Khiladi 786: promising but has shortcomings

Film: "Khiladi 786"; Music Director: Himesh Reshammiya; Lyricists: Sameer, Shabbir Ahmed and Himesh Reshammiya; Singers: Himesh Reshammiya, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Hamsika Iyer, Mynampati Sreeram Chandra, Shreya Ghoshal, Mika Singh, Vineet Singh, Aman Trikha, Yashraj Kapil, Alam Gir Khan, Rajdeep Chatterjee, Javed Ali, Shreya Ghoshal, Chandrakala Singh and Harshdeep Kaur; Rating: ***

Bollywood's 'khiladi' Akshay Kumar is back in action to pack a punch with his new outing "Khiladi 786". The film's soundtrack has been composed by Himesh Reshammiya. It has seven original tracks and five remixes.

First up on the playlist is "Lonely", whose initial tune sounds similar to Alexandra Stan's hit number "Mr.Saxobeat". The song has rap by Yo Yo Honey and, on the whole, the number has good dancing beats. There are good vocal inputs by Himesh Reshammiya and Hamsika Iyer. The song is addictive, thanks to Himesh's nasal touch as he croons "Oh bawariya" at regular intervals during the song. The track has a remixed version too, but that isn't too great.

"Balma" pays tribute to the music of the late R.D.Burman and features sounds from the past. However, it also takes some inspiration from LMFAO's track "Sexy and I know it". It is full of energy and manages to charm the listener with its groovy beat and the seductive voice of Shreya Ghoshal who has good company in the vocals with Sreeram Chandra. Surely a track that can make you hit the dance floor. The remix though is quite ordinary and it is better to stick with the original.

The next track "Long drive" starts off as a rock number with the guitar but suddenly moves into desi beats. The sounds then fuse and it transforms into a hip-hop and rock mix. It's a daring experiment by Himesh, who has got Mika behind the mike in a different avatar altogether. He is slow, yet his voice doesn't dilute the track; instead, it allures you all the more towards it. It also has a fun Bhangra remixed version which features dhol and tumbi to make you sway.

Next up is the romantic number "Sari sari raat", crooned by Himesh. It has a very dreamy and beautiful composition, and will surely strike a chord with lovebirds.
It is followed by "Hookah bar", which has the trio of Himesh Reshammiya, Vineet Singh and Aman Trikha sounding quite celebratory. However, despite some fine music, the song is unable to move the listener. It's remixed version is passe.

The title track gets the smiles back. However, it sounds like a new version of "Hud hud dabangg" with fresh lyrics. Despite the vocals by Vineet Singh, Aman Trikha, Yashraj Kapil, Alam Gir Khan and Rajdeep Chatterjee, the listener is unable to  get out of the
"Dabangg" mode. There is a racy remix of this one too, but it suffers because of the same trajectory.

Last but not the least is "Tu hari peer", which musically speaking has a lot to offer as Himesh combines qawwali and Punjabi folk to dole out an eclectic mix. Javed Ali, Shreya Ghoshal, Chandrakala Singh and Harshdeep Kaur mesmerise with their voices.
Overall, the album is a mixed bag that has some shortcomings, but there are tracks which are capable of making it to the music charts.