'Ready' For Dhamakedaar Fun! 'No Entry' Meets 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'

Here's a clue; if you're expecting a great deal of cerebral stimulation, if you're looking for a sensitive message to take back, then you might be in the wrong cinema hall. If you're simply looking to be entertained out of your wits, instead, then Salman's latest, Ready, is just what the doctor ordered for you.

Anees Bazmee's newest release, Ready, is a film with its eyes on the big prize. And the prize, here, of course, is its superstar Salman Khan. In a way, the film confirms that Sallu dearest is simply bigger than his releases. So, appropriately, his character here has a larger than life persona, who can do no wrong. And that's just right too, given that when he's on screen, it's quite impossible to take your eyes off of him.

Unabashedly single screen focused in its outlook, nobody is about to go watch Ready for its "nuanced" plot, and the makers of the film are quite okay with that. A remake of a hit southern comedy with the same name, Ready isn't really a formulaic film, but still has all the masala trappings that come with it, with a plot where No Entry meets Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! And of course, there is the liberal, liberal dose of Salman to top it off, which makes it oh so deliciously self-referential.

It begins right from the start, when Salman is introduced in the Zarine Khan-starrer item number, character dheela, which some industry watchers say is Khan's take on his own image within B'town. Also, quite aptly, Salman's character too, is called Prem, a name that he has sported in some of his biggest hits, films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! and Hum Saath Saath Hain, which are often referenced here.

The film takes off from the point where Prem's family, which consists of a picture-perfect mother and father, along with a loving couple of chachas and chachis, decide to have him married off to a girl called Pooja on their Guruji's recommendation, who says that she's the only one who can tame their wild child. Things take a 'comedy of errors' type turn when an unwilling Prem decides to ditch Pooja at the airport when he goes to receive her, only to have a girl called Sanjana traipse in masquerading as Pooja. Sanjana has a story of her own, being on the run from two dreaded gangsters, the Chaudhary brothers, who she is the niece of, both at war with each other, and looking to get her married to their respective brother-in-laws, so that they can get their hands on her multi-million inheritance.

When Prem learns the truth about Sanjana, he decides to con her uncles into allowing him to marry her, with the unwitting help of Balidaan Bhardwaj, a naïve accountant to both the Chaudhary brothers, who he uses to bring the warring clans together by having his own family pose as billionaire business magnates, succeeding in the end by teaching everyone the value of family unity.

Get 'Ready' To 'Dhinka Chika'!

Over the past few years, Salman Khan's releases, like Wanted and Dabanng, seem to have been geared towards carving out an almost Rajinikanth like, invincible image for the star. The audiences, of course, have lapped it all up. While Wanted was a remake of Telugu hit Pokkiri, Dabangg, interestingly, is now being remade down South. Now, Salman is all set to return to the box office with another Southie remake, this time a comedy called Ready.
 
Directed by Anees Bazmee, Ready will see Salman reprising a role originally played by Telugu star Ram, while Asin replaces Genelia's original act. And the film's four track long soundtrack, composed by Pritam, has a definite Salman tinge to it, something in common with the soundtracks of Wanted and Dabangg, flowing over with energy.
 
Thumping right from its opening notes, character dheela literally kicks off this four track soundtrack. With Neeraj Shridhar and Amrita Kak on vocals, the number has a rather enticing melody that will most definitely get stuck in one's head after a couple of listens. Built around booming percussions, drums and claps, with a whole load of synthesised horns, the track's antara has a marked resemblance to mohabbat naam hai kiska from 2001's Ajnabee (in fact, if the grapevine is to be believed, original composer Anu Malik is preparing to sue now), but with a distinct mukhda, perhaps one can count this one as one of Pritam's favourite 'coincidences'. In any case, copied or not, with some zany lyrics from Amitabh Bhattacharya, character dheela sure makes for a foot tapping listen.
 
The second track, humko pyar hua, brings Tulsi Kumar and KK on for a duet. A slow, romantic pop ballad, the song opens up with a couple of English verses before KK comes in and Tulsi joins in later. Though the track is much softer than any of the other tracks on the album, with the pronounced beats running behind the guitar and synthesised sound lines, humko pyar hua still has something of a loud feel. The Spanish sounding interlude at the 3 minute mark gives the track a fairly relaxed sort of sound. While the track maybe a bit out of tempo in comparison with the rest of the album, humko pyar hua will find its audience with its light melody.

If character dheela was foot tapping, then dhinka chika is foot thumping. Without a doubt, this one is the big hit off the album. Interestingly though, the main dhinka chika chorus hook here is picked up almost lock, stock and barrel from the ringa ringa track from the original Telugu Ready. Given that it is this hook that makes dhinka chika an addictive listen, the credit for this track is appropriately given to Telugu composer Devi Sri Prasad. However, as a listen of dhinka chika and ringa ringa reveals, the Hindi track is much more energetic than its inspiration, Mika's trademark vocals playing no small part in this. Amrita Kak comes in again here to help out, and does a splendid job. With a superb, percussion led rhythm, a great core melody and positively wacky lyrics from Ashish Pandit, one can expect to hear this one play a whole lot at public celebrations like Ganpati and Diwali festivals this year.
 
Though mera ada bhi is a great track, the fact that the opening laung gawacha sample doesn't play through the song is a bit of a dampener. Still, with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Tulsi Kumar on vocals, the track has a great energy about it, with a bhangraish melody and arrangement, and one can almost imagine this one being one of those Punjabi shaadi tracks we are all familiar with.
 
Apart from the four originals, each of the tracks is also remixed by DJ Amyth. Of all the remixes, dhinka chika is the most enjoyable one, primarily because it changes the arrangement of the track to bring the dhinka chika chorus to the front of the track, making the track that much more dancefloor friendly.
 
Overall, Ready is an immensely enjoyable soundtrack from Pritam, though it would have been great if it had been longer than its four track length. Immensely energetic, the vibe of the album is tailor made for Salman Khan's fun loving onscreen image, especially with the two top tracks of the album, character dheela and dhinka chika. This one, predictably, is a sure fire hit.