EXPECTATIONS
A
Shahrukh
Khan
film
is
always
special.
But
what
does
he
do
when
the
film
is
centered
on
Irrfan
Khan,
as
also
conveyed
by
the
title
of
the
film,
with
him
being
only
in
a
special
appearance?
Well,
he
only
goes
full-on
to
make
it
as
commercial
as
possible
by
appearing
in
number
of
song
and
dance
appearances.
Not
just
that,
he
also
ropes
in
some
of
the
top
heroines
in
the
industry
and
makes
them
dance
along
with
him.
If
in
Om
Shanti
Om,
he
had
opted
for
Vishal-Shekhar
as
the
composers,
for
Billu
Barber
he
gives
Pritam
the
responsibility
of
creating
a
hardcore
commercial
score.
While
2008
was
superb
for
the
composer
with
number
of
back
to
back
successful
albums
(Jannat,
Singh
Is
Kinng,
Race,
Kismat
Konnection,
Golmaal
Returns),
2009
also
promises
to
follow
suit
with
Billu
Barber
beginning
the
year!
MUSIC
Item
song
no.1
-
that's
'Marjaani'
for
you!
From
the
very
first
beat,
you
know
that
there
is
no
way
this
song
won't
succeed
in
reaching
the
top
of
the
charts.
A
fast
paced
track
that
remains
Indian
at
heart
even
with
all
the
Western
beats
surrounding
it,
'Marjaani'
has
Pritam
giving
his
all
to
ensure
that
his
'jodi'
with
Kareena
Kapoor
continues
to
be
a
big
hit.
Remember
'It's
Rocking'
(Kya
Love
Story
Hai)
and
'Yeh
Ishq
Hai'
(Jab
We
Met)?
The
fun
continues
with
'Balkan
Mix'
and
'Electro
House'
He
goes
on
to
create
'Love
Mera
Hit
Hit'
which
he
could
have
composed
in
his
sleep,
considering
the
'template'
feel
to
it.
Item
song
no.2,
it
is
just
a
follow
up
to
many
a
dance
floor
chartbusters
that
he
has
created
in
movies
like
Race
('Khwaab
Dekhe
Jhoothe
Moothe')
and
Kismat
Konnection
('Ae
Pappi').
'The
House
Mix'
and
'Remix'
version
ensure
that
the
song
remains
with
you
much
after
you
have
heard
it
first.
Another
'template'
song
in
the
album
is
'You
Get
Me
Rockin
&
Reeling'
which
has
a
beginning
akin
to
that
of
'Zara
Zara
Touch
Me'
[Race].
However,
soon
after
it
moves
to
being
much
more
childlike
and
innocent
with
the
advent
of
lyrics
that
go
as
'Khudaya
Khair'.
In
fact
based
on
the
same
tune
with
just
the
words
'Khudaya
Khair',
there
is
another
namesake
song
that
follows
later
in
the
album.
While
the
former
has
a
slight
Western
twang
to
it,
the
latter
comes
with
a
full-on
Indian
feel.
These
two
are
yet
another
very
good
additions
to
this
album
that
seems
to
have
one
chartbuster
packed
after
another
in
the
album.
There
is
a
speed
breaker
though
in
the
form
of
'Ae
Aa
O' which
is
the
first
rock
track
of
the
album
and
doesn't
really
make
you
jump
with
joy
in
the
very
first
listening.
In
fact
the
very
sound
of
'Ae
Aa
O'
(also
appearing
later
in
the
remix
version)
that
remains
persistent
throughout
the
track
is
ordinary
and
straight
out
of
a
commercial.
It's
a
different
Pritam
that
one
hears
in
'Jaoon
Kahan'
which
is
a
sad
song
expected
to
play
in
the
background
at
multiple
junctures.
Though
there
isn't
anything
extraordinary
about
the
compositions
due
to
the
heard-before
factor,
'Jaoon
Kahan'
is
still
a
soothing
number
enough
to
keep
your
interest
in
the
song
to
follow.
Later,
one
can
sense
a
clear
Priyadarshan
influence
to
the
proceedings
with
'Billoo
Bhayankar'
bringing
the
album
to
a
close.
With
a
rustic
folk
flavor
to
it
while
keeping
the
fun
quotient
intact,
'Billoo
Bhayankar'
is
a
song
that
hails
the
central
protagonist
of
the
film
played
by
Irrfan
Khan.
LYRICS
'Marjaani'
boasts
of
lyrics
that
have
a
characteristic
Gulzar
touch
to
them.
In
fact
with
the
kind
of
flavor
that
Pritam
brings
to
his
lyrics,
one
wonders
whether
we
are
looking
at
another
Pancham
da-Gulzar
'jodi'
in
the
offering
since
the
composer
makes
it
all
sound
so
commercial
that
one
ends
up
remembering
many
a
chartbuster
hits
that
Pancham
da
and
Gulzar
had
delivered
three
decades
back!
On
the
other
hand,
don't
bother
about
lyrics
like
'Khit
Pit',
'Hit
Hit',
'Kudi
Tu
Sexy'
etc.
-
it's
the
catchy
feel
and
rhythm
that
matters
most
for
'Love
Mera
Hit
Hit'
and
lyricist
Ashish
Pandit
does
well
on
those
grounds!
Neeraj
Shridhar
also
turns
lyricist
for
'Ae
Aa
O'
but
the
words
here
aren't
anything
above
ordinary.
Sayeed
Quadri
and
Gulzar
write
a
version
each
for
'Khudaya
Khair'
that
also
arrives
as
'You
Get
Me
Rockin
&
Reeling'.
Both
the
numbers
bring
in
a
different
flavor
though
the
element
of
pure
and
innocent
love
remains
intact
in
each
of
the
instances.
Sayeed
Quadri
also
writes
'Jaoon
Kahan'
that
narrates
the
state
of
the
protagonist
who
has
lost
a
lot
in
his
life
while
Gulzar
gets
his
own
take
on
the
protagonist's
popularity
with
'Billoo
Bhayankar'.
VOCALS
Sukhwinder
Singh,
the
voice
of
Shah
Rukh
Khan
opens
'Marjaani'
and
allows
Sunidhi
Chauhan
to
arrive
on
the
scene
who
shines
in
a
big
way.
She
is
truly
in
form
in
her
only
number
in
Billu
Barber
and
ensures
that
her
hit
record
with
Kareena
Kapoor
stays
intact.
Later
K.K.
too
arrives
for
the
'Balkan
Mix'
of
the
song
and
adds
on
to
the
options
available
for
the
final
song
placement
in
the
film.
Neeraj
Shridhar,
the
voice
that
never
fails
Pritam,
is
in
full
form
again
for
'Love
Mera
Hit
Hit'
though
it
is
Tulsi
Kumar
who
surprises
most
with
her
altogether
different
style
of
rendition
for
Deepika
Padukone.
Neeraj
also
sings
the
solo
'You
Get
Me
Rockin
&
Reeling'
which
later
arrives
as
'Khudaya
Khair'
with
Soham,
Akriti
Kakar
and
Monali
bringing
a
certain
Indian-ness
to
the
proceedings.
With
Abhijeet
coming
back
on
scene
with
the
'reprise
version'
of
the
same
song,
one
knows
what
to
expect
considering
the
fact
that
the
singer
has
sung
many
a
hits
for
Shah
Rukh
Khan
during
last
15
odd
years!
K.K.,
who
is
otherwise
so
dependable,
doesn't
really
make
'Ae
Aa
O'
rise
above
ordinary.
Most
of
the
times
he
is
capable
of
turning
the
most
average
compositions
good
due
to
his
sheer
prowess
behind
the
mike
but
in
case
of
'Ae
Aa
O',
he
isn't
able
to
do
much
even
in
company
of
Rana
Mazumder
and
Suraj.
On
the
other
hand,
Raahat
Fateh
Ali
Khan's
voice
manages
to
bring
in
some
'thehrav'
in
the
proceedings
that
were
being
dominated
by
beats
and
rhythm
all
this
while.
Ajay
Jhingaran,
Raghuveer
and
Kalpana
come
together
for
a
rustic
'Billoo
Bhayankar'
and
though
the
song
is
not
the
next
chartbuster
in
the
making,
it
should
help
the
narrative
of
Billu
Barber.
OVERALL
Billu
Barber
has
a
rocking
start
to
it
with
songs
like
'Marjaani'
and
'Love
Mera
Hit
Hit'
that
are
guaranteed
chartbusters
in
the
making.
Though
'Ae
Aa
O'
is
the
only
number
that
doesn't
quite
make
a
mark,
'Khudaya
Khair'
brings
in
a
nice
feel-good
touch
to
it
which
keeps
the
flag
high
for
Billu
Barber.
On
the
other
hand,
'Jaoon
Kahan'
and
'Billoo
Bhayankar'
add
on
to
the
situational
flavor.
While
the
soundtrack
should
work
well
for
the
film,
we
are
not
looking
at
a
Race
or
a
Jannat
or
a
Singh
Is
Kinng
that
are
being
played
even
till
date.
Still,
from
the
popularity
perspective,
Billu
Barber
should
go
the
Kismat
Konnection
and
Golmaal
Returns
way
by
being
reasonably
successful.