Delhi Belly- Music Review

There isn’t much need to opine about the adrenalin shot that is Bhaag DK Bose, it’s already a rage. Ram Sampath’s arrangement and Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics form quite a potent combo, and with the composer himself doing an infectiously high energy job at the vocals as well you couldn’t ask for more. You can watch the video here (pliss excuse Vir Das’ exquisite guitar play-acting with an absolutely stationary hand over the fretboard!) The hatke theme of lyrics and arrangement continues with the new age comic qawwali Nakkaddwaley Disco Udhaarwaley Khisko. Wonder if the flawed singing by Kirti Sagathia was a deliberate attempt. It works anyways, and from what I know the song is going to be a fun watch as well. Saigal Blues is up next, Ram Sampath giving a brilliant psychedelic twist to a very KL Saigal-esque base tune, Chetan Shashital imitating the maestro to a tee. The composer next gets his better half Sona Mohapatra to sing Bedardi Raja that is a walk in the park for the lady, being of the folk genre, something she has been acing since the time she entered the Indian music scene. The orchestration is spot on, the use of harmonium especially engaging. The Grind Mix of the song is also tastefully done, though with the dilution of the ethnic elements, not quite at the same level as the original.
The retro whodunit arrangement of Jaa Chudail is interesting, but on the vocals front I didn’t find the song equally impressive, Suraj Jagan seemingly doing a bit too much of shouting and growling. The composer returns to singing along with Tarannum Malik on Tere Siva, undoubtedly one of the soundtrack’s best. The mellow usage of percussion (consisting of mridangam and all, nice!), the breezy arrangement, the classy effort on the vocals, the song is a winner all the way (I must add though that I did get reminded of Sona’s Indianized version of INXS’s Afterglow in places). And the last 50 odd seconds are pure bliss – Sampath’s humming echoing in the background as the guitars and percussion close the song in a beautiful crescendo. Switty Tera Pyaar Chaida is the only song where Sampath looks pretty ordinary, setting Kirti Sagathia’s vocals to a middling techno-Punjabi template. Liked the Punjabi-English lyrics though. And Kirti’s singing, the Arabesque flourishes were brilliant. The Punk Mix version in fact turns out better, the rock elements adding well to the sinister sound of the song. And finally there is another fraud qawwali track I Hate You (Like I Love You) once again headed by Kirti, accompanied by Sona, Shazneen Arethna and Aamir Khan (who for some reason is not credited as a singer) doing a cameo of reciting whacky verses. The closest kin I can find to the arrangement is Bappi da’s Pag Ghunghroo, as Sampath combines the qawwali and 80s disco sounds in a truly splendid manner (the English bits could have been cut down though). And Aamir’s utterances add to the fun! Soundtrack closed in style,really.
Six super fun tracks and two not very bad works (counting the originals alone), Delhi Belly is undoubtedly Ram Sampath’s best work to date. If this doesn’t get him his due then Bollywood can go to hell, they don’t deserve him. Two back-to-back unconventional soundtracks in Shaitan and DB, quite a month this! (Also, hat tip to the other lyricist of the movie Munna Dhiman for his quirky lines in Nakkaddwale and Switty, and Tere Siva)
Music Rating – 8.5/10
Top Recos – Bhaag DK Bose, Saigal Blues, Tere Siva, I Hate You
Review Courtesy: Music Aloud