‘Baar Baar Dekho’: Unconventional Yet Familiar Music You’ll Love

The music of ‘Baar Baar Dekho’ might not be very original, but it’ll get you grooving.

Katrina Kaif in the trailer of Baar Baar Dekho. (Photo courtesy: YouTube/Eros Now)

Dharma productions and Excel entertainment’s Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra starrer Baar Baar Dekho has Jasleen Kaur Royal, Prateek Kuhad, Amar Arshi, Arko, Bilal Saeed among others coming together for its music album. Penned by Amrik Singh & Kumaar, Prateek Kuhad, Arko and Aditya Sharma, the album sets the lyrical landscape for Nitya Mehra’s unconventional love story.

Call it a subtext to the dangerously low levels of creativity in film music, the makers of Baar Baar Dekho have borrowed two songs that were chartbusters in their own right already. Now, the plot could be demanding it, or maybe it was just the original’s dance floor recall that made the producers borrow Kaala Chashma. And of course, some new age rap had to be thrown in to jazz things up a bit. To be fair, Badshah is good, but Amar Arshi’s earthy vocals steal the show.

Another thing, since when have music creators started believing that auto-tune is a good thing? How else can one explain Neha Kakkar’s ‘processed’ vocals in this one? This one isn’t as good as the original, but it’s still good enough for a play or two.

In Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, Jasleen Royal seems to be stuck in the Chhota Hoon Main groove (from Dear Dad) and does a good job of keeping the song’s soothing undertone intact. Prateek Kuhad adds to the lullaby like song with his guitar strumming, making it my second favourite song from the album.

Sau Aasmaan

As is the case with identical sanitised music offerings from Amaal malik, Sau Aasmaan has Neeti Mohan and Armaan Malik grooving to a tune which is too familiar for its own good. Neeti is in top form though. But if this song plays in a closed room, you might confuse it with Suraj Dooba Hai (from Roy) standing outside. And those inside the room could confuse it with Buddhu Sa Mann from Kapoor & Sons. Quite a rare feat that is.

Dariya- The Best Of Baar Baar Dekho

This one by Arko sounds nice and is written rather well too. I like the way this song lends depth to the entire album. Be it the antra or the mukhda, you can feel the affection with which it has been penned and composed by Arko. This is my pick from the album, and I’m willing to ignore the software assistance in this soulful track.

Nachde Ne Saare

Nachde Ne Saare has been composed by Jasleen Kaur Royal and is apt for a fun family function. Jasleen, Harshdeep Kaur, Siddhartha Mahadevan and some really good back up vocalists seem to have had a ball of a time singing this one. While I love the structure of the song, I can’t say the same about its lyrics. Did I like this one? Yes. Will I listen to this again? Maybe not.

Teri Khair Mangdi

Teri Khair Mangdi by the Pakistani artist Bilal Saeed has been borrowed in spirit from his old number known by the same title. What comes as a relief is its relatively sombre treatment, that thankfully didn’t have a nasty rap to go with it. The strings in the song are crisp too and overall, this is a good one by Bilal.

The Verdict

The ‘processed’ feel aside, Baar Baar Dekho is a pleasant album that benefits largely from already popular tunes, that have been sprinkled with a youthful vibe. I am generally not a fan of albums that boast of multiple composers, but in this case, it seems to have worked well.

I give the music of Baar Baar Dekho 3 Quints out of 5.

(Rohit Mehrotra is a music lover who is continuously looking for a good song. Language, genre, artist no bar.)