EXPECTATIONS
One
has
to
make
himself
doubly
sure
before
picking
up
the
album
of
Robot.
Firstly,
because
there
are
two
soundtrack
versions
of
Robot
made
available
on
stands
-
a
Tamil
and
a
Hindi
version.
Secondly,
even
in
Hindi
version,
song
titles
(is
it
really
Swanand
Kirkire
who
has
written
lyrics
here?)
go
as
'Pagal
Anukan',
'Chitty
Dance
Showcase',
'Arima
Arima',
'Boom
Boom',
'Kilimanjaro'.
Frankly,
it
is
hard
to
fathom
if
the
songs
in
the
album
would
indeed
be
in
Hindi.
Despite
the
name
A.R.
Rahman
being
associated
with
Robot,
one
still
plays
on
the
album
with
some
apprehension
because
it
is
a
classic
case
of
a
soundtrack
carrying
a
feeling
of
being
dubbed
rather
than
something
like
Raavan
which
carried
its
own
distinct
flavour
of
Hindi
as
well
as
Tamil
due
to
the
film
being
a
bilingual.
MUSIC
As
expected,
Robot
sees
a
techno
beginning
for
itself
in
the
first
song
'Naina
Miley'.
The
song
does
carry
the
kind
of
sound
that
Rahman
had
made
popular
in
the
90s
and
hence
there
is
a
strong
sense
of
deja
vu.
However,
the
lyrics
really
kill
the
show
here
with
words
that
go
as:
'I
Robo
Dooba
Mai,
Pyaar
Mein
Dooba
Re;
I
am
a
Super
Girl,
Teri
Pyaari
Rapper
Girl'.
Surprisingly,
even
though
Rahman
himself
comes
behind
the
mike
for
this
one,
there
is
little
impact
made.
Comparatively,
Suzanne's
voice
does
carry
a
naughty
streak
to
it
which
does
lend
an
added
zing
to
the
song.
With
English
lyrics
and
background
vocals
by
Kash
n
Krissy,
'Naina
Miley'
is
the
kind
of
dance
number
that
comes
with
the
potential
of
looking
good
more
than
sounding
phenomenal.
'....Neutron
Electron
Neele
Naino
Mein
Bolo
Kitne
Hain'
-
It
is
hard
to
imagine
that
Swanand
Kirkire
actually
sat
down
to
write
a
song
with
lyrics
like
these.
Agreed
that
the
film
is
futuristic
with
robots
and
stuff
alike
but
bringing
elements
like
neutrons
and
electrons
is
taking
things
a
little
too
far.
On
a
regular
day,
a
duet
coming
from
Mohit
Chauhan
and
Shreya
Ghoshal
would
have
come
with
a
very
good
probability
of
working
with
the
audience.
Here,
the
tune
is
not
bad
but
still
the
sense
of
deja
vu
due
to
a
heard
before
tune
and
some
bizarre
lyrics
don't
quite
allow
the
song
to
make
much
of
an
impression.
Thankfully
there
is
some
fun
in
store
with
'Chitti
Dance
Showcase'
-
an
uninterrupted
three
minute
long
dance
piece
with
accompanying
vocals
by
Pradeep
Vijay,
Pravin
Mani,
Rags
and
Yogi
B.
It's
a
good
mix
of
Western
and
Indian
classical
as
this
dance
piece
with
a
heavy
thump
to
it
makes
for
an
engaging
hear.
This
one
should
look
really
good
on
screen
as
it
comes
with
the
promise
of
a
robot
dancing
to
the
beats.
One
doesn't
quite
remember
when
was
the
last
time
a
song
had
featured
Sadhna
Sargam.
One
of
the
preferred
singers
for
Rahman,
she
comes
along
with
Hariharan
to
render
a
theme
track
'Arima
Arima'
which
has
-
hold
your
breath
-
lyrics
like
'Yeh
Yantrik
Maanav
Sabse
Ooncha'.
While
one
continues
to
figure
out
the
meaning
of
'Arima
Arima',
more
heavy
weight
words
follow
that
give
an
impression
of
some
of
the
literal
translation
that
late
lyricist
P.K.
Mishra
used
to
give
to
Tamil
lyrics
of
Rahman
songs
a
decade
back.
Oops,
but
this
one
too
stays
on
to
be
strictly
situational.
Ok,
this
one
has
to
be
heard
to
believe.
'Kilimanjaro
ladki
parbat
ki
yaaro.....mohan
jadado
isko
dil
mein
utaro'
-
A
song
like
this
is
bound
to
turn
you
speechless.
Really,
the
tune
isn't
bad
here
and
singing
by
Javed
Ali
and
Chinmayi
is
decent
too.
Still,
'Kilimanjaro'?
If
one
ignores
this
aspect
of
the
song,
it
does
promise
big
screen
experience.
'Aizak
Asimov
Kaa
Kela
Hai
Robo,
Aizak
Newton
Ki
Leelaa
Hai
Robo'
-
Let's
not
even
try
to
go
beyond
that.
The
beats
do
carry
a
thump;
the
sound
is
on
the
same
lines
as
'Chitti
Dance
Showcase'
and
the
Western
zing
does
promise
an
electrifying
outing
once
the
visuals
start
making
an
impression
in
Robot.
However,
for
that
you
wait
for
the
movie
to
arrive
and
not
quite
give
much
attention
to
what
this
song
by
Rags,
Yogi
B,
Madhushree,
Kirthi
Sagathia
and
Tanvi
Shah
has
to
offer.
Last
to
come
is
'O
Naye
Insaan'
-
a
theme
track
about
the
birth
of
Robot.
A
slow
piece
with
a
haunting
feel
to
it,
this
Srinivas
D
and
Khatija
Rahman
sung
track
is
strictly
situational
and
doesn't
carry
much
shelf
life.
OVERALL
Robot
disappoints.
While
Rahman
himself
hasn't
come
up
with
anything
exceptional,
something
which
is
expected
from
him
film
after
film;
it's
the
lyrics
that
are
chief
culprit
here.
It
is
clear
that
a
lot
has
been
lost
in
translation
here,
literally
so,
as
the
song
dubbing
Tamil
to
Hindi
just
doesn't
work
here.
OUR
PICK(S)
'Chitti
Dance
Showcase'