Agent Vinod Review

Agent Vinod, which stars sweethearts Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan, will be released this weekend. The soundtrack has been heavily promoted. I can’t walk into an Asian shop without hearing Dil Mera Muft Ka or seeing posters for the film. The album consists of eleven tracks, but there are really only four songs, an instrumental and remixes. In my opinion remixes are a cheap way of filling an album, especially when there are more remixes than original songs.

Based on Rasputin by the German group Boney M, I’ll Do the Talking Tonight is a bass filled party track that is a strange mix of Hindi and English lyrics. There are only a few traces of the original song left, which is perhaps a good thing, but like the original it is all a bit embarrassing. The remix adds a few fancy effects and vocals, but is still quite similar to the first version.

Dil Mera Muft Ka seems to have split opinion. It’s the song that has been promoted the most as a modern mujra number. It starts traditional, the opening notes remind me of Parda Hai Parda from Amar Akhbar Antony, then the guitars kick in. This may be blasphemy, but I don’t think Saroj Khan choreographed it very well and could be why people don‘t like the song. This is a powerful track but Saroj’s steps were not dramatic enough to keep pace with the song. They remained small and dainty which did not work against the rock background. Away from Kareena’s dance, this song is quite good. The vocals are strong and there is a good mix of guitars and more traditional sounds.



I liked the remix of Dil Mera Muft Ka. It was faster yet had a more traditional feel to it and perhaps it should have been used I the promo. The vocals are earthy and sound more Indian. There is something in here that strangely reminds me of the Don theme.

Pritam has been accused of gaining inspiration for Pungi from an Iranian band called Barobax and their song Soosan Khanoom.  The eastern feel to is obvious and the song overall is not bad despite the blatant theft. It is catchy and I found myself humming it throughout the day. The spoken part is a bit odd and I’m not quite sure what “selling all of your blood” is about. There is a remix of this song which is nothing special.

My first impression of Raabia were that it is a nice sweet song. The vocals are lovely ad there is a mellow feel to it. The guitars are soft and the overall effect is brilliant. The Night in a Motel Remix replaced the guitars with piano and made the song even softer and slower. The third male only version is ok, but I felt it missed something by not being a duet. There was what sounded like a dripping tap in the background which did get rather annoying after a while. By the time I had got to the fourth version of the song I was bored of listening to it. Shreya Ghoshal sings well, but I couldn’t see the point of yet another remix.

Verdict: There are a few good songs on here, but the soundtrack is let down by the sheer amount of remixes and plagiarism. It’s one of those soundtracks that annoyingly fills your head for a few weeks and then vanishes. See the film, but don’t waste your money on the soundtrack.