Awarapan 2 Music Review: We Owe An Apology To Arijit Singh For His ‘Post-Retirement’ Lineup – Emraan Hashmi’s Sequel Has 8 Songs With Massive Identity Crisis!

Awarapan 2 has 8 songs and none of them find a footing of their own just feeding cluelessly on the nostalgia - music album review!

- August 13, 2026 | 4:07 PM IST

Awarapan 2 Music Review: If Arijit Singh Un-Retires For This We Owe Him An Apology! — Awarapan 2 Music Review: 8 Songs Behaving Like An Ex Refusing To Move On & Living In The Past! (Photo Credit – Instagram)

What do you expect from a romantic drama that strictly follows the palette of the 90s and early 2000s? A. A very good music album! B. Heartbreaking lyrics that turn fodder for your emotional breakdowns! So obviously, when Awarapan 2 was announced, everyone was excited for these two things! Say why? Simply because the original film that was released in 2007 gave an album so banger that the songs still have a piece of our heart! But does the sequel justify the musical legacy of the original film? Honestly, No!

Remember the time when a Vishesh Films heartbreak album used to ruin your entire month, but in the best way possible, helping you heal? Nineteen years ago, Mohit Suri didn’t just give us Emraan Hashmi’s Shivam Pandit; he also gave us Pritam, Sayeed Qadri, and Mustafa Zahid’s Toh Phir Aao and Tera Mera Rishta, two songs that became the official anthem of every 2 AM heartbreak playlist.

But does Awarapan 2 justify the legacy of its original? With 8 tracks and five composers, this entire album seems like a jumbled-up puzzle that refuses to find a common ground! They say too many cooks spoil a broth, but I say, too many composers spoil a music album for sure!

Check out the music review of the album Awarapan 2!

Song: Ve Junoon
Music Composer: Mithoon
Lyrics: Sayeed Quadri
Singer: Subodhh Sharma

Mithoon opens the album with an almost sentimental move with Ve Junon. It plays like a deliberate callback – minimal build, a heavy restraint, and a vocal that’s asked to sit in ache and cry your heart out. Subodhh Sharma is a newer voice for this Universe, and probably that is why he carries the track with a raw, slightly unpolished texture that actually works in the song’s favor. It does not look like a rehashed or refurbished version, despite looking like it belongs to the same Universe, probably because of Sayeed Quadri’s writing. Sharma’s voice grows on you, but still lacks that X factor, that pain to go viral!

Song: Yeh Awarapan
Music: Amaal Mallik
Singers: Arijit Singh
Lyrics: Rashmi Virag

The internet’s most-discussed track on this album is purely for extra-musical reasons – Arijit Singh‘s post-retirement lineup! Honestly, every listener might come here with great expectations, but all they get is a competent Amaal Mallik ballad that plays it safer than what this album demands! Rashmi Virag’s lyrics circle the film’s title itself, but fall short of the depth! I wanted something to latch on, “Ae Zindagi Ho Jaa Khatam’ instead of piling up on the hook – Yeh Awarapan! However, despite the safe mode, Arijit makes this a little worth, but the composition itself rarely rises to meet him. Mallik gives Singh a good song, but the moment deserved a great one!

Song: Tera Mera Rishta Continues (Film Ballad)
Music recreated & rearranged by Mithoon
Lyrics: Sayeed Quadri
Singers: Saaj Bhatt & Subodhh Sharma
Original Song Composer: Pritam & Mustafa Zahid

This is where the album should have peaked. It knows its biggest asset is the nostalgia this song holds, and it leans on that memory twice over, with a full film ballad version and a reprise. Mithoon, recreating a song that wasn’t even originally his, deserves applause, since he tries to maintain the balance and get it right! The DNA of the melody survives, but the song gets confused between where it wants to stand – 2007 or 2026? Saaj Bhatt and Subodhh Sharma split the vocal duties properly, but the continuity looks too forced! This clearly isn’t the best use of nostalgia! Even the interludes look like they are burdening the pace of the song! Probably, the only barrier is Sayeed Qadri, not able to move past his original writing!

Song: Tumhare Liye
Singer: Shreya Ghoshal
Music Composer: Wasif Ahmad
Lyrics: Sachin Urmtosh

Shreya Ghoshal in a Vishesh Films soundtrack should have been an event. Honestly, she tries to elevate the song and the conventional writing fairly well! Wasif Ahmad’s composition is unhurried, and clearly written to showcase range rather than push boundaries — which is fine, except the album already has enough unhurried pace! Even the writing gets too worked up with the sacrificial lyrics laced as romance! When Sachin Urmtosh writes, “Rеhne ko haan dil ka tere kona hе kaafi hai, Mere liye to bas tera hona he kaafi hai, Tumse doorie munasib nahi humare liye,” then it definitely needed a better composition to shine and rise! Strip Shreya Ghoshal’s voice out and the composition doesn’t have much of an identity!

Song: Toh Phir Aao (Dobara)
Music recreated & rearranged by Mithoon
Lyrics: Sayeed Quadri
Singer: Subodhh Sharma
Original Song Composer: Mustafa Zahid

Toh Phir Aao was Awarapan’s signature identity! Recreating it is either a gift to the fans or a trap, and Mithoon tries to thread it as well as it could be! The strings return, the harmonies return, but Subodhh Sharma is no Mustafa Zahid, and the song knows it, wisely choosing texture over imitation! The bait works precisely, but for how long, I have a doubt! It will be short-lived, but mostly for the arrangement!

Song: Piya Ghar Aaya – Homecoming
Singer: Akhil Sachdeva
Music Composer: Akhil Sachdeva
Lyrics: Akhil Sachdeva

This one is like a wildcard entry in this album! Akhil Sachdeva single-handedly writing, composing, and singing his own song within someone else’s franchise is a guest that should be welcomed and hosted well! The song breaks the monotony of this album, and trust me, it’s good! In fact, this one might be my personal favorite! Sachdeva’s voice has an intimacy that plays well in isolation. He is the odd one out here, but it’s so refreshing to the album’s mood!

Song: Laado
Composer: Jeet Gannguli
Singer: Jubin Nautiyal
Lyrics: Rashmi Virag

Rashmi Virag has my heart as she writes, “Kheli Jo Sang Mere Wohi Patang, Mere Haathon Se Chhooti Chhooti, Haaye Woh Nanhi Pari Naazon Se Pali Meri, Laado Kyun Mujhko Rulaaye…O Re O Maanjhi, Likha Naa Mit Paaye!” The song has a certain commercial value, and of course, Jubin elevates it to another level! Laali delivers a personal emotion; it finds a place in your heart! If the album needed one song that could make you feel emotional and a twitch in your soul, it is this song!

The biggest challenge for Awarapan was not making a tribute album, but dealing with all those 19-year-olds who were heartbroken in the 2000s! Awarapan 2 somewhere knew this, but did not know how to hit that chord! This album deserved to be so much more, but it settles for mediocrity, getting trapped and burdened by the legacy of the original!