Singham Returns Music Review: This Singham Roars And How!

After having successfully collaborated with Superstar Shahrukh Khan in Chennai Express, Bollywood's very own 200 Crore director Rohit Shetty joins hands once again with his close friend Ajay Devgn to carry forward the second installment of his blockbuster hit Singham (2011) in Singham Returns. Giving company to Ajay Devgn is director Shetty's another favorite leading lady, Kareena Kapoor and together the team promises to deliver full on entertainment as always. Director Rohit Shetty's films have been known more for their quota of action or comedy and much less for music. But of late, the music in his films though not quite outstanding has also been appreciated (especially Chennai Express). Therefore one does hope that the same trend continues in Singham Returns despite the film falling under the action genre. Moreover the fact that the successful Aashiqui 2 duo of Jeet Gannguli and Ankit Tiwari feature in the credits raises our hopes that we can expect some quality music in this film. Giving company to these two music directors are Meet Bros Anjjan and Yo Yo Honey Singh whereas the lyrical credits are shared by Sandeep Nath, Shabbir Ahmed, Abhendra Kumar Upadhyay, Yo Yo Honey Singh and Sachin Pathak.

Composer Jeet Ganguly gets his favorite singer Arijit Singh to croon Sun Le Zara which incidentally is a rehash of his own track from the Bengali film, Boss. This Guitar-dominated melody gives Arijit one more chance to flaunt his vocal range and versatility which he does so admirably. The tune is also compelling enough for the listener to actually overlook the fact that this rock ballad seems to be a little out of place for a film such as this. In fact one would expect this kind of track to be in a romantic film like Aashiqui 2 and surely not in an action film like Singham Returns. So it sure will be interesting to see how this song is featured in the movie. That said, the fact remains that this Sandeep Nath written track gives a superb start to the album managing to pique the listener's curiosity as to what other surprises are in store for us.

The title track Singham Returns is basically a revamped version of the title track from the original Singham composed by Ajay-Atul. Meet Bros Anjjan take over this responsibility and get Mika Singh to assist in this endeavor. The ever dependable Mika unfortunately though lets them down with his voice sounding completely at odds with the mood of the song so much so that rather than it being a rousing track, this one ends up sounding more like an item number! The only redeeming factor in this insipid track are the decent lyrics (especially the Sanskrit lines) with the lyricist Shabbir Ahmed getting it bang on with respect to the mood and nature of the song. The Remix Version (MBA Swag) is even worse with even the extra beats (including some dhol sounds?) doing nothing much to save this song from being a total disappointment.

Kuch to Hua Hai is Ankit Tiwari's contribution to Singham Returns and he lives up to our expectations with this track. Ankit partners Tulsi Kumar behind the mike and does a wonderful job as always but more than the vocals, it is the composition which is the real winner! The hook especially is one of the most beautiful sounding ones that one has heard among the latest releases. This essentially romantic track has a mystic feel to it and rest assured will slowly but steadily climb up the charts.

With Lungi Dance turning out to be a super hit it was inevitable that Yo Yo Honey Singh would be part of Director Shetty's next venture too. And so he makes his entry with Aata Majhi Satakli, a song which innovatively enough has been spun around the signature line from the original Singham which turned out to be a craze then. Mamta Sharma joins Honey behind the mike for this track which actually turns out to be not so bad despite the hook line being repeated like a zillion times! Though it does get irritable after a point, one also has to admit that the beats are quite addictive and obviously very danceable. So much so that one can venture as much to say that this track should also find quite a bit of popularity coming its way, maybe not to the extent of Lungi Dance but surely at least a fair share of it!

To sum up, the soundtrack of Singham Returns actually throws up a pleasant surprise with the songs turning out to be commercially quite viable and good enough to climb up the popularity charts. In fact one has to say that it is indeed quite heartening to see Director Shetty giving due importance to the music in his films which will only help in sustaining their popularity.

Our Picks: Sun Le Zara and Kuch to Hua Hai