The tunes of the upcoming Imran-Khan and Kangana Ranaut starrer Katti Batti have made us wonder if Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, who haven’t given us anything credible since D-Day are losing their midas touch. Their music has become more unconvincing in the last couple of years and the tunes haven’t made a blip on the music charts either. If Dil Dhadakne Do’s compositions don’t hit the spot, Katti Batti misses it too. But, a couple of songs are definitely worth playing — sometimes for their sheer musicianship and sometimes for Shankar Mahadevan’s voice. But the trio seems to be stuck in a groove. The intrinsic problem with the album is that it sounds generic and can get boring if you don’t immerse yourself in it. Even if you make the effort, there is the urge to switch to their better tunes.
The composers do succeed in their arrangements, which are better and cleaner than most composers of today. The trio has been surprisingly consistent in the pursuit of one sound.
The album opens with Lip to Lip which hinges itself on Hinglish-meets Punjabi lyrics, that sound more jarring than ever. While Nikhil D’Souza’s voice suits the pop song, Ritu Pathak’s extremely nasal, bass voice sounds awkward and overbearing. And by no standard is this song which goes French kiss firangi hai, desi kissi changi hai (yes, that’s what it says) cute, as is the aim here. The only thing that we liked here was a brief sax interlude.
Sarphira begins really well with some fantastic strumming on the guitar that remotely reminds us of Anjaana Anjaani’s title song. High on energy, this is one of the more addictive numbers in the album. The techno sound works well, but it’s again a stale composition. Jaago mohan pyaare is as confused as it can get. It’s out of tune from the beginning. The song aimed at being a rock bhajan is a senseless riot.
We loved the idea of using a more electronic sound with a sad number in Sau aansoon. While Mahadevan’s voice soars above the arrangements, Neeti Mohan ably accompanies it. The most beautiful part of the song is the electric guitar solo, which is by far the best in this album.
Oye Janiya begins with a piano prelude and a Shafqat Amanat Ali-like voice of Mohan Kannan. The arrangements are brilliant, the composition interesting, making this song as one of the better pieces. But what it lacks is the throb of a sad song. It’s just not there.
The lyrics, when not tolerable or just about fine, are plain absurd and purposeless. The album gets mired in what was probably the brief given by the director. We wish there was their unmistakable grandiose here. Overall, a soulless and malnourished set.