Rupesh Ram | Music Mastani

In all the excitement for the new albums which were releasing last month, I totally forgot about my Early 2014 category! So now I am coontinuing with it! 🙂 The seventh album in my Early 2014 category has got to be be ‘Queen’. No, I’m not just reviewing it because the movie became a huge hit, but because its music was also very commendable! So here is my review for the ‘Queen’ music album!

Album Details:-

♪ Music by:- Amit Trivedi, Rupesh Ram & Laxmikant-Pyarelal
♪ Lyrics by:- Anvita Dutt, Raghu Nath, Varma Malik
♪ Music Label:- T-Series, Saregama
♪ Music Released On:- 30th January 2014
♪ Movie Released On:- 7th March 2014

Queen Album Cover

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

To hear “Hungama Ho Gaya” full song on Saavn CLICK HERE

To buy this album from iTunes CLICK HERE

To buy “Hungama Ho Gaya” from iTunes CLICK HERE

Queen is a Bollywood comedy drama film which released on March 7th 2014. It is a joint production between Phantom Films and Viacom18 Motion Pictures. The film has been directed by Vikas Bahl and produced by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane. It stars Kangana Ranaut, Lisa Haydon and Rajkummar Rao in the lead roles. When I got to know that Amit Trivedi is going to score music for this film, I was very excited, because that man makes great music, though many times it is a bit too typical. After ‘Kai Po Che!’ and ‘Lootera’ albums being widely acclaimed last year, he can!e back this year with ‘Queen’. Though all songs weren’t noticed that much, they were still worth hearing and this album deserves to be in this category of mine. So let’s read my review for the music of ‘Queen’!

1. London Thumakda:- Singers ~ Labh Janjua, Sonu Kakkar, Neha Kakkar, Music by ~ Amit Trivedi, Lyrics by ~ Anvita Dutt

This song is a Punjabi Wedding Song, with the typical Amit Trivedi trademark all over it. He has used banjo to create the Punjabi atmosphere which is usually the job of the tumbi. Along with the banjo, dhols have been used in the traditional Punjabi way. In the antara, however, Amit has used his quirky techno sounds (which I cannot describe in words, only that they sound like a duck, but they sound good!). And who better than the Punjabi king Labh Janjua to sing this song! He has sung it very, very fabulously. There is not one single moment in the song where you will get bored. The Kakkar sisters, Sonu and Neha, have given brilliant supporting vocals. Anvita Dutt’s lyrics are very good, funny in places. If it were any other composer, he would have put too much of noise in whatever song he would have made for this situation, but Amit, using relatively less instruments, has shown that many instruments and loudness is not necessarily compulsory for Punjabi songs! And as expected right from the time it released, this song has become a huge hit over the weeks and is one of the best Punjabi dance songs this year!

2. Badra Bahaar:- Singer ~ Amit Trivedi, Music by ~ Amit Trivedi, Lyrics by ~ Anvita Dutt

Starting with horns, and instantly grabbing your attention, you will immediately come to know something different will be featured in this track. The composer’s unique voice and exceptional singing helps this tune a lot. Not that it is bad! Not at all! It is a very nice tune, but it will not sound so good in the first listen itself. Rather, you will have to give it some time to grow on you. The use of electric guitars in this track along with a classical-based tune shows exceptional fusion. ‘Bandish’ type lyrics (the ones which are there in classical songs) have been written by Anvita Duty to create a melancholic atmosphere, but the music does not make it feel that melancholic, and changes it to make it sound upbeat. The sitar’s use has been done in a very smart way, in the interlude along with drums, creating a beautiful effect. A very good track, but give it lots of time to grow on you! After it grows on you, you will surely feel like it is a #5StarHotelSong!

3. O Gujariya:- Singers ~ Shefali Alvares, Nikhil D’Souza, Music by ~ Amit Trivedi, Lyrics by ~ Anvita Dutt

To be very honest, I didn’t like this song when it released and still don’t like it. However, when it became a hit, it became obvious to me that since everyone is liking it, there must be something good about it. So I will review it not from only my point of view but from a general point of view. The tune is a bit dull, which is why I didn’t like it. However, the musical arrangements and vocals have been done very skillfully, making the track at least a bit interesting. It is an upbeat song, supposedly a party song if you don’t watch the video, which isn’t shot in a party or anything like that. It is a feel good song and a forgrt-all-your-stresses kind of track. It starts with a horn-like instrument followed by techno sounds and Shefali’s typical ‘weird’ voice (which I personally don’t like 😛 ) but she has sung it well, no matter how weird her voice is, but it is unique. Nikhil also uses his typical voice which sounds a lot like the voice of the composer himself. Amit has mainly used techno elements in the track which make it way more interesting. The antara is also a typical Amit Trivedi antara, with a line sung by the lead singer, and the next line by the backing singers. This is a very interesting and prominent feature in many Amit Trivedi songs. I personally thought that the techno part at the end was a bit too stretched and could have been cut down a bit. A dull tune, fixed by the arrangements! Fun to listen to, though!

4. Taake Jhanke:- Singer ~ Arijit Singh, Music by ~ Amit Trivedi, Lyrics by ~ Anvita Dutt

So with this song, Arijit has ticked off Amit Trivedi on his list also! 😀 It starts in a typical Amit Trivedi style (yes, again!) and then come the brilliant backing vocals by someone who is uncredited (or maybe it is Arijit himself). Then an awesome mouth organ solo piece cones which will blow you away! Arijit is the right choice for this song. I cannot imagine anyone else singing this song other than him. The tune is very cute and is one that will be liked by all be it old or young. It is another happy-go-lucky song, which is at the peak of catchiness. The lyrics are also very nice and cute and the music suits the lyrics. The composition changes scale two or three songs, instantly making this simple song into a complex song. But Arijit changes scale with great ease, effortlessly. He seems at ease singing an Amit Trivedi composition. The music has also been arranged very well, with guitar as the prominent instrument along with the mouth organ, drums and Amit’s usual quirky sounds. So Amit has mostly concentrated on Western elements for this track. A great song which is cute in all aspects! Surely has to be a #5StarHotelSong!

5. Jugni:- Singer ~ Amit Trivedi, Music by ~ Amit Trivedi, Lyrics by ~ Anvita Dutt

The composer again comes behind the mic for this song, which is again another song just showing off his typicality. The tune is very nice, and I enjoyed it a lot because of the way it seems to motivate you and cheer you up. The main instruments are again guitars and drums. The backing vocalists play a very important part in the song, and they give that impact which wouldn’t have come without them. Lyrics by Anvita are about freedom, and the music by Amit has given a great feeling of freedom as well. Amit has sung the track very well too, in his unique voice. Again in the antara comes his typical antara-composing style, with him singing a line and the backing vocalists singing the next. It just sounds so magical! The banjo played at the starting and ending also sounds awesome. It is just another example of the fact that no matter how typical the sounds are, the song can still attract many listeners. A great tune, which will make you feel free! #5StarHotelSong!!

6. Harjaiyaan:- Singer ~ Nandini Srikar, Music by ~ Amit Trivedi, Lyrics by ~ Anvita Dutt

The way iypt starts with mild piano, you will instantly come to know that a calm, soothing track is to follow. The string instrument used after that is just too good! It creates a very magical atmosphere around you, and you will slowly get immersed in the song. Nandini has sung the song very, very effortlessly. Amit Trivedi has used a garba effect similar to the way he did in ‘Shubhaarambh’ from ‘Kai Po Che!’. It starts less than halfway through the song. The hookline has a bit of a haunting feel, which will surely make goosebumps appear on your skin. Anvita Dutt’s lyrics are exceptional! The state of mind of a person left alone has been depicted perfectly through her lyrics! The sitar-like instrument at the end just increases the want for more of the song, it feels too short. A PERFECT song! A type of song which no one can ever criticise! #5StarHotelSong!!

7. Kinare:- Singer ~ Mohan Kanan, Music by ~ Amit Trivedi, Lyrics by ~ Anvita Dutt

Again starting with the Amit Trivedi copyrighted sound, this song is one of the weaker tracks of the album. I didn’t find the tune that strong, whereas the music has been given very efficiently. The sitar has been used in an outstanding manner! The track is a soft rock number, so naturally there are dripums and electric guitars present. However, the main highlight is Mohan Kanan’s singing. He has performed exceptionally. The lyrics are also good. It will remind you instantly of ‘Shikaayatein’ from ‘Lootera’, but that was many times stronger in terms of the tune. A weak tune which still deserves a listen though, for the vocals and arrangements.

8. Ranjha:- Singer ~ Rupesh Kumar Ram, Music by ~ Ruoesh Kumar Ram, Lyrics by ~ Raghu Nath

The only song which is not composed by Amit Trivedi, also deserves a very special mention. Though it is pretty short, the tune is very strong. When I say strong, it does not necessarily mean that it is complicated. In fact, it is exactly the opposite and is very sweet and simple. The composer sings it very good without the support of any instruments, making the tune stand out even more. The melancholic tune is instantly likeable. Lyrics are fully in Punjabi, and the composition has made it sound like a Punjabi folk song. Definitely deserves a listen as well!

Extra Song:-

Hungama Ho Gaya:- Singers ~ Asha Bhosle, Arijit Singh, Original Composition by ~ Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Recreated by ~ Amit Trivedi, Original Lyrics by ~ Varma Malik, New Lyrics by ~ Anvita Dutt, Music Label ~ Saregama

When the original song is a chartbuster, the chances of the remake to be a superhit increase by millions. That is exactly the case with this song over here. The mukhda sung by Ashatai has been kept as it is, but of course remixed with many techno sounds added to it. And trust me, if you are thinking it might be sounding very bad after remixing a classic song, you are completely wrong! It sounds awesome! We have not yet even come to the best part of the song, which is undoubtedly the Antara which has been added, with the vocals of none other than Arijit Singh! He has used a completely different texture in his voice for this song, probably imitating R.D. Burman’s voice texture, and succeeds with full marks (at least in my opinion). I loved his part!! The song has been remixed very very efficiently by Amit Trivedi, and the various sounds which he has used are just indescribable, creating a full on party mood and ambience. Not a single moment of the whole song in which you will feel bored. Even the least noticeable things like the backing vocalists singing “Hungama, hungama, hungama” are ‘ekdum’ perfect! I guess you’ve already understood that it is a #5StarHotelSong!!

Overall:- Queen is such a soundtrack which inspite of its typicality, has been liked by almost everyone. It is extremely light on ears, and each song has a certain feel-good vibe associated with it, be it the calm ‘Harjaiyaan’ or the enjoyable ‘London Thumakda’ or even the loud (opposite to Amit’s usual music) ‘Hungama Ho Gaya’. The typicality of Amit which is obvious in most of the songs, is liked by many but many dislike it as well. Even though it is high time he started trying different sounds, I feel he has already shown his versatility by composing songs of many genres, although sticking to his own template. He has tried all genres, but always sticking to his sound. This shows that he is confident of his sound, and the soundtrack of ‘Queen’ itself is an example that his typicality isn’t that big a problem, as he always leaves people awestruck when they hear his new songs. This album, though typical Amit Trivedi style, has been loved by one and all, because of the simplicity in the tunes, the light on ears quotient being more, and the brilliant arrangements.