Music Review – I Hate Luv Storys

I_Hate_Luv_StorysJab Mila Tu sounds a lot like a leftover from Vishal-Shekhar‘s score for Dostana and wonderfully so, the frolicsome beach flavour in the orchestration and all. Add to it Vishal‘s exuberant vocals the song is an absolute delight! The guitar/ukulele loop is addictive! Of the three versions of Bin Tere, I liked the serene Reprise best, Shekhar Ravjiani making the most of his return to mainstream playback singing since Luck By Chance. Wonder why Shekhar doesn’t get as many chances as Vishal, as vocalist. What a voice! The increase in speed works against the tune in the original version sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali and Sunidhi Chauhan. Plus, having heard Shafqat sing so many semi-classical songs I tend to be biased against any song that under-utilizes his voice! 🙂 DJ Kiran‘s remix with its heavy electronic elements is a safe skip.
Despite faint traces of V-S’s previous similar foot-tappers like Ab To Forever, the title song grows on you, Vishal once again doing the honours behind the microphone. V-S do a Pritam in the romantic Bahara (just to clarify, I speak from the arrangement perspective and not of plagiarism! 🙂 ). Shreya Ghoshal sounds delightful singing this one, while Sona Mohapatra does her job wonderfully in the folk portions. She deserves much better for her voice and talent. The composers completely revamp the orchestration in the Chill Version, making splendid use of the sarangi. Somehow though, I didn’t quite find Rahat Fateh Ali‘s singing to my taste in this one. That said, the chillout feel brought about in the arrangement works well for the song taking it above the original version. Suraj Jagan sounds a lot like Vishal delivering Sadka Hua alongside Mahalaxmi Iyer. Sad songs with rock feel have been a Pak rock thing of late, but V-S do it their own way, successfully incorporating rock elements into the somber tune without sounding a least bit Pak.
Eight months since the release of their lack-lustre soundtrack of Aladin, Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani make a strong comeback with I Hate Luv Storys’ delightful score.
Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10
Recommended Tracks: Jab Mila Tu, I Hate Luv Storys, Bin Tere (Reprise)