malayalam and Telugu . The Telugu version called Kuselan recently released having Rajnikant playing the part which SRK is playing . The film still failed at the box office and its failure raised some concerns for SRK and hence this film also got delayed . The original Malayalam version , Katha Parayumpol and the telegu version both have been written by Sreenivasan . Billu Barber was first supposed to release before RNBDJ but got delayed and now it is releasing in February . The film also stars Lara Dutta and several other Priyadarshan’s usual like Om Puri and Rajpal Yadav etc.

Well ,Talking of soundtrack , it consists of Fifteen Tracks in total out of which Seven are original and eight being remixes . The remixes again outnumber the originals on the soundtrack but good thing is that some of those have been sung by different singers so sound a little different . This time it is Pritam who has done the job and lyrics are by various artists . The soundtrack is for its majority a commercial one and when it comes to commercial music there is no one better than Pritam for the job .

The first track on the soundtrack is , Marjaani , which is already on-air and generating the hype for the film . The song as you all now has Kareena in it along with SRK and has some usual fun and frolic . The lyrics on this one are by Gulzaar and are as expected good enough to make this song a hit . The lyrics and music together give it a popular feel and the song would work for sure among the listeners . Sukhwinder and Sunidhi do a good job as usual and Sukhwinder is one more reason why this song could get popular .

Next comes , Love mera Hit Hit , sung by Neeraj Shridhar and Tulsi Kumar . The lyrics on this one are by Ashish Pandit and Mayur Puri who do a good job and made the lyrics pretty catchy . Pritam also does a good job and gives it a commercial tune which makes the song even more catchy and makes it a potential hit . This one starrs Deepika Padukone and SRK , shaking legs together . Neeraj sings it in his usual style with Tulsi giving him good support .

The third and the final track which again has a guest appearance of Priyanka Chopra in it , You Get Me Rockin and Reelin , is a a little on the slower and sensual side . The song has Priyanka and SRK getting cosy and trying to set the screen on fire . If you don’t know then let me tell you that all these three songs are a part of a film which is shown to be shot in Billu’s village . Since these songs are shown a part of a film in the film itself the Director has made an effort to keep the songs as commercial as possible because SRK is shown as a commercial superstar in the film . Still , this song is pretty melodious and doesn’t sound like usual commercial songs . Neeraj does a fine job singing this one and makes sure that it sounds different . The lyrics on this one are by Sayyed Quadri who does a good job .

After this comes a very very commercial track , Ae Aa O , which would look good in the film only and would make more sense in the film . The song would probably be featured when SRK first comes to the village and it would be somewhat of a introductory song . The lyrics on this one are by Neeraj Sridhar and it has been sung by KK ,Rana Mazumder & Suraj . The song in all is more film oriented and doesn’t make much sense apart from it . KK surprisingly has been offered such an average track which anyone could have done .

The fifth track , Jaoon Kahan , is completely different from the previous four and is a sad song which has been written by Sayeed Quadri who does a great job on this one . The song features Irrfan Khan who as we all know is a brilliant actor so he might make you feel really sad through his acting . The lyrics are really good on this and  reminds of “Jag Soona Soona Lage” from Om Shanti Om . Like that one this has been also sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan who again does a great job . Pritam has also done a good job and given it a nice and simple tune . The song is a complete package of good lyrics , music and singing . Such songs gain popularity much more after the film releases and I am sure with the release of the film this one also would get much more popular .

Next comes a very different and Desi track , Billu Bhayankar . This one has some very interesting piece of lyrics written by Gulzaar Sir himself and he again proves his expertise in the “Thainth Desi” language after songs like Kajrare and Bidi Jalayle . This one though is not a item song like the previous two but that doesn’t mean that it lacks any fun . This one is a fun track from the word go and would be real treat on screen , I am pretty sure about that . The track talks about Billu Hajam the central character . This track would definately remind you of  Khaike Pan Banaras Waala which had a similar feel . Pritam has done full justice to the song and given it a very pure desi tune to it . The biggest role in such songs as you know is of the singer and his/her accent . And on that front Ajay Jhingaran , Raghuveer and Kalpana do a commendable job .

Next comes probably the most melodious and lyrically rich song , Khudaya Khair . This one has been written by Gulzaar Sir . This song and the third track on the album , You get me rocking , have somewhat same lyrics and I don’t know which one is the original one . Still , this one is much more melodious and some extra lyrics in this one that are there add much more to its beauty . If that one had a little western feel to it , this one has none . Pritam has done his best on this as compared to the other songs on the album . The female parts that have been sung by Akriti and Monali sound really good . Soham does a good job singing the male parts but for me Neeraj would have suited much more . This is the song that was there in the first trailer of the film and I am sure this one would be featured on Lara Dutta (my favourite) who is looking really beautiful in the promos . I am happy that she got the best track on the album .

Then starts the series of Remixes and first one is the Video Edit of Rockin n Reelin . I didn’t find this one any different from the original one in terms of music . This one though has Dominc Cezaro siniging some female parts . If you remember Dominic made her debut in Rock On with ” Yeh Tumhari Meri Baatein “. She does her part well . Rest all is the same .

Then come remix versions of “Love Mera Hit Hit” and “Marjaani” which have been remixed by DJ Amyth and Kilogram K&G respectively . Both the remix versions have usual fast pace tempo and some extra english lyrics . Nothing great about them as such and good for clubs and discs . The remix version of Mar Jaani has been sung by KK and Akriti Kakkar so KK fans won’t get disappointed .

Next comes a reprise edition of “Khudaya Khair” which has Abhijeet giving vocals and rest all is the same . The song doesn’t suit him that much as much it did to Neeraj and Soham . This one being a reprise edition is a little slow . If this was not enough there is one more remix of “You Get Me rockin n reeling” which again is a basic remix with higher tempo and usual DJing .

Then there is a remix of Ae Aa O , I don’t know why . The original track itself was a little weak so this one doesn’t make any difference . One more Marjaani by DJ Sunil and Spinz who remix the original track and do a good job . This is the pick among the remixes . Then there is a remix of Love Mera Hit Hit which is better than the previous remix of the same song .

In all , its a nice soundtrack with a mix of commercial tracks and good tracks like Khudaya and Jaoon Kahan . It also has very different tracks like Billu Bhayankar . The only thing that was a put off was the long list of unnecessary remixes that made me change my mind for rating the album . I was going to give it a four stars but the irritating remixes which are just too many made me change my rating . In all , the soundtrack has increased my curiosity for the film and I am now even more eagerly waiting for the film . The film in my opinion would be a nice film that would be liked by all .

Album Rating : Three and Half Stars out of Five ; Great soundtrack with a nice mix of different songs .

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