Dream Girl music review: Meet Bros stir up an inconsistent soundtrack with some refreshing melodies

Ayushmann Khurrana’s September release Dream Girl has managed to pique audiences’ curiosities to another level. Khurrana’s portrayal as a woman bolsters the film’s humour quotient. Also featuring Nushrat Bharucha , Dream Girl hits the right chords with its quirky soundtrack. Music director duo Meet Bros blend the modern and traditional elements in most songs effortlessly. The track’s first number ‘ Radhe Radhe ’ is a good example. Manmeet and Harmeet Singh, along with Amit Gupta, create a world of gully romance in this peppy number, reminiscent of multiple Govinda-Karishma romances in the 90s. Kumaar’s lyrics do full justice to the strong percussion sections in the song. The singers’ slightly nasal tone may have been a purposeful move, to make it sound like a fun track from a Mata ka Jagraata, or a marriage band-party, much like the satirical and flawless ‘Emosanal Attyachaar’ from Dev D. Special shout out to Kishore Sodha for his deft work with the trumpet. [caption id=“attachment_7275301” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Still from Dream Girl. YouTube screengrab[/caption] The composers have successfully showcased their versatility in this film. After pumping a number like ‘Radhe Radhe’, the duo shifts to a ‘ Dil Ka Telephone ’, which is every bit satirical and reminiscent of the yesteryear one-tone tracks. Jonita Gandhi clearly goes out of her comfort zone to croon this oddball number. Her otherwise husky, sensual voice texture, takes up a slow-paced, nasal accent (remember the iconic Golmaal song ‘Kyun Aage Peeche Dolte Ho’ by Sneha Pant?). The rap sections honestly don’t work in the musical milieu built by a strong background score, backed by Gandhi. Nakash Aziz’s brief portions in the song, also fail to create any considerable impact. ‘ Dhagala Lagali ’ is an out-and-out entertainer. An ode to Mumbai’s evergreen attitude, the song is a remake of popular Marathi song ‘Dhagala lagli kala paani themb themb gala’. With blasting dhol sections, ‘Dhagala Lagali’ invites audiences to groove to Mika Singh’s smooth singing and Jyotica Tangri’s electric voice. Much like the original number, ‘Dhagala Lagali’ can easily be one track which ought to play on loop during Chaturthi celebrations. Meet Bros, Altamash Faridi and Palak Muchhal cook up a very Pritam-like song with ‘ Ik Mulaqaat ’. Despite their best intentions, the song descends into a generic “heartbreak” song. The track’s one dimensional tone becomes so whiny and repetitive after a while, that it forces the thought that this number was included as a must-have to check the right boxes instead of actually putting effort behind it. With the Qawwali feels on-point and generous Urdu lyrics, ‘Iq Mulaqaat’ could have been as soothing as any Jubin Nautiyal track, but this instead becomes a cheap, wannabe version of those songs. Almost taking a cue from ‘Ik Mulaqaat’, ‘Gat Gat’ is a rehash of the innumerable Punjabi songs in Bollywood which are based on “daaru peena” (drinking alcohol.) Jass Zaildar and Khushboo Grewal hit the right notes in terms of tune, but miss the mark with respect to relatibility quotient. The EDM sections may well have propelled the Punjabi-ness of the song, but does nothing other than that. Arguably the most insufferable number in the soundtrack, ‘Gat Gat’ can be given a miss without feeling too guilty. With only a few hours to its release, here’s hoping that _Dream Girl’_s plot line is not as inconsistent as its soundtrack. Listen to the full soundtrack of Dream Girl