Rate the Article:
Most people associated with Bollywood may not have heard of Dhruv Ghanekar. But they may recall Bombay Boys or White Noise, which had music by Dhruv and Ashutosh Pathak.
But there is more to Ghanekar’s resume than just a few off-beat films. Alongwith Pathak, Dhruv has been producing commercial or jingle music under the Smoke Music label and today the duo (aka Ashu-Dhruv) is better known for Blue Frog, which is a production house, a live music club, sound lab and a record label to promote niche and non-mainstream music.
As you may have guessed by now, Ghanekar, an immensely talented guitar player (he was earlier with a popular band Chakravyuh, which finds mention in Rock On!!) is not really a regular choice for a Bollywood flick. Maybe that is why the makers of Drona, which is supposed to be a cutting-edge superhero film, chose him as the music composer.
True to his grain, Dhruv brings to the Drona soundtrack the shine and slick production values of jingle music tempered with very global pop, rock, electronic and even jazz sounds. Drona’s music in other words is extremely stylised, which also makes it somewhat unapproachable.
The title track, Drona, is receiving a fair amount of air play and has the potential to be a hit with the club-hopping crowd. Dhruv lends his voice and his guitar, to this track, which is fast, energetic and boasts of a neat arrangement, clutter-free and catchy. A lot of interesting sounds, loops and effects are layered upon each other, making it a fun track to explore and by far the most ineteresting song of the album with two very different versions.
Up next is a pop track Oop Cha, sung by Sunidhi Chauhan. Quite a trippy number, once again which has a nice beat that you would want to shake a leg to. Especially when it is remixed later on in the album.
The surprise number is Banda gi, a slow song performed soulfully by Sunidhi Chauhan and Roop Kumar Rathod. It is refreshing to hear Sunidhi in a soft, emotional number, bombarded as we are all the time with her overpowering dance numbers. Nice set of lyrics here by Vaibhav Modi.
A let down is the next, a lullaby by Sadhana Sargam. Nanhe Nanhe is so overtly stylised that you are left wondering why the composer has killed a nice melody with such excess of harmonies and elaborate arrangement.
By now, you will have noticed Rahman’s influence in the way Dhruv treats his songs. Which is a great point of reference really. But with Khushi, he treads the same path as Rahman’s in Jaane tu. Like the Jaane Tu jazz track, Khushi turns to big band jazz with a bang. Khushi begins with a lot of promise really, and you may find yourself swinging to the sound. But Shaan’s voice is not really cut out for such a true-blue jazz number. With a different voice, Khushi could have yielded happier results.
Verdict: Overall, the music of Drona is interesting, but not ‘exciting’ or ‘grand’ enough for a superhero/action flick. Dhruv Ghanekar does experiment a lot and the production values and arrangements are superb – he has included the best of contemporary musicians like Ranjit Barot and Sivamani and has recorded and mastered at the best of facilities. But Drona’s music fails to leave a lasting impression.
Rating: 2.5/5
source:buzz18.com
Leave a Reply