BILLU SOUNDTRACK REVIEW

Pritam Chakraborty is known for producing music chart toppers and the Billu soundtrack is consistent with his golden reputation. Billu indeed features a large majority of danceable songs or creative remixes of the soundtrack's original tunes.

In the item number category, the punjabi-sufi "Marjaani" opens the album with staccato lyrics performed by a sexily husky Sukhwinder Singh, who is duly accompanied by Sunidhi Chauhan. "Love Mera Hit Hit" follows, seemingly using a template from one of Chakraborty's previous hits: "Maujha hi Maujha" from Jab We Met. The rythm mellows down a bit as soon as the sensual reggae "You Get Me Rockin' & Reeling" enters the scene, featuring a noteworthy Neeraj Shridhar delivering pleasantly smooth vocals. Sadly, after such a sweet number, "Ae Aa O" fails to impress with a chorus that strangely seems to be revisiting the 1980's worldwide hit, "Ti Amo" by Umberto Tozzi.

Venturing towards the soundtrack's less commercial tunes, we do get a few glimpses of Chakraborty's potential outside his chartbuster talent, much to the delight of music buffs. The first welcome incursion towards this, and personally what I believe to be the album's best track, is "Jaoon Kahan". The guitar riffs and rythmic loops provide a bewitching background for the extremely talented Pakistani singer, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, undoubtedly making this a piece that will enthrall listeners worldwide, mainly due to the singer's expressive and slightly vulnerable voice, which makes the melody sound as natural as the flow of pristine water.

A colourful and fun-filled "Biloo Bhayankar" introduces both Billu, the film's main character, and his village's atmosphere. Accordeon, banjo, bicycle bells, Raghuvir Yadav's naughty singing, you name it! If you want to smile, this is the song you are looking for...

Finalizing the set of original tracks, the peppy "Khudaya Khair" features a charming feminine chorus. Unfortunately, the song seems unable to take off after a joyful start. This is the only track for which I would certainly recommend listening to the album's reprise, in which Abhijeet's performance gives the song the extra oomph the original version is lacking.

Basically, apart from several danceable tunes, Billu also offers a few songs that do stand proud without the nightclub aura that Chakraborty is so renowned for. Dancing night owls and daytime listeners, old and young alike, will surely appreciate the soundtrack for different reasons, but isn't that what variety is all about?