Dabangg (2010) ** Music Review ** by newsbook Rating - 3.5/5

Director :Abhinav Kashyap
Music :Sajid-Wajid and Lalit Pandit
Lyrics :Faiz Anwar, Lalit Pandit and Jalees Sherwani
Starring :Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, (Introducing), Arbaaz Khan, Sonu Sood, Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Mahesh Manjrekar and Om Puri

Fuelled with the immense commercial success of WANTED (2009), it is show-time once again for another stylish hi-octane thriller with Salman Khan getting into slick "dhishoom-dhishoom" SFX thrills in DABANGG (meaning "fearless"). This crime fiction is also consequential as it marks the arrival of much hyped star-kid Sonakshi Sinha (daughter of Shatrughan Sinha) as its leading lady. No prize for guessing for its lead composers, as predicted Sajid-Wajid take the honors and promises to
make it another "crash-boom-bang" affair with their tuneful settings. There is not much to think about words like "melody" in pulp crime fiction but still the duo has been delivering their finest for almost every Salman flicks and is expected to deliver their finest again. Lalit Pandit chips in with raunchiest of tracks of our time and tries to boost glamour quotient of this humor-filled action drama. Does the audio packaging promises enough entertainment for this modishly shot action thriller? Like WANTED (2009) and VEER (2009), can we expect another worthy musical entertainer from Sajid-Wajid in eagerly awaited DABANGG? Fearlessly musical in spirits, as we plugged to hear it and tell you about its musical facts...

Eyes are always the channel for entering into the heart, pricking up senses and poetic delight to describe for those momentous romantic moments. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's linguistically refined vocals epitomize it all and charms with his beatific booming baritones in mellifluously composed Sufi-qawalli "Tere Mast Mast Do Nain". It was showcased at IIFA Awards as flick's musical paradigm and its entire play of six-minutes justifies its prowess of being a lovable track from reliable musical duo. Like "Surili Akhiyon Wali" (VEER), its Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's expertise in delivering variance in tones that works in giving varied shades to the track. Sajid-Wajid's composition is modestly engaging as it sticks to the roots of classical Indian instrumentals with lesser of electronic improvisations. Faiz Anwar's expressively versed lyrics ("Maahi be-aap sa, Dil yeh betaab sa, Tadpa jaaye tadpa tadpa jaaye, Nainon ke jheel mein, Utra tha yunhi dil, Dooba jaaye dooba dooba jaaye...) brings out that desired depth of emotions that makes vocals intensely in sync with the refines of musical appeal. Sajid-Wajid delivers one of the finest entities of their career and promise a sure shot chartbuster in days to come.
Shreya Ghoshal's saccharine vocals in lighter tones in the "duet" version are again a respite for ears. It charms to perfection and lends a conduit of lovable romantic backdrop.
"Tere Mast Mast Nain (remix)" breaks loose from ethnicity and get this Sufi based piece into DJ decorum with big thumps of rigorously played beat-juggles and claps in its backdrop. Chartbuster!!!
Malaika Arora's hyped "item-number" makes a vibrant presence as it gets the bedlam of yelling vocals, contemporary instrumentals with rustic chorals backdrop in "Munni Badnam Hui". Set in UP-Bihar Bhojpuri style of folksy flavors, it has ingredients of amusing one-liners ("Le zandu balm hui, Darling tere liye" and "Shilpa sa figure, Bebo si adaa") to instigate vigor factor in the track. Mamta Sharma along with Aishwarya sings in their coarsely paced throaty tones to deliver vocal oomph. Guest composer Lalit Pandit plays to the masses (especially front-benchers) and there is more for on-screen thrills than to expect in its melodic contents.
It's "remix" version is raunchier, spicier and electrifying to the core with added foot-thumping DJ antics and caters to its targeted set of audiences.

Sweetly enamored with its light-heartedly textured melodic spells, Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal's reliable vocals are a big respite in comforting sounding "Chori Kiya Re Jiya". Sajid-Wajid have a winner in this melody with gratifying vocals complementing well to the nuances of soothing arrangements. Tangy rhythmical progressions of guitar riffs welcome like fresh whiff of air and sublimes well with mellifluously synchronized synths, piano drills and violin notes. Presumed to be subtle background score or lovable duet, it is embroiled well with Jalees Sherwani's prosaic wordings that add to the beatific charm of the track. It's bliss for ears to have Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal coming together with their sheer vocal tenacity in all varied tonalities and moods and sensitize out a brilliant duet track. On repetitive hearing, one really desire to listen it again and again and wishes for its "lounge" remix in the credits. Charming!!!

Fearlessly Chivalrous! Sukhwinder Singh's vociferously bouncy tones emote out the impulse of "Veer-Ras" with vivacious gallantry chorals and sturdy earthy instrumentals in thematically appealing "Udd Udd Dabangg". Rustic and tribal folklore of being gallant, it has thunderous drumming, enthused chorals matching in tandem with volubly perfect Sukhwinder's voice. Sajid-Wajid make a perfect choice of auto-phonic orchestrations again and pitch in with booming sounds that befits the feel of the track. It has shades of "Omkara" (OMKARA -2006) but appeals moreover with its hi-pitched resonating punch-lines that mark the arrival of the lead protagonist. Jalees Sherwani's lyrics have raw rustic gallantry thrive ("Jab baat aan pe aave re, Woh baan karaj pe khaawe re, Woh sab ke praan bachawe re, Hai wohi dabangg...) with that poetic intellect that accentuates the "heroism" feel. It's a brilliant attribute again from folksy Sukhwinder and promises to give bumpy-rides and jitters in its haunting on-screen displays. Worth-a-hear!!!

Fresh from earthen-feel lively tracks of PEEPLI [LIVE], there is something similar in ambience and tonality in "Humka Peeni Hain". Its mood-swinging flavors are in sync with "Chalak Chalak" (DEVDAS -2002) but are more in rural singing tonality. It's signature tunes are mixed and match of "Talli Maar" (VEER-2009) and "Beedi" (OMKARA-2006) with ensemble of male singers (Wajid, Master Saleem and Shabab Sabri) enjoying themselves as a set of village drunkard urchins. Like raunchy sounding "Munni Badnaan Hui", it's a visual delicacy and moreover it will be cinematic aesthetics that will work in favor of them.

Feel of DABANGG gets louder and louder with its selected pieces of dialogues, sounds, rhythms and noises mixing well in proportion to deliver out an audible teaser in "Dabangg (theme)". Like "Most Wanted" (WANTED) theme track, it encapsulates all breath-taking moments and creates a buzz for the flick.

DABANGG is another "most-wanted" album from Sajid-Wajid and packs musical entertainment in its simple but catchy set of soundtracks. For all Salman Khan fans, it's another worth-hearing contribute from musical duo with spells of amusement in lively soundtracks like "Tere Mast Mast Do Nain", "Chori Kiya Re Jiya" and "Udd Udd Dabangg" while there is eclectic massy feel in "Munni Badnaam Hui" and "Humka Peena Hai". The musical duo haven't left any space for mediocrity and experimented well with earthy simplistic musical feel to deliver out the needful. Do expect "Tere Mast Mast Do Nain" and "Udd Udd Dabangg" to be among first choices among FM listeners and probably benchmarking the presence of DABANGG in the marquee.