Woodstock Villa movie review

Woodstock Villa movie review

Album Review
-Forgettable songs
By Aparajita Ghosh

Lyricist Virag Mishra needs a rap on the knuckles to make him aware that the songs he pens are utterly banal. So trite are the words that even some of the ear-catching compositions by music director Anu Malik sink under the weight of silly, unimaginative lyrics.

The words of the opening song ‘Dhoka’ sound like the sales pitch of a showroom executive. Don’t believe me? Here’s a sample: “Aaiye, baithhiye, farmaiye. Ek dhoka lijiye, dooja muft paayiye”. The song’s riff has the quintessential feel of a thriller, but singer Aanchal Datta Bhatia tries to add more than required attitude into the number. And she also sounds like some firangi who’s struggling to speak Hindi correctly. The ‘Dhoka’ remix version is no great shakes either.

Hardly do you recover from this superficial tripe that you are subjected to the nasal assault by singer Mika in his played-to-death song ‘Saawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag’. I wonder what possessed the film’s makers to include this damp song – heard a thousand times – and its remixed version in the album.

A little respite comes in the form of ‘Kyun’, a tolerable soft-rock track by Aryans. Though there’s nothing exceptional about the song, it doesn’t make you cringe with embarrassment like the album’s previous songs.

More musical relief comes with ‘Yeh Pyaar Hai’, a soothing, lilting track sung effectively by Shaan and Aanchal. Anu Malik gives the song a mellow feel with a right combination of instruments. Surprisingly, Virag Mishra rises above banality and pens some hearable lyrics for this track.

‘Koi Chala Jaa Raha Hai’ is hauntingly melancholic. A sad number sung superbly by Rahet Fateh Ali Khan and composed brilliantly with Malik, ‘Koi Chala’ manages to tug at your heart despite Mishra’s plain, unimaginative lyrics. This song is a fine example of how evocative singing and good melody can stand on their own despite bad words.

Shibani Kashyap’s singing style is unique but a tad repetitive. Yet she adds a different mood to the album with her song ‘Raakh Ho Ja Tu’, a bluesy number you get hooked on to after a couple of hearings. Manoj Muntashir’s words are much better than Mishra’s.

The bluesy mood continues with ‘Dhoka Dega’ with Shibani once again behind the microphone.

All in all, the songs of ‘Woodstock Villa’ have nice melodies but utterly poor words.

Rating: **