Will wonders ever cease? When the title track of a Hindi soundtrack starts with that trademark baritone voice, speech-rapping the words, "Yo waddup this is big Snoop Dogg, represent that poonjabi", the rapid globalisation of Bollywood hits you like a ton of bricks.
SIK (true abbreviation; no pun intended) is the most unlikely-sounding film that could potentially feature a bevy of international artistes. Yet the album is on hyperdrive when it comes to musical name-dropping, ranging from Rahat and Daler to Hard Kaur and RDB, and headlined by the Bollywood debut of American rapster, Snoop Dogg, whose appearance on the title track is short, subdued and surprisingly PG-13 - probably his first track in recent years, sans censor bleeps.
Hard Kaur kicks off the laid-back hip/hop groove of the now-familiar "Bas Ek Kinng", supported by Mika and Neeraj Shridhar dual-voicing the second title track, which is as much fun as the first. The Tigerstyle mix of this track is uptempo, and gets you moving from the get go.
And what hearty Punjabi album would be complete without Monsieur Mehndi "chak de phatte"-ing his way into the forefront. Daler rocks his vocals on a highly unconventional and extreme ‘frontbencher’ track entitled "Bhootni Ke". Yes, you read it right. Bhootni Ke. Need I say more?
The relief ‘falling in love’ track, "Teri Ore", is a lukewarm duet with the complementing vocals of syrupy Shreya Ghoshal and coarse Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. "Ore" is refined and much edgier in its lounge version. The clear disappointments are Neeraj Shridhar’s "Talli Hua" and Labh Janjua’s "Jee Karda", which are passable, but highly hackneyed.
Balance sheet: Although a title like "Singh is Kinng" would raise expectations of a "straight from the pind"-flavoured album, SIK is diversely peppered with a variety of musical influences, ranging from hip/hop to gangster rap, to steer it clear from being a stereotypical "bhangra" album. Continuing his triumphant streak, it looks like Pritam has another commercial winner on his hands, which could have him and his global collaborators raising a defiant fist to their competitors, going "Kiddan?".
