Kaalakaandi Music Review: Weird

'Weird' is how one could best describe the kind of soundtrack that has been put together for Kaalakaandi. It is one thing to be out of the box and another to be totally disregarding what audiences could well be asking for. It seems that in quest to tread a different path, director Akshat Varma ended up collaborating with composer Sameer Uddin and lyricist Anvita Dutt on something totally radical that just doesn't entertain at all. Signs are there right at the beginning when Akshay Verma (who is also the lyricist here) ends up crooning 'Swagpur Ka Chaudhary'. Fair enough, so this one does try to get into the Baadshah category and also has moments where you are hooked. However, by and large there isn't much that remains with you after you have heard it first. Guess they just wanted the word 'swag' in a song and ended up making this. No wonder, they soon run out of options to create something original and in the process borrow folks number 'Kaala Doreya' next. Neha Bhasin sings this one and while she does seem like an odd choice actually, you are still fine with it till the time Raxstar comes on board. His rap further ruins whatever little had remained of this recreated piece and you just wait to hear what is in store next. Unfortunately, the soundtrack only continues to keep going down as Abhishek Nailwal sung Jive With Me seems more like an ad jingle than a song that has been created for a film. There is just no recollection quotient that the song enjoys and the English-Hindi lyrics do not help the cause either. Though this one is designed as an old fashioned dance piece, one wonders whether even Saif Ali Khan would be playing it on. This is the reason why when guest composer/singer Shashwat Sachdev comes up with the title song 'Kaalaakaandi', there is at least a bit of interest factor generated. Not that the song with Vivek Hariharan, Romy & Arun Kamath as the other singers is any great shakes or the lyrics really enticing (it talks about 'happy endings' and Bangkok in a single breath so you can well catch the gist!). Still, there is a peppy quotient to the song due to which the hook-line at least remains with you. Nonetheless, the good news is that the soundtrack ends pretty quickly with 'Aa Bhi Jaa' as the concluding piece. As is the trend in the soundtrack so far, this number also just doesn't work and though Vishal Dadlani and Abhishek Nailwal try to elevate the quirky quotient, there is just no respite whatsoever. Kaalakaandi is as weird as it gets and is one of the most disappointing albums of 2017 as the year comes to a close. Our picks: Kalaakaandi