Composer: Jeet Ganguly l Lyrics: Rashmi Singh Composer Jeet Ganguly’s first score after the success of his Bollywood debut, Aashiqui 2, comes swathed in great expectations. But while Aashiqui 2’s Nadeem Shravan style of score had a certain flamboyance to it, Hansal Mehta’s CityLights comes with minimalism, but only in parts. Ganguly has stuck to Arijit Singh and it’s a decision that’s paid off. Muskurane in Singh’s voice opens with a piano prelude, just like Tum hi ho from Aashiqui 2. But this one, though well-orchestrated, could easily be an Udit Narayan song from the ’90s. It’s a pleasant composition followed by Mohammad Irfan’s unplugged version, which is a good addition. But it is Ek chiraiya that really makes us sit up. A soft track inspired by Bengali folk has Singh crooning this as a robust and expressive whisper. Full marks to debut lyricist Rashmi Singh here. It borders on being a lullaby as Ganguly has slowed the tempo and minimised orchestration here, such that we hear Singh breathe into the microphone after every line. Darbadar in Neeti Mohan’s voice is a huge disappointment. It works though because of some great arrangements and Mohan’s voice. The composition itself doesn’t hold a lot of depth. The title track is frenzied, which is what it should be for a film called CityLights. The song opens with Ustad Rashid Khan’s vocals, which are completely wasted. He has a brilliant voice but Ganguly tries to play around with it by passing it through machines. The song hits the right chord only when Usha Uthup joins in. Paired with drums and synth sounds, it reaches a crescendo sooner than expected. A passable song. CityLights is a neat album, and gives Ganguly an opportunity to explore his own style more.
