NOT A VERY IMPORTANT ALBUM!! (VIP 2: LALKAR – HINDI VERSION – Music Review)

Music Album Details
♪ Music by: Sean Roldan
♪ Lyrics by: Raqueeb Alam
♪ Music Label: Divo Music / VMS Music / Publishing Sdn Bhd
♪ Music Released On: 26th June 2017
♪ Movie Releases On: 11th August 2017

VIP 2: Lalkar Album Cover

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

To buy this album on iTunes CLICK HERE

VIP 2 (Lalkar) is an upcoming Tamil film that has been dubbed into Hindi, starring Dhanush and Kajol, directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth and produced by Dhanush and Kalaipuli S. Thanu. It is an action comedy, and a sequel to 2014’s ‘Vellailla Pattadhaari’. Knowing nothing about the first film or its music, except for the fact that it had been composed by talented young composer Anirudh, I’m diving into this album. It has been composed by Sean Roldan, another relatively new composer in the South, who I’ve heard has composed really good music for ‘Power Paandi’ earlier this year. Let’s hope he does the same for his first technically Hindi album!

1. Life Of Raghuvaran – Chal Re Raja

Singers ~ Rahul Nambiar & Yogi B, Backing Vocals ~ Shenbagaraj, Aravind, Deepak, Jithin Raj & Narayanan

Sean Roldan starts the album with a rock song that doesn’t quite impress. The composition is all over the place, very hard to grasp, and understand. The hookline too, is literally very odd and weird. It reminds me of a same kind of song from ‘Kabali’, which was mediocre as well. The pulsating arrangements at least provide some entertainment in the song. Sean Roldan manages to create an enticing and hard-hitting rock rhythm, and the electric guitars (Josh Mark Raj) and drums (Ramkumar Kanakarajan) especially have been played amazingly to ensure that followers of heavy metal would love this song. Sean fuses this with folk instruments like the thavil (Hariprasad). The vocals are not quite welcoming in the song either; they are very crude, and supposed-to-be full of attitude, but it comes across as fake. The English rap sounds like an unwanted interruption in the proceedings of the song. The antara is better; its tune has a kind of Carnatic touch to it, or so I felt. (“Phir Se…”) The lyrics, or at least those that were intelligible, seem to be an inspirational and motivational song slash title song. Not a very enticing rock song, but the arrangements are splendid!

Rating: 2.5/5

2. Angel Of Raghuvaran – Tu Mili Hai

Singers ~ Abhay Jodhpurkar & M.M. Manasi, Backing Vocals ~ Vasanth, Sean Roldan, Sudha & Ravi G.

As soon as this song starts, it reminds me so heavily of ‘Jadoo Rawan Rawan’ from ‘Kabali’. The composition is based on the same raag, I guess. The composition itself is that kind, which haunts you too, but doesn’t leave a lasting impact on your ears. As long as it plays, it sucks you in and you find it impressive, only to forget it right away after it is over. It still is a very good composition; it’s just that it sounds so heard-before, and way too heavy to hear again. I see that Roldan has tried to infuse a kind of Tango-like rhythm, to fuse it with the Carnatic composition, but it fails. The arrangements are heavenly; the strings (Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra) are ravishing, while the twinkly sounds are just marvellous. The flute (Vishnu Vijay) and the strings are what upholds the arrangement though. Drums (Ramkumar Kanakarajan) and trumpets (Jaigopi & Ben) increase the multidimensionality of the arrangements. The vocals are functional; Abhay Jodhpurkar does well as the male singer, but M.M. Manasi sounds kind of out of place here, with her thick voice. The lyrics are the same old romantic lyrics that we find in these songs. A good composition, but too many times heard-before!

Rating: 3.5/5

3. Torture of Raghuvaran – Main Ga Raha

Singer ~ K.G. Ranjith, Backing Vocals ~ Shenbagaraj, Aravind, Deepak, Jithin Raj & Narayanan

This song sounds interesting right from the beginning, where it starts off in a kind of humorous way, and right enough, it opens up into a hilarious song about men singing about not wanting to get married! The Carnatic backdrop of the song makes it all the more funny to listen to, and the composition too, seems to be Carnatic-based. The hookline is instantly likeable, and cute. The backing vocalists (Shenbagaraj, Aravind, Deepak, Jithin Raj & Narayanan) do well, and increase the comic value of the song. They complement the lead singer, K.G. Ranjith, who sounds a lot like Ayushmann Khurana, very well. The arrangements are fabulous. The traditional wedding brass band (Ben & Jaigopi) has been played against the backdrop of wonderfully rustic Carnatic folk music, complete with nadaswaram (D. Balasubramaniam), and the wonderful kuthu-style percussion (Two Man Army), which actually suits this song. I pity how Bollywood misuses and overuses that rhythm. The lyrics are extremely funny too. An enjoyable song!

Rating: 4/5

4. Raghuvaran Vs. Vasundhara – Doori Zara Banake

Singers ~ Benny Dayal & Shaktishree Gopalan, Backing Vocals ~ Maria Roe Vincent & Sudha

This song sounds like a face-off between men and women kind of like ‘Thug Le’ (Ladies Vs. Ricky Bahl). The composition starts off quite abruptly, and doesn’t actually suck you in until Benny’s lines come in. The arrangements are beautiful! It starts off like a retro funk song with trumpets/brass instruments, and nice digital sounds. It later escalates to a nice and beautiful violin-oriented song in the interlude, where the Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra shows its wonderful skills yet again. The Guitars by Sean Roldan are very impressive too. The composition after the interlude is still below par, and doesn’t really hook you still. The two vocalists do well, especially Benny Dayal, who is incidentally the only Bollywood singer on this soundtrack. The lyrics make the song sound like it is a kind of face off between the two lead characters. Good with its arrangements, but falls flat with the tune!

Rating: 3/5

5. Vasundhara – The Empress Arrives

(Instrumental)

This instrumental is quite a grand one, for the entry of Kajol’s character. The feel that strikes you right when the song starts with those trumpets is that she’s a villain from a 1970s Bollywood film, whose music is composed by R.D. Burman. But then those EDM beats arrive and make the song even more interesting. A mysterious ‘Pink Panther’-esque portion follows, which is hinged on just the trumpets (Jaigopi). There is nothing much to hear here, except the mysterious yet whimsical sound of it all.

Rating: 2.5/5

VIP 2 (Lalkar) is yet another dubbed album that we will hear and forget. Forget the dubbed aspect of it; I’m sure it won’t be a memorable album even down south in its original language! Sean Roldan, I’ve heard great things about, but sadly, my first encounter with his music was not all that great! Not a very important album!

Total Points Scored by This Album: 2.5 + 3.5 + 4 + 3 + 2.5 = 15.5

Album Percentage: 62%

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: Torture of Raghuvaran (Main Ga Raha) > Angel of Raghuvaran (Tu Mili Hai) > Raghuvaran Vs Vasundhara (Doori Zara Banake) > Life of Raghuvaran (Chal Re Raja) = Vasundhara (The Empress Arrives)