Meghdeep Bose | Music Mastani

Music Album Details

♪ Music by: Amaal Mallik & R.D. Burman
♪ Lyrics by: Manoj Muntashir, Kumaar & Anand Bakshi
♪ Music Label: T-Series
♪ Music Released On: 24th March 2017
♪ Movie Releases On: 21st April 2017

Noor Album Cover

To hear the full songs of this album on Saavn CLICK HERE

To buy this album on iTunes CLICK HERE

Noor is an upcoming Bollywood drama starring Sonakshi Sinha in the titular role and Purab Kohli, Kanan Gill, Shibani Dandekar in supporting roles. The film, directed by Sunhil Sippy and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar and Vikram Malhotra, is based on Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz’s novel, ‘Karachi, You’re Killing Me!’ which is the account of a Pakistani journalist and her misadventures in both her profession and her love life. The film takes the setting to Mumbai, of course, or else who knows who would have to incur the wrath of You-Know-Who. Anyway, we are here for the music. So, the music of the film has been given by Amaal Mallik, making it his second ever completely solo album after ‘M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’. Of course, I expect something fresh and light-hearted in keeping with the movie’s promos and theme. After two good songs in ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania’ earlier this year, it is his second venture this year and hopefully it will get just as amazing a response.

1. Uff Yeh Noor

Singer ~ Armaan Malik, Backing Vocals ~ Roshni Baptist, Aditi Paul, Abin Thomas, Shishir Samant & Akshay Jadhav, Lyrics by ~ Manoj Muntashir

“Seedhe seedhe sab chale, par ye tedhi chale,
Afra-tafri ho jahaan, ye bas nahi miley,
Paagalon se zyaada paagal, miley zameen aur maange baadal,
Kahin se jaake zara akal laa,
Uff ye Noor, Wallah!”

– Manoj Muntashir

The first song happens to be an apt title song, a song that enlightens us on what we can expect from the character of Noor in the movie. And it does give us quite a detailed insight on that, as well. Amaal’s composition is not only buttery and light-hearted, forcing you to groove to it, but it is also instantly catchy. A very Amit Trivedi-ish vibe accompanies the composition, and that hookline is one of the cutest stuff I’ve heard in a while. The groove that the song carries with it, is just unmatchable. The composition of the antara is just amazing. What helps the composition big time are the arrangements, trying to lighten the mood even more, what with the amazing brass instruments — the trumpet (Ketan Sodha), the Saxophone (Shyaam) and the trombone (Blasco). These three instruments remind one of another song from the genre, ‘Suno Aisha’ (Aisha) which was by Amit Trivedi. There’s an amazing flute portion (Tejas Vinchurkar) towards the end of the song, that’s very easy to miss, so listen carefully, and there is also another flute/woodwinds portion in one of the interludes, which is amazingly played! Occasional strings and those two dholak beats (Akshay Jadhav) at the beginning of the hookline, are some easily missable additions that Amaal has added into the song. Of course, you can’t talk about this song without talking about the instrument that gives it most of its fresh vibes, which is the guitar (Meghdeep Bose). The vocals by Armaan are amazing, and show his versatility; of course he doesn’t just sing romantic songs! It is probably one of his best performances. He controls our emotions of fun and laughter so well in this song, and also conveys the character of Noor very perfectly, as does lyricist Manoj Muntashir. The lyrics are where the similarities to ‘Suno Aisha’ end officially. In ‘Aisha’, Aisha was placed on a pedestal and how her ego was raised when Amitabh Bhattacharya wrote stuff like “Tum ho kamaal, tum bemisaal, tum lajawaab ho Aisha.” On the other hand, Manoj is doing nothing but hurting Noor’s ego, by saying stuff like “Kahin se jaake nayi shakal laa, and “Aankhon mein gussa bhara hai, chehre pe baarah baja hai“! Jokes apart, Manoj does a great job writing the lyrics! A nice protagonist-oriented song, with innumerable fresh vibes!

Rating: 5/5

2. Gulabi 2.0 / Gulabi Redux

Singers ~ Amaal Mallik, Tulsi Kumar & Yash Narvekar / Yash Narvekar, Tulsi Kumar & Amaal Mallik, Original Composition by ~ R.D. Burman, Music Recreated & New Composition by ~ Amaal Mallik, Original Lyrics by ~ Anand Bakshi, New Lyrics by ~ Kumaar

“Haal hua behaal hua mera haal hua behaal!!!”

– Kumaar

We are all familiar with probably the most famous Rafi song ever, ‘Gulabi Aankhein’ (The Train), a song that almost everyone, from the kids, to the grandparents in India, know by heart. Why wouldn’t we know it, considering that it has been through so many remakes and recreations and revamps by the likes of Atif Aslam, Raghav Sachar and of course the wonderful performance by Sonu Nigam in London. Well, now, the makers of ‘Noor’ make sure we get yet another version of the song, this time, a club revamp. Well, this song actually un-grew on me. I used to like it (just like) the first time I heard it, but it just slipped away after that; I couldn’t bring myself to love it any more, and whatever I liked also started to seem ordinary. The good thing about this remake is, that it only retains the hook of the old song. However, the tune that works as padding, is a bit weak, except the “haal hua behaal hua mera haal hua behaal” loop. The antara is super-ordinary, something I never expected from Amaal. The numerous interruptions going “gulabi, gulabi“, sound boring after some listens. There is an English female rap though, that is quite entertaining. The arrangements are mostly EDM, which is loud for the most part, but I will still maintain that it is better than all the noisy cacophony we find ourselves tripping to nowadays. Vocals are okay-ish as well, and the two versions differ from each other only in terms of vocals, the first one sung by Amaal, the second by Yash Narvekar. Still, Yash has backing vocals in the first song, and Amaal has backing vocals in the second. 😄😄 The two songs sound pretty much the same. The female singer is Tulsi Kumar, supposedly singing in a newly thick voice she has obtained. I just hope she doesn’t think that voice is good, and I hope she stops using this kind of voice. The additional lyrics by Kumaar are functional considering it is a club song. A cacophonous remake, which I hadn’t expected!

Rating: 3/5 for Gulabi 2.0, 3/5 for Gulabi Redux

3. Jise Kehte Pyaar Hai

Singer ~ Sukriti Kakar, Backing Vocals ~ Roshni Baptist, Mohini Gaur, Shishir Samant & Meghdeep Bose, Lyrics by ~ Kumaar

“Yeh sabhi mausam ho rahe apne
Kal talak thhe jo ajnabi
Yeh safar yunhi le chala aage
Piche ab raahein na rahi!
Saari khwahishein,
Dil ki yeh farmaishein,
Tune suni iss tarah,
Koi duaa, jis tarah, sunle Khuda!”

– Kumaar

The next song turns out to be a very light-hearted romantic song, something that we know Amaal is an expert at, especially after ‘Sau Aasmaan’ (Baar Baar Dekho). This song is quite similar to that one in terms of overall feel of the song; a very sprightly and vivacious sound helps you forget your worries for the entire length of the song. The mukhda starts off quite abruptly, but you get used to it. The hookline is the peak of the song, obviously. But it is the antara that really surprised me pleasantly. I’ve never heard an antara starting so calmly and without making any ruckus like “Oh, I’m the antara now, you guys!” In fact, it just merges in so well with the interludes, you feel it is some extra stanza in the interlude, until it is so long that it has to be an antara. The arrangements add to the lightness of the song, the guitar (Ankur Mukherjee) played in this very MJ kind of way, is so oddly placed in such a song, yet so wonderful-sounding. The vocals are nice as well, Sukriti sounds cute in her very energetic rendition. I couldn’t help missing Neeti though, who usually sings such songs. Then I realised it would just sound like ‘Sau Aasmaan’ Part 2, so I started accepting Sukriti’s voice after that. 😂 The way she sings the sargam, in the first interlude is very beautiful. Kudos to Amaal for composing that. The backing vocalists really have a spectacular job, repeating the lines of the hookline after Sukriti. Lyrics are just as happy and boisterous as everything else, and suitable for the theme of the song. An enjoyable romantic song!

Rating: 4/5

4. Hai Zaroori

Singer ~ Prakriti Kakar, Lyrics by ~ Manoj Muntashir

“Nasamajh thhe hum, jo yeh bhi na samjhe,
Waqt aane par, sab badalte hain!
Manzilein kya hain, aur raaste kya hain,
Log pal bhar mein, yahaan rabb badalte hain!
Kisi ke vaaste kahaan, kinaare aayi kashtiyaan,
Yeh dooriyan hai bas dooriyan!
Ke chori chori chupke se chupke se rona, hai zaroori,
Ke paani paani ankhiyon ka, ankhiyon ka hona, hai zaroori,
Reh gayi aarzoo ik adhuri,
Ke kabhi kabhi aisa bhi, aisa bhi hona, hai zaroori!”

-Manoj Muntashir

A sombre and pensive melody brings up the rear of the album, and it is a sheer delight to the ears. In spite of the song being pensive and slow-paced, it touches your heart in a way that probably no song has, recently. The song has a very beautiful tune, which makes you feel as if you are flying high in the sky. The composition has a very Western classical touch to it, and the arrangements just support the same feeling. The mukhda itself is so hard-hitting, you can’t help but listen further. And that hookline, that’s what can be charged legally for making people go crazy and making them speechless. The antaras carry forward the serious feel of the song perfectly, and it makes for a great listen overall. That bridge line between the antara and hookline is so heartbreaking! The arrangements as I was saying, are amazing. They ooze out grandeur like a leaking pipe. The live strings are so overwhelming (in a positive way), it transports you to a whole different world. You will feel like you are sitting in an Orchestra Hall in Europe. The slow pace is made up for by the grand arrangements, which make sure nobody has the audacity to dismiss this song by calling it boring. Twinkly sounds, heavenly wind instruments and amazing guitars (Joell Mukherjee) in an interlude, constitute the rest of the arrangements. Amaal’s piano notes are amazing, and he plays them like little treats throughout the larger treat that the song is. Prakriti steals the show, and after ‘Bheegh Loon’ (Khamoshiyan), it is her second song where she gets the opportunity to shine by herself. Her graceful, lilting voice in this song is something that I frankly never expected her to pull off, and she has!! Manoj Muntashir’s lyrics are a spectacular piece of poetry, and it is after such a long time that I’m hearing a sad song that doesn’t go overboard with its sentimentality. I’m ready to be sad for a day, listening to this song on loop! Amaal surpasses his own ‘Kaun Tujhe’ (M.S. Dhoni) with this one!

Rating: 5/5

Noor is a charming album. With just four tracks, it still has the most variety I’ve seen in recent albums. With not song sounding even close to the next, Amaal provides us with a mixed bag, wherein anything you pick out from it, will be a treat to the ears. Barring one. Of course, everything has some flaws. Here, it is the club song. I’m sure Amaal would’ve been better off producing an original club song than remaking an old song! Anyway, the rest of the songs are a breeze of fresh air, something that has dwindled nowadays, what with music makers following some unnecessary clichés that will make their music hit for a week or so. But this album seems like something that will stay on my playlist for sure. ‘Noor’ means ‘light’, and the songs are so light-hearted, so I call this album Amaal’s Noor-aani album!! Bright and light!

Total Points Scored by This Album: 5 + 3 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 20

Album Percentage: 80%

Final Rating for This Album: सा < रे < ग < म < प < ध < नी < सां

Note: The letter which is underlined is the final rating.

Recommended Listening Order: Hai Zaroori = Uff Yeh Noor > Jise Kehte Pyaar Hai > Gulabi 2.0 = Gulabi Redux