Music Review: Ra.One

Chammak Challo is bloody infectious, period! The foot-tapping song seems to be tailor-made for Akon, who mouths Hindi verses like 'aa meri akhiyon se akhiyan mila le, aa tu na nakhre dikhaa' with sufficient ease, even as Hamsika Iyer superbly complements him with a smattering of Tamil. Akon makes another appearance in Criminal that also has Vishal Dadlani and Shruti Pathak singing the foot-tapping electropop number. (Is it only me, or does the song remind you of Desi Girl?)

Dildaara (Stand By Me) is a breezy and gorgeous melody crooned by Shafqat Amanat Ali, but Right By Your Side and Jiya Mora Ghabraaye (The Chase) fall flat despite best efforts from the singers involved, by and large failing to stand out owing to the unappealing nature of their tunes. The stealers are Bhare Naina and Raftaarein, the former, an astounding semi-classical track superbly rendered by Nandini Srikar over an imaginative rock base, and the latter working very well as a gripping retro-styled song with a punchy rhythm to boot. Ra.One marks the triumphant return of Vishal-Shekhar after a forgettable Rascals.