Siddharth rendered the title track

Although Dekh Toofaan Aaya Hai also contained the title of the film, the subject of this post was the title track of Toofaan.

It happened to be the longest of the eight songs in the film (spread across both my blogs) – it was four minutes and 39 seconds long.

The only thing the two tracks had in common, by the way, was the fact that they were composed by Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa.

But unlike Dekh Toofaan Aaya Hai, this song was written by Javed Akhtar, and rendered by Junior Mahadevan (Siddharth).

Three SHining ‘Stars’ rendereD it

Star Hai Tu – from Toofaan – was four minutes and 34 seconds long.

It marked yet another father-son collaboration – while Shankar Mahadevan was one of the three men who composed it (with Ehsaan Mendonsa and Loy Mendonsa), Siddharth Mahadevan was one of the three people who sang it.

The others were Himani Kapoor and Divya Kumar.

And by no means would it be incorrect to stay that while the two male singers were stars in their own right, Kapoor was making a comeback to playback singing.

The track was penned by none other than Javed Akhtar.

It was Senior Mahadevan’s solo

Give and take a few seconds, the durations of the last three tracks on the soundtrack of Toofaan were similar.

Purvaiya was four minutes and 38 seconds long.

The involvement of Shankar Mahadevan in the song wasn’t restricted to composing it with Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa, but he lent it his voice too.

It was penned by Javed Akhtar.

The title of the song could be translated to easterly winds, and there’s no two ways about the fact that like all the previous collaborations of this quartet, this one ‘blew’ the listeners’ minds too.

There was a deVotional nuMber

The most familiar song on the soundtrack of Toofaan wasn’t a film song, but a devotional one.

It was the Ganpati Vandana, which is sung by every devotee of the elephant-headed deity.

Being a traditional song, its lyrics were not credited to a person.

However, Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa, who were credited with composing the other songs of the film, were the composers.

It was the shortest of the trio’s ‘contributions’ to the film’s soundtrack – it was three minutes and seven seconds long.

Meenal Jain and Vedanti Satyajit Prabhu rendered this version.

D’Evil’s second contribution was short

I wrote about D’Evil in my post about Todun Taak, from Toofaan, on my blog about the songs of Hindi films that released between 2020 and 2029.

His second contribution to the soundtrack of the film happened to contain its title – it was titled Dekh Toofaan Aaya Hai.

And, as was the case with Todun Taak, his involvement in Dekh Toofaan Aaya Hai wasn’t restricted to singing it, but he penned it as well.

But unlike the former, the latter was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

It was just a couple of minutes and 34 seconds long.

Mr Singh was the singer

This blog contains half-a-dozen songs from Toofaan, which released in 2021.

The reason they are not on the blog dedicated to songs from the films that released between 2020 and 2029 is because they were composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

If they were arranged in the alphabetical order, Ananya would be the first.

Like Jo Tum Aa Gaye Ho, it was an Arijit Singh solo.

And it happened to be the longer of his two contributions to the soundtrack of the film – it was three minutes and 52 seconds long.

The track was written by Javed Akhtar.

Sran sang it with Neha

Regardless of what one does, it is important to think it through.

And if it is about getting tattooed, the principle one ought to follow is, “Think before you get inked”.

So, the listeners did wonder why lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya and composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy didn’t think before leaving an indelible blot on their otherwise usually impeccable discography with Tattoo Waaliye (which should never be used to describe even women who are obsessed with body art).

Neha Kakkar and Pardeep Sran rendered the song from Bunty Aur Babli 2, which was three minutes and six seconds long.

Arijit’s solo was Just disappointing

The only solo on the soundtrack of Bunty Aur Babli 2 was Luv Ju.

And by the way, that was precisely how its title was spelled (as opposed to the conventional – and more acceptable – Love You).

It was a massive letdown, considering the fact that it was rendered by Arijit Singh, who has been many composers’ go-to man for the main song on a soundtrack for a few years now.

Amitabh Bhattacharya wrote the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composition, which happened to be the longest song in the film – it was four minutes and as many seconds long.

Mercifully, this song was Short

One of the differences between the soundtrack of Bunty Aur Babli and that of Bunty Aur Babli 2 was their durations.

And upon listening to Dhik Chik from the latter, it would be very surprising if that song – which was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy – held the listeners’ attention for its entire runtime (which was just a couple of minutes and 53 seconds).

That was despite the fact that Sunidhi Chauhan shared Sing(h)ing credits with Mika for it.

On this occasion, keeping it simple (read: using gibberish for the title) didn’t do the ‘trik’ for Amitabh Bhattacharya.

Siddharth ReturneD for Part Deux

As the name suggests, Bunty Aur Babli 2, which released in 2021, was the sequel to the 2005 film Bunty Aur Babli.

And Siddharth Mahadevan* was one of the two men who rendered its title track.

The other was Bohemia.

It was three minutes and 16 seconds long, and was composed by Siddharth’s father Shankar, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa (who also composed the songs of the original).

But this time, lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya stepped into Gulzar’s shoes.

(*Note: He also happened to be among the singers who sang the title track of the original.)

It wasn’t a MArvellous song

By no means would it be incorrect to state that Wohi Hain Raste – the track from Panga – was not a mind-blowing number.

However, it did take Hindi film music buffs – especially those who enjoy the songs of the Golden Era – down melody lane to the active years of the Bengali maestros, whose composition were steeped in the folk tunes of Eastern India.

It was the second contribution of Asees Kaur to the soundtrack of the film.

She was joined behind the microphone by Kannan Mohan.

Javed Akhtar penned the track, which was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

Mahadevan Jr had everyone HookeD

Whichever side of the fence one wants to be on in the raging controversy about nepotism in the Hindi film industry, there is no two ways about the fact that an insider and an outsider can not just co-exist, but also collaborate, resulting in something spectacular. 

For instance, Siddharth Mahadevan – whose father, Shankar Mahadevan, composed the title track of Panga with Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa – did a (Ku)marvellous job when he teamed up with Harshdeep Kaur and Divya to render it.

Javed Akhtar penned the track, which was three minutes and 19 seconds long.

Singing with Shankar, Sunny shone

The involvement of Shankar Mahadevan in Jugnu – from Panga – wasn’t restricted to composing it (with Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa), but he was one of the two men who rendered it too.

He was joined behind the microphone by none other than Sunny Hindustani, whose journey from being a shoeshine boy at Bathinda railway station in the northern Indian state of Punjab to winning the 11^th season of Indian Idol – which aired between 2019 and 2020 – has already been documented.

The track, which was penned by Javed Akhtar, was four minutes and 40 seconds long.

This trAcK was Mallya’s version

The soundtrack of Panga featured a couple of versions of Dil Ne Kaha.

Asees Kaur was common to both.

She was joined behind the microphone by Shahid Mallya for the main version (which features on this blog), and by Jassie Gill – who also happens to be the male lead in the film – for the Reprise version.

Mallya’s version was, incidentally, the longest of the five tracks from the film on this blog – it was four minutes and 46 seconds long.

Gill’s version was three minutes and 52 seconds long.

Javed Akhtar penned the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy compositions.

Sherry’s song was (Ka)poorly received

If the five songs from Panga (2020) were arranged in the alphabetical order, as well as in the ascending order of their durations, Bibby Song would be the first – it was a couple of minutes and 50 seconds long.

To be honest, I wasn’t surprised when I read Annu Kapoor’s name in the credits as one of the two singers – he sang even when he hosted Antakshari in the 1990s.

He was joined behind the microphone by Sherry.

Javed Akhtar penned the run-of-a-mill track, which was composed by Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa.

     

It was an AbySMAL song

Be it describing women’s frames, categorising them as hot and cool, and stereotyping them on the basis of region, Tu Maharani from It’s My Life had them all.

It certainly wasn’t cool, considering the fact that the song was composed by Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa (who, by and large, have steered clear of derogatory songs).

Incidentally, Shankar and Mendonsa were credited as two of the five people who rendered it. The others were Akriti Kakar, Anusha Mani, and Mani Mahadevan.

Shabbir Ahmed penned the song, in which ladies were described as chicks.

Kher’s lament was aptly titled

When a song fails to impress the listeners, there’s precious little that can be done about that, even if the singer is outstanding.

And that is precisely what happened in the case of Toot Gayi Dor Koi, the Kailash Kher solo from It’s My Life (which was the fifth – and final – contribution of lyricist Neelesh Misra to the film’s soundtrack).

It would certainly not be incorrect to state that the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composition summed the prevalent trend in Hindi film music up – after all, the connection that listeners once had to songs seems to have broken.

Indeed, Shaan’s solo was underwhelming

Shaan has truly come a long way, from Tanha Dil to Na Samajh Dil.

While the former was one of his forays into Indipop, the latter was a song from It’s My Life.

Although the song – which was written by Neelesh Misra – was truly insipid, one must cut the singer some slack for singing it, and if possible, laud him for literally having a heart that was unable to understand the fact that a song from a long-delayed film sounds dated when it eventually releases.

Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa composed the track.