Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty
Lyricist: Irshad Kamil; Amitabh Bhatacharya
Singers: Neeraj Shridhar, Kavita Seth, Benny Dayal, Shalmali Kholgade, Mohan Kanan, Shilpa Rao, Sunidhi Chauhan, Arijit Singh, Miss Pooja, Neha Kakkar, Nakkash Aziz, Javed Bashir, Nikhil Dsouza, Shefali Avares, Masuma Anwar, Sahir Ali Bagga, Anupam Amod, Arif Lohar, and Harshdeep Kaur;
Label: T-Series
After some middling albums this year like ‘Agent Vinod’ and ‘Ferrari ki Sawaari’, Pritam is all set to make a big bang with youth-friendly and romantic soundtrack of ‘Cocktail’. Caught in ménage a trois of friendship and love, the soundtrack of Cocktail highlights some stunning music and grasps the fancy of listeners.
The album enlists seven tracks with three remixes, emphasizing a fine cocktail of various artistes’ from different genres including cross-cultural music and Indi-pop bands. Pritam has also borrowed Honey Singh’s groovy track ‘Angrezi Beat’ which hasn’t been incorporated in the album.
Flagging off with ‘Tumhi Ho Bandhu’ the album hooks up listeners with vivacious electronic melody spiked with the trance and chill of Kavita Seth and Neeraj Shridhar’s vocals. The rustic vocals fits seamlessly well with the high-energy synth pop sound, distorted electronica guitar riffs and rhythmical beat, spirited well with the lyrics penned by Irshad Kamil. The rollicking dance track delivers youthfully peppy emotions and connects well with the jovial decorum of the track. Seth’s vocals stress on the emotional and finest party tracks.
The album’s hip and happening track ‘Daru Desi’ hails the spirit of friendship forever. The number synchronizes Spanish acoustic guitar riff further embedding the compassionate feel of ‘being together’ against all odds. Benny Dayal’s huskier tones blend well with the girlie caper of ‘Pareshan’ singer Shalmali Kholgade further entrenching the peppy mood and suiting the carefree attitude. This feel good and easy on ears track is definitely the winner of the album highlighting the optimistic feel.
Cashing on the intoxicated deliriously loud music, the composer introduces a rock track Yaariyan. The number emphasizes the grief of heart-break with a thumbing alternate rock music featuring drums, electronic distorted guitar riffs and the caring vocals. The rock-band thrives connects well with the sublime vocal of Mohan Kanan (Lead vocalist of Agnee) and booming voice of Shilpa Rao. The reprise version of the track puts forth the soft-serene Bollywood feel through the vocals of Sunidhi Chauhan. The number infuses piano drills along with gentle acoustic guitar riffs, which is beautifully carried with Arijit Singh’s classical ‘alaaps’ in varying pitches. The number proves as a beautiful background score for the movie.
The album takes the musical proceeding forward with ‘Second Hand Jawaani’ which is a stridently crooned item-number. The track pitches a mediocre blend of Arabian and Punjabi folk flavor in the yelling and screechy tones of Neha Kakkar, Miss Pooja and Nakash Aziz. The item number is quiet a damper and falls in the league of ‘Pritam Pyare’ and ‘Imported Kamariya.’
Falling next on the line is the typical Punjabi track ‘Tera Naam Japdi Phiran’ which rekindles the UK bhangra-pop. Lending audacity of urbane feel, Javed Bashir’s folksy voice brings out the ethnicity of romantic folklore with the back-up vocals of Nikhil D’ Souza and Shefali Alvares. The remix version pumps up the beat and infuses the energy of bhangra track with the DJ music and claps. The infused music blends well with echoing chorals and lead singers.
The album pitching various genres introduces well-composed Sufi-Qawalli track ‘Luttna (Saif-ul-Malook)’scored by Sahir Ali Bagga. The number brings back the divine feel fused with the portion of techno-gadgetry and hard-rock metal. The well-nurtured track is further lifted with emblematic lyrics penned by Irshad Kamil and rendered by Masuma Anwar, Sahir Ali Bagga and Anupam Amod. The refined version ‘Luttna (version 2)’ lies on the reprise edition with related musical arrangements.
The album concludes with the enthused track ‘Jugni Ji’ featured in Coke Studio@MTV by Pakistani singer Arif Lohar and re-composed and arranged in a refined way to suit the flavor of the album. The deep throated vocal of Pakistani singer Arif Lohar penetrates with the catchy and infectious singing of Harshadeep Kaur. The niche tracks brings in the sufi-western outlook prompting the much needing Bollywood music and further highlights the elegant and eloquent lyrics.
Fuelled with magnificent affluence and bankable artistes, the album definitely enjoys support of urbane youth. The album features few mediocre tracks like ‘Tera Naam Japdi Phiran and ‘Second Hand Jawaani’, but in totality with the creative experiment of varied genre and refreshing track like ‘Luttna (Saif-ul-Malook)’, ‘Tumhi Ho Bandhu’, ‘Desi Daru’ and ‘Luttna’, the album is a winner. Cocktail definitely one of Pritam’s best albums in a long time, and definitely deserves a place in charts and playlists for the superb arrangement.
