Inscribed swords. Sand-faced monsters. Tintin-hair baddie. Bandana-sporting hottie. Everyone's busy seeking Drona. Warrior to some. Saviour for others. One Abhishek Bachchan to do it all.
Director Goldie Behl, who previously made Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai -- a Shree 420 meets Wall Street-type -- appears to be smitten by Hollywood's steady manufacture of fantasy-filled feasts. And so even if we presume Drona may not be a The Lord of the Rings, The Mummy or a Prince Caspian, it definitely looks inspired.
The title track, which introduces the listener into the legend of
Drona, rendered by him is stylish, groovy and catchy -- both in sound and arrangement. It may not have the finesse of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's techno-friendly creations for
Don, but the minimalism and rawness only adds to
Drona's overall appeal. Its other version
Drona redux, featuring Sunidhi Chauhan, is strikingly glamorous and a few rungs higher on intensity and aggression.
Sunidhi drops in again, amidst amusing noises of 'plop' 'ding' 'woing,' to croon
Oop cha with
her trademark husky coolness. And for all its electronic fervour, there's nothing exotic about this oddly titled ditty celebrating the 'que sera sera' policy. Interestingly enough, the
Fare-Play remix, with Bob Omulo pitching in to do a fancy rap, works much better.
Sunidhi takes a break from her comfortable huskiness to deliver the gently paced
Banda gi alongside an equally competent Roop Kumar Rathod. As much as we appreciate Sunidhi's refreshing move, mellifluous notes of flute and tabla alone don't make a classic melody.
Banda gi's uneven tune brusquely shifts from high to low pitch, making it way too jarring to ignore.
Serene and dulcet,
Nanhe nanhe boasts of an ultra melodious Sadhna Sargam entering the lullaby mode, playing around with sweet-sounding metaphors. Ideally, Ghanekar could have gone easy on the instruments and let Sargam take complete charge. Nevertheless,
Nanhe makes a smooth impact.
Shaan tries to do a Frank Sinatra in the dripping-with -cheer
Khushi. While the bounciness is nice and all, it's not particularly infectious. Quite the opposite, actually. The excessively melodramatic temperament of the track -- in mood and orchestration -- doesn't help one bit.
A subject like
Drona, high on make-believe and enchantment, screams for adventure and surreal in its compositions. And while the soundtrack has its moments, in entirety it's too average to achieve any of these elements.
Rediff Rating: