Surprise!

The good news is that theres actually more to Dabanggs soundtrack by Sajid-Wajid than Munni Badnaam. The bad news is that the worst of Dabanggs soundtrack is better than the best of Robots.

Munni Badnaam has catchy music and tongue-in-cheek lyrics both by Lalit Pandit and it unabashedly plays to the gallery. While it certainly cant rival Kajraare from Bunty aur Babli and Beedi from Omkara in terms of musical sophistication,its one of the best item numbers in a long time. With its crazy lyrics le jhandu baam hui/ darling tere liye,its a track that needs plenty of attitude to sing and both the debut vocalists,Mamta Sharma and Aishwarya,deliver on that. Surprisingly enough,theres more to enjoy in this album. Hud Hud Dabangg,the title track,is a folksy song with an addictive chorus,while the energetic Humka Peeni Hai,is a great drinking song faithful to its Hindi heartland setting. Tere Mast Mast Do Nain,performed by Rahat Fateh Ali Khanboth as a solo and as a duet with Shreya Ghoshalis strongly reminiscent of the singers Aaj Din Chadheya in Love Aaj Kal. But its simple melody and both singers strong vocals remain enjoyable. Chori Kiya Re Jiya is the odd one out on this albumwhile all other songs maintain a consistent rustic feel,this particular track,with its rather urban guitar base,betrays that sincerity.

If Dabanggs soundtrack comes as a pleasant surprise,Robots music,by AR Rahman,comes as a rather unpleasant shock. The composer,so far considered the wunderkind of Indian film music,seems to be losing his famed magic touchthe touch that lent some respectability even to movies like Dilli-6 and Raavan. It confirms our worst fear that Blues awful Chiggy Wiggy was not a one-off stumble.

The album begins with disco-inspired Naina Miley,which also forays into hip-hop territory. We imagine that the heavy use of distortion is an effort to stay on track with the science-fiction theme of the movie. Whatever other qualities the music may have,subtlety is not one of them. The fact that this is music for a science-fiction music is rubbed in at every opportunity,with every reverb and distortion. Its also there in the rampant use of nonsensical English lyrics I am a super girl/ teri pyari rapper girl and gratuitous usage of any words even remotely associated with science neutrons,protons,Isaac Asimov,Isaac Newton,Albert Einstein,battery,silicon. The tragedy is that none of this can save the musicat its best,its merely pretentious,such as in the decidedly weird Arima Arima. At its worst,its terribly annoying,like in Kilimanjaro which,by the way,also references Mohenjo Daro. Robots music has failed it miserably. Lets hope Rajnikanth can reverse the damage.

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