JUST PRESS PLAY | Music Review by Bryan Durham : Meri Pyaari Bindu

Film: Meri Pyaari Bindu
Label: Yash Raj Music
Music: Sachin-Jigar
Rating: **** (4 Stars)

1. Afeemi: Jigar Saraiya and Sanah Moidutty bring to life the intoxicating composition that is Afeemi. The verse by Kausar Munir is a healthy mix of everyday Hindi and Urdu words. That lilt in Jigar’s portions is what makes this film magical. That percussive interlude preceding and during Sanah’s ‘thodi pighalti hoon, thodi phisalti hoon’ line is something to look forward to. All in all, an experience.  
    
2. Ye Jawaani Teri: An ode to the swing era? Nakash Aziz and Jonita Gandhi bring on the sass as S&J put their twist on the twist. It’s catchy, though not exactly playlist fodder. A good thing that it ends fairly soon.
    
3. Haareya: Arijit Singh might as well be playing the guitar in this ‘losing oneself’ in love in this rather interesting track. His voice and the stringed instrument are perfectly in sync. He seems to be enjoying Priya Saraiya’s Punjabi-twanged lyrics.
    
4. Maana Ke Hum Yaara Nahin: Lyricist Kausar Munir is the star of this piece. Parineeti Chopra’s voice is clean, raw and breathes in this ghazal-inspired composition. B-Town composers should create more such songs.
    
5. Iss Tarah: Husband-wife duo Clinton and Dominique unite for this very 90s Indipop-type track. Excited about the singers, the track itself is pretty ordinary. It’s good, not great. Expected more from this one.
    
6. Khol De Baahein: Monali Thakur begins in Bengali (written, I presume, by Rana Mazumder) and then moves to Hindi (Kausar) in a rather breezy track that she’s clearly enjoying. This is one ditty that finds breathlessless in talking about love. Rare gem.

VERDICT: Are you going to be hung up on one track (Pari’s)? Check out the others. They have their charms and while S&J have a sweet mix here, there’s a feeling that they could’ve done so much more with this.