Times could not have changed in a more incongruous manner. From once gaining a foothold in Bollywood via remixes, rap music composer and singer Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia, aka Badshah, now has his songs getting remixed by others.

One such song in Judgementall Hai Kya is Badshah’s (who will soon be seen as an actor in Khandaani Shafakhana) 2015 single with Navv Inder, ‘Wakhra Swag’. And who else would remix it other than the current king of the game, but Tanishk Bagchi. While the addition of Lisa Mishra and rapper Raja Kumari definitely spruces things up on the vocal front, the adaptation itself is inferior as compared to the original. Bagchi pens the lines that Mishra sings, while Raja Kumari writes her own rap portions. The pacing and the arrangement of the original (the piano sampling et al) had made the number stand out from the run-of-the-mill Punjabi songs. However, Bagchi’s version is a downer.

After having done a motivational song in Helicopter Eela last year, composer Daniel B George gets roped in here for another one in a similar vein. However, ‘Kar Samna’ is a more aggressive, louder composition, in keeping with the movie’s own tone and tenor, at least from what is evident from the trailer. Sung by Amir Khan, Brijesh Shandilya, Protijyoti Ghosh and George, and lasting just over a minute-and-aphalf, the song fails to rise above its very functional role.

Ode to eccentricity

Composing for her first ‘mainstream’ film in the relative scale of things, Rachita Arora does two songs for Judgementall Hai Kya. ‘Para Para’ seems like an obvious ode to the eccentric protagonist. No wonder, Arora uses it as an opportunity to do a musical throwback to R.D. Burman’s composing quirks – even singer Arun Dev Yadav makes allusions to the maestro in his rendition replete with vocal experiments. While the arrangement provides multiple highlights – the use of Bhushan Suryakant Patil’s saxophone—the song itself is a mishmash.

Arora regains form with the title song, where she almost seems to draw inspiration from the guest composer in her film Mukkabaaz—Nucleya who created the famous ‘Paintra’ in that film. The trippy electronic piece is punctuated with melodic passages, delivered by six-year old Nivedita Padmanabhan, Arora and Jaspreet Jasz’s rap. Arjuna Harjai, who was last seen in Lucknow Central two years back (his name was spelled Arjunna Harjaie then – numerology anyone?) does the final song here, ‘Kis Raste Hai Jana’ that provides a pleasant reprieve from the loud soundscape. Harjai has a charming melody going here that he sings himself, with Surabhi Dashputra – both competent singers although the latter has a bit of a Jasleen Royal-vibe about her.

Judgementall Hai Kya’s soundtrack features multiple composers, each of whom I wish to hear more in a more prominent way. What they bring together for this album, though is not quite reflective of their individual talent.

Top Recommendations: ‘Kis Raste Hai Jana’, ‘Judgementall Hai Kya’