Heropanti 2 music review: AR Rahman, Mehboob, Ahmed Khan reunite, but not exactly for another Rangeela

When AR Rahman’s name was announced last year as the music director for Sajid Nadiadwala’s action flick _Heropanti 2_ , fans of the music director and the Heropanti franchise had mixed reactions online. While Heropanti fans lapped up the news as a kind of sonic validation given that Rahman would be putting his might behind it, the Mozart from Madras’ fans seemed a bit on the fence. Why would Rahman sign up to do a film that has more parkour than pitch perfection? The composer had laughed off the insinuations last year by admitting he does not have any kind of music elitism though some fans and the media tend to typecast his choices. A big clincher for Rahman to get on board was also the comeback of legendary lyricist Mehboob, who has written some of the composer’s biggest hits. With Ahmed Khan directing the flick, Heropanti 2 was set to be a reunion of the OG _Rangeela_ gang when Khan was a choreographer. The music from the movie has been releasing song-by-song with the last one ‘ _Whistle Baja 2.0'_ having dropped last Friday. The four-song album is a quick listen with lots of rhythm, lots of movement, and generous helpings of technology-driven music. Starting with ‘Dafa Kar,’ the song sets the tone and pace for the rest of the album whilst giving listeners a taste of the devil-may-care attitude that the lead protagonists exude in the film. Sung by Rahman and Hiral Viradia, the song is trippy in the same way that  ’DK Bose’ in _ Delhi Belly_ was. With the mischievous stresses on different syllables, ‘Dafa Kar’ sounds curiously close to the English cuss when the pause is between different letters. As Rahman goes Da-Fa-Kar over and over again, you are left with the words in your head long after the song is over. It is cheeky, it is ballsy, and it is every bit the kind of attitude you want from someone with “heropanti” writ all over.  

Viradia’s voice is beautiful even without the layers of autotune Rahman has put her through. With a superb bridge of percussions, the song has the kind of pace that is truly representative of an Ahmed Khan film, where movement through stunts and steps forms the soul of storytelling. It is not the best melody in the movie, and the song seems rather run-of-the-mill in today’s time, but boy, do the words stay with you! Dafa kar, da-fa-kar… ‘Jalwanuma’  (sung by Pooja Tiwari and Javed Ali) is the only song in the album that truly speaks to the legacies of Mehboob and AR Rahman. Although it is a bit cliched in sound, melody and Bollywood-ish tabla rhythm, it is nevertheless a lilting number steeped with pathos, recreating a feeling of romantic angst and separation. There is a lot of drama going on in the song, and the wonderful drumming halfway through makes it upbeat in some parts until the shehnai kicks in and brings with it the melancholia that has simmered in the background so far. It feels like one is witnessing with remorse the wedding of a beloved to another person. Very Bollywood but also very lyrical.

This is followed by ‘Miss Hairan,’ the highly marketed singing debut of lead actor Tiger Shroff. With its techno vocals and dance beats, this is the party number of the song. Tiger can surely hold a note or two, and sounds like he is indeed having a lot of fun singing to the tune and beat of Rahman.

The composer, recognising the power that Tiger holds over the dance floor and his remarkably nimble footwork, has given him the song of the album.

It is catchy in the sense of TikTok worthiness but as such, there is little to bring you back to the song. You are hooked when you are listening to it but not much else. At least the  lyrics of ‘Dafa Kar’ keep coming back to you.

The surprise song that dropped last Friday was a reboot of the Heropanti song ‘Whistle Baja,’ which brought back the iconic flute instrumental from ‘Lambi Judaai.’  The song from Hero (1983), that made Tiger’s father a household name and singer Reshma’s vocals a haunting presence, has a legendary instrumental portion that reverberates through our consciousness even today. So the Heropanti version, which was originally sung by Manj Musik, Raftaar, and Nindy Kaur, gets a reboot through Mika Singh and Neeti Mohan in ‘Whistle Baja 2.0.’ The whistle is more staccatoed compared to its predecessors while Singh and Mohan create a rather fun vibe through their singing. The song oozes mischief, fervour, and excitement, strips down the unnecessary vocalising, and keeps the scatting to just the “oy’s” It picks up pace in the end, leaving you in a more frenzied state.

The soundtrack per se does little for Rahman or for Mehboob. Perhaps it forces us to rethink how we slot their works, and accept that the music of today requires all that tech-robotic soundscape that we do not usually associate with either of them. Unlike the Sajid-Wajid helmed Heropanti, Heropanti 2 has little to offer in terms of variety, and seems to suffer at the altar of image — where youth-meets-pace-meets-dance precedes lyricism and solid, unadulterated melody.   Heropanti 2 is slated to release this Friday on 29 April. Senior journalist Lakshmi Govindrajan Javeri has spent a good part of two decades chronicling the arts, culture and lifestyles. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.