Shanghai Music Review

- May 9, 2012 | 12:24 PM IST

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Dibakar Banerjee’s next venture Shanghai is a political satire. The man, who has established himself as an accomplished director with Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and Love Sex Aur Dhokha is expected to consolidate his position further with Shanghai as well. The music in his movies has always been interwoven with the script and has helped in taking the narrative forward. This album is no exception as all songs either reflect or support the theme. This time he has roped in Vishal & Shekhar to achieve the same.

Bharat Mata Ki Jai: Shanghai Music Review

Bharat Mata Ki Jai is the helm of the album which is sung by Vishal Dadlani and Keerthi Sagathia with support of a noticeable chorus. A fun song, it is penned by none other than Dibakar himself and has a reflection of his sarcasm. Highlight of the album, it is filmed on Emraan Hashmi, it is being telecast all over and is already popular amongst the audience. There is also a remixed version of the song which will be liked by the youth.

Imported Kamariya: Shanghai Music Review

Imported Kamariya can be tagged as an item number in the album. However, one can’t be sure if the director with his sensibility has added the song to sell the album or more so because he would have felt the need to depict the mood and the setting in the film. Lyrics are politically driven and are satiric in nature. Dibakar has roped in an ‘imported’ firang model to dance on the song which takes it closer to reality. The song is rendered by Richa Sharma.

Duaa: Shanghai Music Review

Duaa takes the album further. It’s a heartfelt rendition by Nandini Sirkar and Arijit Singh. The song has an inherent sadness in it which is very acutely conveyed by the singers and lyrics. It’s a song which will stay with you in your alone moments.

Khudaya: Shanghai Music Review

Khudaya is the romantic song in the album. Sung by Shekhar himself and written by Neelesh Misra, it is definitely up to the benchmark set by the composer duo when it comes to romantic tracks. The song touches you at an emotional level and lyrics add to it as each word has a meaning here. The number stands out in the album and would be definitely loved by the listeners.

If the romantic version of ‘Khudaya’ touches you then the remixed version would make you move. DJ Kiran is the addition to the original team and definitely a worthy one. Song shows the variations that the composers have managed to bring around.

Morcha: Shanghai Music Review

Morcha is a song which will surely be played in all forthcoming elections. Sung by Raja Hasan and Vishal himself, the song is very Indian in nature. Lyrics are quiet real, direct and convey the message clearly. Though it’s a situation-based song, it might act as an apt background track in this political thriller. This song has the capability to grow on the audience and can stay with you, specially the ‘mukhda’.

Mantra Vishnu Sahasranamam: Shanghai Music Review

There is also a traditional ‘mantra ucharan’ by Srivatsa Krishna. Titled Mantra Vishnu Sahasranamam (The Thousand Names Of Lord Vishnu), its very pure and soothing to ears.