Film: Shootout at Lokhandwala
Director: Apoorva Lakhia
Music Director: Anand Raj Anand, Biddu and Mika
Rating: 2.5/5
Shootout at Lokhandwala marks the return of director-writer Apoorva Lakhia.
Like the film which stars the who’s who of Bollywood, the film’s album has a variety of composers, each contributing his unique style.
Euphoria band member Palash sen croons Sone De ma and has you ponder each word. The lyrics are well strung and the choir like feel with the chorus, adds the punch in this slow paced track. Sen’s voice in this track is worth a repeated hear. The track is soft and soothing. Close your eyes and listen away.
Akhri Alvida is yet another brilliant track. Rendered by Pakistani band Strings, this song is expressive and the carefully fused instruments make it a great reason to listen to. Unfortunately, this is very similar to their previous works and lacks any uniqueness that may differentiate it. If promoted well, this track may just go on to become a chartbuster.
The Club Mix of Akhri Alvida rips apart the song with the ‘dhin chak’, and the result sounds like a forced club track. One that you can neither jiggy to nor enjoy. The addition of the techno beats to the well composed original track make for an awful and confusing combination. Eventually, the song gets to you and turns unexciting.
Ganpat, delivered by Anchal and Mika, is neither a rap track nor is it anywhere close to sounding nice. What it sounds like is a sad imitation of ‘Mumbhai’ and Baba Sehgal’s rap songs. The only reason you might begin tapping your feet is its decent beats. This seems like a background track that may very well be included in a scene. It is a futile exercise to hear this track, nevertheless, the style of rendering the song might just be the factor the song turns popular among youth.
The remix is far too painful, while the original is still bearable. The remix, again with the painful ‘dhin-chak’ beats and nearly a minute more is disenchantment itself.
Well, Biddu certainly carries it off by singing Live by the gun, an English song. Unfortunately, the semi- baritone style has been done by a whole lot of singers, even legends like Mark Knopfler to Simon and Garfunkel. This track is haunting to a point, but then, sounds a wee bit stretched. What will be interesting is to see this track’s placement in the film. Filled with intensity, this song in particular is a worthy heed.
Unke Nashe Main, by Sukhwinder Singh along with Mika and Anand Raj Anand, is a mediocre track that does absolutely nothing for you. You’ve heard tracks like this before, it sounds as though the singers rendered it with complete disinterest. The lyrics are blah and the song has too much going on to be enjoyed peacefully. From tambourines to synthesisers to generated beats, there is far too much. The song lacks the repeat feel most Sukhwinder Singh songs possess.
The remix is far perkier and manages to balance the follies the original track had. The flange to the vocals and the increased tempo elevates the remix to a far more pleasurable track. This one is certainly worth loading onto your iPod and listening to on the go.
Anand Raj Anand does well in rendering Mere Yaar. This fusion track has a mass appeal and if promoted well, might go down well with the audience. The track lasts just the right duration and the beats are peppy enough to make for a good dance number. This one is certainly not a sing-along track; however, it is one great dance number, so keep those feet tapping.
The soundtrack of Shootout at Lokhandwala is a worthy buy, but does not have great repeat value. It is a matter of waiting and watching to see if the huge star cast leverages the film’s performance and the music sales.
