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Rating: 2/5 stars (Two-stars)
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Rating: 2/5 stars (Two-stars)
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Prakash Jha is back with his favourite genre, a socio-political dramatic thriller – Chakravyuh. This time he has chosen the Naxal issue as his subject with Arjun Rampal, Abhay Deol and Manoj Bajpai in lead roles. As is a known fact, Prakash Jha movies are not known for their music but instead for the realist theme and their depiction. However, there are some sparks like Mora Piya [Raajneeti] or Acha Lagta Hai [Aarakshan] which do catch listener’s attention occasionally. This time around Jha has given the baton of music to number of composers, right from Sandesh Shandilya and Salim-Sulaiman to Vijay Verma and Shantanu Moitra and last but not the least, Aadesh Shrivastava. There are eight songs in the album including a remix. One hopes he has right spots in the film to fit them all.
Kailash Kher opens the album aptly with Mehangai, a political satire. The song is an extension of Mehangai Dayan (Peepli [Live]) and Kailash Kher has rendered it in his typical style. Turaz’s lyrics define the theme of the movie brilliantly though the music falls short and does not make it a memorable outing. Though the song has given mileage to the movie due to its controversial lyrics, it is nowhere close to becoming an anthem.
There is a ‘remix version’ of the song by Sidharth-Suhas and frankly, it does not go well with the added techno beats. In fact it only spoils the effect of the satire and makes it casual instead of hard hitting.
Sukhvinder Singh makes an entry into the album with Cheen Ke Lenge. It’s a theme based song which reflects the storyline very effectively and effortlessly. Irshad Kamil has penned the lyrics which are inspiring and realistic. Sukhvinder tries to evoke the emotions and passion in youth through his voice and succeeds to some extent. Still, one does feel that it lacks ingredients of an inspirational hit.
As expected there has to be an item number in a film regardless of its genre and the requirement is fulfilled by Kunda Khol. Sandesh Shandilya has composed this very average item track which is sung by Sunidhi Chauhan who tries to put life in this rather dull track. Though that is to no avail either, one hopes that Sameera Reddy on screen might be able to revive the track with her moves.
Shantanu Moitra makes an entry with a romantic composition titled Aiyo Piyaji. Rendered by Rashid Ali Khan, this track has a mix of classical and modern arrangements in it. It definitely is the star of the album and can be played in repeat mode. Rashid’s vocals and Irshad kamil’s lyrics prove to be a good combination and help in composing a pleasant number.
Tambai Sa Rang is a folk based dark song. It’s a song which would remind one of Vishal Bhardwaj kind of music, as heard in Maqbool and Omkara. There is certain rustic and creepy feel to the song which makes it stand out. Benny Dayal, Salim Merchant and Shadab Faridi have done a great job in representing a group of boys enjoying while making a pass at a girl in the most crude and primitive manner. Salim-Sulaiman have come up with a slightly ‘hatke’ track and do score a few points for this one.
Paro is an extension of the previous song when it comes to being a jamboree by different singers. However it is not dark and instead turns out to be funny, courtesy Panchhi Jalonvi’s lyrics. The song is a light breeze of air in this heavy album while Shaan, Aadesh Shrivastava and Sunidhi Chauhan have added their own flavour which adds on to the overall effect.
Chakravyuh Theme is a slow and a sad track which goes with the movie. Benny Dayal has given his vocals at the beginning and they fit aptly. This theme track has all the shades of emotions, right from tragic, to inspirational and even action, hence it would be used effectively at different junctures in the movie.
Overall, the album has a gamut of music directors who have tried to break away from their boundaries and tried creating that suits the film’s requirements. In fact special mention for Salim-Sulaiman who after delivering some conventional romantic scores have moved towards customized and tailor made compositions for different moods and genre in the film. However, though the music might suit the movie’s narrative, it does not have the zing and mass appeal to become memorable. Thus, storyline and the strong characters with powerful dialogues would have to carry the movie on their shoulders which is very regular and expected from Praksh Jha movies. This one is no different.
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