`Rangrezz` soundtrack average, devotional songs rule it

Film: ‘Rangrezz’; Music Directors: Sajid-Wajid, Sundar C Babu; Lyricist: Sameer; Singers: Hiral Brahmbhatt, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Wajid, Sukhvinder Singh, Shankar Mahadevan; Rating: *** and a half

A love story with a twist, ‘Rangrezz’ belts out music with three songs by Sajid-Wajid and the other two composed by South Indian composer Sundar C Babu, the man behind the original Tamil film ‘Naadodigal’ of which ‘Rangrezz’ is a remake. ‘Dil ko aaya sukoon’ opens the album and gives you the intensely romantic feel of "Dabangg" tracks, obviously due to Sajid-Wajid connection. This one is a great melody hummed by the virtuoso Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, who is accompanied by Hiral Brahmbhatt. Their voices blend well and the track is one of those that slowly grows on you. This year Bollywood seems to be dedicated to devotional songs and the devotees are only rejoicing with a plethora of great musical options to celebrate god with! ‘Govinda aala re’ is a non-stop full-on beat marathon with Wajid adding the exact amount of masala required to make the track a success. A big thumbs up. ‘Shambho Shiv Shambho’ has been adapted from the original film and Sukhvinder Singh exceeds expectations and takes the track to a different level altogether with his unbeatable vocal power. The track can get slightly monotonous for the listener, but also has moments that can make you shiver. The drums and the techno beat make this a good fusion. It is followed by another devotional track, which is basically another version of ‘Shiv Shambho’ sung by Shankar Mahadevan. It`s a good motivational track and is more traditional than the other version. Sundar C. Babu`s composition is definitely to be taken seriously and he impresses with his style of music. Rounding up the album is ‘Yaaron aisa hai’, which is a very breezy yet steadily flowing track that celebrates spirit, friendship and togetherness. Salim Merchant gets behind the mic here and makes a mark with his soul rendering voice. But on the whole it`s not a song which will bowl you over. This one can be given a miss. ‘Rangrezz’ also boasts of having bought the world rage ‘Gangnam Style’, which is going to lead the movie and its music, but it`s not part of the album. The soundtrack in a nutshell rides high on devotional tracks, though it fails to leave its mark. IANS