Barring Kausar Munir’s use of ‘kathai* aankhen’, Rabba is pleasant, but contrived, with Mohit Chauhan valiantly trying to save it. Ditto with Tabah – Mohit is the bright spot in the familiar melody. Sajid-Wajid get their 3rd song right though – Raat bhar‘s foot-tapping techno sound works. Mustafa Zahid and Bilal Saeed’s Tere binaa is very Roxen, very droning. Ex-RDB Manjeet Ral’s Pappi song sounds like a sub-standard Honey Singh ditty. The soundtrack’s winner is Manjeet’s other song, Whistle baja**, that uses Hero’s flute theme in a pulsating Punjabi dance format! This soundtrack’s heropanti belongs to ex-RDB Manjeet Ral Singh!
Keywords: Heropanti, Sajid-Wajid, Manjeet Singh Ral, Manj Musik, Mustafa Zahid, Bilal Saeed
*The word ‘kathai’ was last used in the 1998 film Duplicate, in the song, ‘Kathai aankhon waali ek ladki’, by Javed Akhtar. Music was Anu Malik, of course!
**The official soundtrack of Heropanti, released by T-series, doesn’t include ‘Whistle Baja’. The song uses the Flute theme from Subhash Ghai’s 1983 film, Hero, with music by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Ex-RDB Manjeet Singh Ral, credited as Manj Musik, has used the Flute theme to create Whistle Baja, and since Saregama has the rights to that song, they have released the new song under their own label, as a single. But the song is of course part Heropanti – it’s just not part of the T-series owned soundtrack.
