Luv Ka The End Music Review: 'Luv' It, Start to 'The End'!

Though Yash Raj Films has traditionally been the banner for more mature fare, love stories like Lamhe and Veer Zaara, over the last decade, B'town's numero uno production place has branched out into more youth centric fare with releases like the Dhoom series. Having found success there, now YRF is readying itself to take on younger, 'cooler' audiences in a bigger way, with its new banner, Y Films.

The idea behind Y Films is to give fresh talent a chance on the big stage, and the banner's first release, Luv Ka The End, stars the lovely Shraddha Kapoor and Taaha Shah in a chick flick with a twist. Directed by MTV alumni Bumpy, the film's soundtrack sees ad film specialist Ram Sampath (remember mehengai daayan from Peepli Live) handle musical duties, and as a listen reveals, Sampath carves out a catchy sound.

The peppy title track, Luv ka the end opens up affairs here. With its catchy late '80s pop rock melody and Aditi Singh Sharma on vocals, this one, filled with fat guitar riffs, works instantly. Amitabh Bhattacharya's lyrics are basically a take on the film's plot, and make the number a great start to the album.

The interesting Suman Sridhar, one half of Mumbai based blues jazz pop duo, Sridhar Thayil, comes in on tonight. The number has a rather light, jazzy tone to it, built around the basic guitar bass percussion setting, perfect for Suman's unique vocal style and is a refreshing break from the usual B'town hum drum.

Joi Barua joins Aditi Singh Sharma on freak out, the third number off the album. Fast paced pop, the number, with its 'school's out' lyrics, has a 'high school musical' sort of touch to it, right down to a false end before the final chorus. Though it might seem a bit situational, the number works simply on the steam of its sheer energy. Given that Y films is YRF's attempt to make inroads with young audiences, this could be construed as the film's big anthem.

The one track that's already made a mark is the crazy, substitute item number, the mutton song. With a hilarious video that sees lead star Taaha dress up in drag to give some 'solid' competition to the likes of Mallika and Mallaika, the number's video is already being furiously shared across social networks. The track's folkish melody and kooky lyrics have a way of growing on the listener, though there will be the naysayers who'll call it crass. Krishna Beura does a splendid job on the vocals here, as does Amitabh Bhattacharya on the comic lyrics.

YRF's current blue eyed boy from across the border, Ali Zafar puts in an appearance on F.U.N. fun funaa. Though he is known to Indian audiences mainly for his Tere Bin Laden' turn, the Pakistani actor is also a talented musician with a handful of hit releases behind him, and this track might just be the musical introduction he was seeking for his desi venture. Zafar has a unique baritone, distinct from any other singer in the mainstream industry today and that is the big plus for this number. With some intricate guitar solos and an addictive percussive line, the track is good for a few listens.

The closer on the album is a novelty number called heppy budday beybee #6, a comedy track 'sung' in a eunuch's voice by Jimmy Moses, comedian Johnny Lever's younger brother.

Luv Ka The End is a job nicely done by soundsmith Ram Sampath. Loaded on energy, the album is a fun listen from the first track to the last. Though some might say that the collection is lacking in variety, all songs uniformly peppy and, indeed, pop ish, one surmises that this isn't a plaint that the filmmakers behind Luv Ka The End are expecting from their target youth audience. Songs like the title number, tonight and 'F.U.N. fun funaa give this album a fighting chance, while the mutton song is pure fun. Indeed, Luv Ka The End sounds like the start of something good.