Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas music review: Sachet-Parampara's album is fun, inventive and a pleasant surprise

Ever since its announcement, Karan Deol and Sahher Bamba’s movie, _Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas_ has been creating a lot of buzz — Not only does it serve as a launchpad for the budding actors, but it also has been directed by Sunny Deol. Composer duo Sachet-Parampara, who has been on the roll ever since Kabir Singh’s ever-so-popular ‘Bekhayali’ hit the playlists, were roped in to compose the music for the album. The first composition from the album, ‘Aadha Bhi Zyaada’ is about finding contentment and happiness even in the direst of situations. The tempo of the number, created with an array of percussion instruments, including tabla and the octapad, is thus suitably sprightly. Lyricists Siddharth and Garima have also stitched together a song that celebrates humble living and spirituality, with such words as — ‘Khaali jeb par koi na udaas/ Devo ka yahaan hai waas/ Re koi na fikrein aaspass/ Yahan saath mein behti Beas.’ With optimum use of tonal atmospherics, and the velvety voice of singer Hansraj Raghuwanshi, Sachet-Parampara have tried to evoke a world of staggering mountain ranges and choppy rivers in ‘Aadha Bhi Zyaada’. Karan Deol also delivers a rap section in the song, but the segment sounds like it was added as an afterthought to increase the appeal of the song and Karan’s rapping skills. There are three versions of the title track . The first has been crooned by Arijit Singh and Parampara Thakur, the second and third by Sachet and Parampara. There’s no doubt that the composers have used every romantic cliche in the book to create these three tracks — with oodles of passion, husky voices, and soft, flowy rhythm. Five decades down the line, one might confuse the ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas’ songs as Aashiqui 2 tracks that the makers forgot to include in their album. Barring the cliches though, the songs are pleasant and melodious, and fit into the world of nascent romance of Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas.  [caption id=“attachment_7353981” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas[/caption] ‘ Ho Ja Awara ’ is an ode to the carefree life. If Yeh Jaawani Hai Deewani’s ‘Ilahi’ encapsulated the spirit of the adventurous, exploratory youth, ‘Ho Ja Awara’ is the musical equivalent of an Instagram travelogue. Monali Thakur and Ash King flex their musical muscles and how! Monali, who has delivered memorable hits (’Zara Zara Touch Me’, ‘Moh Moh Ke Dhaage’) in diverse genres throughout her career, hits it out of the park with ‘Ho Ja Awara.’ Ash King too ably supports the singer, especially at sudden turns, when the song takes leaps in unexpected directions. Right at the crescendo, the pitch is transposed to a higher scale, which is a rare occurrence in Bollywood music. Tanishk Bagchi has often been criticised for creating derivative music, but the composer has undoubtedly outdone himself in this one. ‘ _Ishq Chaliya_ ’ is the token Punjabi song that seems to have become an indispensable part of Bollywood music. While in tune with the trends of the day, Sachet-Parampara have tweaked the number to inject their genre-bending sensibilities into it. It’s one of the few romantic numbers that is fast-paced, catchy, and even includes a trumpet segment in the postlude. Sachet’s powerful vocals and Parampara’s honeyed rendition complement the mood of the song, which is fun and intense in equal measure. Inspired from indie-pop music, ‘Dil Uda Patanga’ is another romantic number, which belongs to the _‘Kuch Toh Huwa Ha_i’ (Kal Ho Na Ho) world, where love makes one view the world through rose-tinted glasses. Sidharth and Garima hit the nail on the head with their lyrics, using fresh metaphors to describe the protagonists’ confusion with their newfound romantic feelings. Like in most of the other songs, here too, Sachet and Parampara resort to familiar tropes to connect with their target audience. Since dynamic collegegoers in India are always associated (at least in Hindi movies) with energetic guitar strumming, they introduce an acoustic guitar interlude in their song. But to their credit, never do these elements jut uncomfortably out of their compositions. Instead, the composers effortlessly imbue these trends and fads with their quirky sensibilities. ‘Maa Ka Man’ is a devotional number to the motherland. It’s appropriately calm, with little to almost no percussions. Perhaps because of its subject matter, this song comes across as the least experimental of the lot. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful song buoyed by Parampara’s soothing vocals. The last number in the album, ‘Sunn Le Rab’ is the most disappointing one, because it’s almost impossible to ignore its uncanny resemblance with its spiritual predecessor, ‘Bekhayali’. This part-Sufi, part-angsty song is the only number in the line-up where the composers have failed to break away from the angsty song stereotype they created with the Kabir Singh chartbuster. Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas is one of the few albums in recent times that has been able to evoke vivid visuals with its impactful lyrics and holistic, all-encompassing sounds. For a film that is essentially a romantic-drama, the music is fun, inventive and a pleasant surprise. Karan and Sahher debut movie derives its title from Dharmendra’s superhit song from the 1973 film, Blackmail. Who knows, Karan’s grandson may one day make his debut with a film whose title has been derived from Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas album. (Yes, it’s that good.) Listen to the entire album here