Gulabi is quite easily the best Hindi film song of the year, so far! An exotic mix of the Amit Trivedi and A R Rahman schools of music, Sachin-Jigar completely outdo their own repertoire to produce an immensely addictive tune! The tune structure is unique, with alternating music and lyrics, while Jaideep’s ode to the Pink City adds to the scintillating package, even as the track’s soul is quintessentially Rajasthani! The title song is incredibly sweet and where the duo make a solid impact is in the use of harmonium and the nifty violin-horns combo in the antara! Despite its fleeting resemblance with Amit Trivedi’s Kikli Kalerdi (Luv Shuv They Chicken Khurana), Chanchal mann too is a fantastic track! Divya Kumar’s highly infectious singing and Jaideep Sahni’s wonderfully likeable lyrics make a big difference! Jaideep’s lyrics rules over Tere mere beech mein too – highly enjoyable colloquial banter, sung fabulously by Mohit and Sunidhi, and a instantly catchy hook that one cannot not shake the shoulders to!
The brooding and intriguing opening to the instrumental piece in Mujhe kiss kar sakte ho is interspersed with superb Latin-style guitar, even as the accordion joins the party to end on a lovely melange! In Love in Jaipur, the duo layers everything from bluesy arrangements to Priya Panchal’s spunky Rajasthani verses… to mind-boggling effect! Tez waala attraction, the instrumental companion piece to Chanchal mann reimagines the tune really well with quirky arrangements, while Boyfriend banoge, the instrumental companion to Gulabi offers a fascinating new spin to the tune, particularly with its ambient sound and amazing rhythm! Bhanwara ma closes the soundtrack with its only less impressive note, but that too only in comparison with the high standard it has set with the earlier tracks!
Sachin-Jigar have set their own bar really high now!
Keywords: Shuddh Desi Romance, Sachin Jigar, Sachin-Jigar, Jaideep Sahni, #300
PS: I’m going completely out on a limb by giving this soundtrack a 300! I’m sure it’d invite wrath of fans of other composers in asking me if this soundtrack is better than X, Y or Z, but to me, this is a soundtrack, as an overall package, is worth the 300… comparisons can take a hike!