Ungli / Dance Basanti disappoints

Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya

By Kanika Rajani

Emraan Hashmi is quite the ladies’ man. After his last song Ungli pe nachalein, the actor is seen shaking it up in Dance Basanti with Shraddha Kapoor.
While Hashmi has appeared in item numbers earlier as well, this is the first time that Kapoor is seen shaking a leg in an item song. Having acted in intense dramas, though unknowingly, the petite actress has already been typecast as a soft spoken, strong-willed damsel in her earlier films, be it Aashiqui 2 or Haider.
One can only wait and watch if she breaks out of that mould with Dance… The song, replete with electronic beats, seems very repetitive in a film that already has an item number. While the peppy song certainly has a different feel to it in comparison to Ungli pe nachalein that is relatively more sensual.
With both item songs being picturised on Hashmi, the songs even give away his grey character in the film.
Vishal Dadlani and Anushka Manchanda have lent their voices to the duet. Set in a nightclub, visually as well as in terms of composition, it has very little to offer. Manchanda has put on an accent which clearly does not work while Dadlani still manages to liven the song. Kudos to him for adding some spunk.
Lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya are also upbeat and in all honesty, hold the song together.
Considering it’s been scored by Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya — the same duo who scored the refreshing Happy Ending album, one expected something novel, but the song falls flat. However, Kapoor and Hashmi make for an interesting pair and watching Kapoor in a changed avatar is a welcome change!