‘Aladin’ offers racy, foot-tapping songs (IANS Music Review)

Film: “Aladin”; Music Directors: Vishal-Shekhar; Lyricists: Vishal Dadlani and Anvita Dutt Guptan; Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Amitabh Bachchan, Shreya Ghosal, Sudesh Bhosle, Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani, Anushka Manchanda, Sunidhi Chauhan and Sanjay Dutt; Rating:***

The soundtrack of the much-talked about Amitabh Bachchan-starrer “Aladin”, a contemporary take on the classic fairy tale, is racy and energetic. Composer duo Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani have tried to go beyond their usual tunes and beats.

“Aladin” contains six originals and two remixes. It opens with “Genie rap”, where Amitabh turns rapper along with Anushka Manchanda. The song seems to be a situational number and doesn’t interest much.

“Genie rap” has a remixed version too by DJ Suketu. This version is faster and has more beats.

Up next is “Tak dhina din”, the title track. Sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Shaan, the song starts with a bang and is full of energy. The tempo is maintained all through.

Then we have a complete shift of genre with “O re saawariya”. It has a soft start but picks up pace later. It’s an entertaining piece with a mix of classical and rustic influences. Sudesh Bhonsle, Shreya Ghoshal, Shaan and Amitabh have lent their voice to the song.

“O re saawariya” has a remix version again by DJ Suketu. It is foot-tapping and adds more colour to the original song.

Next in line is the only soft number of the soundtrack “You may be”, which has composers Vishal and Shekhar behind the microphone. A love ballad, it has a mix of English and Hindi lyrics. Soothing to the ears, “You may be” is a pleasing song.

“Bachke o bachke” sung by Shankar, Shaan and Sunidhi is another upbeat, foot-tapping number that has a long prelude. Initially the song seems just average, but it grows on you slowly.

Finally, there is “Giri giri”, a different track sung by Sanjay Dutt. Sanjay doesn’t do justice with the song and adds no vocal quality. It is an average number, even though the music is interesting.

On the whole, Vishal and Shekhar have composed fast-paced, high on beats songs and most of them are enjoyable.