Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty / A mixed bag

The music album of an Akshay Kumar film is always popular for its dance numbers and quirky beats that go on to become chartbusters. It happened with Rowdy Rathore, then with Khiladi 786 and Boss. The same can’t be said about Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty, but nevertheless, it makes for an average soundtrack. The compositions by Pritam Chakraborty are decent, but they haven’t been able to climb up on the popularity chart. Shayarana in the voice of Arijit Singh is a sweet romantic number, where the singer croons with great zest, almost in a way that you won’t be able to guess if it is Singh’s voice. Irshad Kamil’s lyrics are good. Next comes, Tu hi toh hain, a solo number where Kunal Ganjawalla packs a punch with his voice. This upbeat, hip number is well composed and the electronic dance music beats blend very well with the way the song is picturised. The slow Ashq Na Ho has balkan beats opening the track, with Singh’s voice creating magic once again. This slow, emotional number strikes a chord, but is low on repeat value. What follows next is definitely the best track of the album. Blame it on the night is a fantastic dance number with the perfect energy, enthusiasm and zest, which is required for a club track like this one. We love the way Singh and Aditi Singh Sharma have rendered this number and Piyush Kapoor’s rap comes as a good element in between the song. A sure shot hit at the party scene. Mika Singh and Ritu Pathak’s Palang tod comes next, which fails to impress. The singer had created magic with Gandi Baat in R… Rajkumar, but Palang tod is way below average. The lyrics fall flat and the desi meets urban composition creates a lot of confusion on a listener’s mind. More like a desi item number, this one can be given a miss. There is also the promo version of Tu hi toh hai, which is sung by Benny Dayal. It’s a cute track, which the singer has crooned with a lot of energy and a great vibe. Palang tod has been given another version, which doesn’t help. Even this one is sung by Singh and Pathak, and once again it doesn’t manage to keep you hooked. Overall, the album is a mixed bag, with a few numbers like Blame it on the night that stands out.

Ek Villain/ Mesmerising melody

Banjaara

He has already created magic with some of his compositions and this time, music director Mithoon has penned some soulful words for a melodious track titled Banjaara. A solo rendered by Mohammed Irfan, who is fast becoming a familiar voice in the romantic and contemporary music scene, Banjaara is a musical treat that grows on you with every hear. The soft beats and use of piano stand out in the overall orchestration, and Irfan’s voice compliments the composition brilliantly. We are sure director Mohit Suri must have added his inputs as well, since the song has his signature style often heard in his films. Double thumbs up from us. We strongly recommend you listen to this track and unwind your senses. We can’t wait for the album already!

New Launch

For all the music lovers who cannot get enough of the melodious tracks from ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s,  Shemaroo Entertainment has something in store for  you. The company has launched special music DVDs titled 101 Hits, which takes you through a musical journey of the glorious decades, where singers like Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi among others dominated the scene. Each pack consisting of three music DVDs features original videos of Hindi films from that era, each of which had its own distinct flavour of music. Each pack is available for Rs.299.