Music Review : Chalo Dilli

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Starring :  Shashant Shah
 Gourov Dasgupta, Anand Raj Anand, Sachin Gupta, Rohit Kulkarni and Roshan Balu
 Manthan, Anand Raj Anand, Krishika Lulla, Shabbir Ahmed and Nisha Mascarenhas
 Vinay Pathak and Lara Dutta 


''Saddi Dilli' (Our Delhi) is fast becoming the 'hot-spot' for Bollywood's dream merchants. Whether it was entertaining BAND BAAJA BAARAT or critically acclaimed NO ONE KILLED JESSICA, Delhi has garnered major spotlight in present set of multiplex entertainers. CHALO DILLI follows this geographical route too and promises to entertain as frothy comical riot with the likes of Lara Dutta and prankster Vinay Pathak in the main leads.

CHALO DILLI also marks the debut of Lara Dutta as producer and also makes its entry as another honest attempt in 'road movie' genre. Zero expectations, zilch promotions and no buzz for this comical caper, have made things almost impossible for its musical success. Despite its low profile and mediocre face -value, the album has array of music composers to entertain in the form of Gourov Dasgupta, Anand Raj Anand, Sachin Gupta, Rohit Kulkarni and Roshan Balu. Can we expect CHALO DILLI to be finding its way to road of success? Big task but still optimistic for a joyful ride...let's plug 'play' to find the musical facts....!

Raja Hassan, a reality musical show winner who had solitary hit 'Maari Teetri' (DE TAALI) to his credits, makes vocal prominence in his throaty rendition to deliver out bouncy title track 'Chalo Dilli'. Gourav Dasgupta's composition is electronically profound that emphasizes more on echoing impacts, racy fillers rather than delivering out a spunky signature tuneful appeal. Raja Hassan's folksy vocal punch is optimally pitched in this playful set of arrangements with extra buzz of UK bhagra-beat that infuses pop element in this track. There are no such great shakes to mention but this funky number promises to be a potential background score for 'creating word-of-publicity' for the flick.

Frenzy musical mood is the flavor of the album and so it strikes boisterously in Sukhwinder Singh's extra zesty singing in audibly flamboyant 'Matargashtiya' (meaning 'roaming freely' in Hindi slang). Anand Raj Anand's dexterity in churning out racy Punjabi flavored numbers again proves to be triumph factor as it pumps loads of life in the soundtrack. This one is a really an entertainer, bouncy bhangra beat fillers, enthused vocals and witty lyrics (Anand Raj Anand), all paves to a really enthralling situational score that talks of dreaming big and living cheerful life to its best. It has that typical Sukhwinder's branded singing that has always been winning factor with philosophical nonsensical wordings ('Kabhi safar mein suffering, Kabhi suffering mein safar hai, Haye yeh jeevan hai suffering, Yeh jeevan kabhi safar hai...), depicting out humorous experiences of a lively journey. This situational score has the desired fun-element and deserves an aggressive promotion to lure audiences to the theatres.

Remix mania hits the deck again! After crassly voluble and now a chartbuster 'Mit Jaaye Gum' (DUM MAARO DUM), the rehashing of hit 80's number into 'crowd-pulling' item number makes its another garish presence in 'Laila O Laila'. It takes its skin and soul from Kalyanji-Anandji's composition 'Laila O Laila' (QURBANI) and has 'tadka' of Manthan's spicy wordings to deliver out another racy feast for the viewers. Gourav Dasgupta's massy composition is not path-breaking by any standards but works on the ethics of a typical remixing (missing original composition with beat-juggles, thrilling fillers, DJ spins etc) in giving out sufficient pep-fizz for a befitting dancing show. June Banerjee's sensuously breezy voice appeals but the spunk-factor is somewhat mediocre and all it deserves a colorful visual depiction on big screen to magnetize viewers. Following the present trends of successful eye-catching item numbers, producers will surely find this number to be promising and will be making this as frontrunner in the promos of the flick.


'Laila O Laila (club mix)' by Roshan Balu adds fuels to the fire, with added dosages to enthralling DJ spins and scratches, and making this as one of the most commercially viable entity of the album.

The title 'Chalo Dilli' gets it's another vivacious mouthpiece in the form of Neeraj Sridhar's racy vocals in upbeat sounding 'Hi 5'. Composer Sachin Gupta makes his first dent in the form of typical Indi-Pop style of composing that blends English and Hindi words with slow-pitched westernized orchestrations to lure urbane listeners. For a typical Pritam-Sridhar combo style of listening experiences, it makes an above average impact but again the spark of hitting high on chartbuster is missing.

Like the previous 'club-remix' number, 'Hi 5 (club mix)' is pulsating to the core and infuses dancing pleasures with amalgam of 'dhol' drumming, racy instrumentals and racy disco beat fillers, thus appreciating album's commercial aspects.

Archetypically Sufi folklore style of work makes way for another composer Rohit Kulkarni to arrive and for a surprise; it works progressively to maintain the funky decorum of the album in 'Kaun Si Badi Baat Ho Gaayi Hain'. The song pays tribute to Baba Bulle Shah, a twelfth century poet, and progresses vibrantly in typical Punjabi folk song. Kamal Heer, a prominent figure in Punjabi musical world, gets a conventional song to render that suits his style of singing. Shabbir Ahmed's customary Punjabi lyrics are impressively penned and set the right pacing and tempo for the soundtrack. Kulkarni's work in pitching traditional instrumentals in varying mode may sound contemporary but still entertains. Like all other soundtracks, it works to the situational needs but lacks novelty factor to make any chartbusting impression.

Anticlimax! When everything was sounding fun-frolicking and zesty in the album, a classy English soundtrack titled 'Moments in Life' comes and adds innovative binge. Natalie Di Luccio's slender vocals make soothing presence in Neisha Mascarenha's expressive lyrics, exuding out varied emotional shades in moments of life of leading female protagonist. Rohit Kulkarni takes a cool experimental mode in delivering out this finely sung number that is likely to be working as effective background score or track for ending or beginning titles.

CHALO DILLI is a reasonably average musical album from an array of promising music composers. All the soundtracks in the album play amiably to the situational needs of the flick but lack the aggression of hitting high and big on musical charts. As far as commercial feasibility is concerned, 'Laila O Laila' will be its most promising prospect, followed by 'Hi 5', 'Matargashtiya' and 'Kaun Si Badi Baat'. Despite its low profile and average musical performances, the album does not disappoint with any loose ends or mediocrity.