Bait (music from the original series)


BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Various artistes/ Bait (Music From The Original Series)

Genre: OTT series soundtrack

Label: FAMM

Rating: *** 1/2

The Prime Video series Bait, directed by and starring Pakistani origin Britisher Riz Ahmed, is a breezy six-short-episode entertainer about a young actor who auditions for the role of James Bond. Double-o-seven, nothing less. It's got a pretty interesting music score too, blending retro elements with contemporary flavours to provide a very Brit South Asian sound.

The music is in two parts, beginning with an EP which is already available, and followed by an 'inspired by' set of songs, to be released on April 16, with one single out on streaming platforms. Interestingly, the first track on the EP is a Hindi/ Urdu reimagination of the Eurythmics' 1983 chartbuster 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)'.

Popular singer Arooj Aftab and producer Anish Kumar take the place of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, with the former singing 'Sunehre khwabon ka khel hai, main kaun hoon jo na kahe". Not exactly a literal translation, but close, as 'sweet' and 'sunehre' aren't the same. And yes, Arooj's discography has another old song to bank on for more 'mohabbat' from her fans. 

Jay Sean and Veyah, both Indian-origin, team up on the uptempo, beat-heavy 'Pulling me back'. It's a love song that can go with a club dance, with the lines, "Your love keeps pulling me back, till I find my way again".

Anish Kumar's next track 'Lakshmi Express', interestingly positioned in the narrative, is all-out Bappi Lahiri-turns-southie, with its 1980s disco sound and modern Chennai express-ion. There's a female singer who goes, "Darling darling darling, I love you". Since she hasn't been credited, we may assume it's a ghost.

There's a beauty from British artiste Jorja Smith on 'Price Of It All'. Composed in the style of the Bond theme songs, it has the lines, "I'll feel the rain and turn the pain into gold and that's just the price of it all". A remixed version by Amir Amor adds variety.

'Valley Of The Shadows - Bait FM' by Origin Unknown and MC Shabba D, tries to bring out James Bond and London themes but ends up sounding quite cluttered. 

Of the 'inspired by' tracks, Talwiinder teams up with Sifr and NDS on 'Blues'. It has nothing to do with the blues, but is a Punjabi track which tries to sound cool but ends up rambling on like a telly newsreader. Obviously, he's done more 'haseen' stuff earlier.

While we hope the other tracks from the forthcoming album are Bait-er, the first four songs of the EP are worth a few replays. And while watching the series, also check Shruti Kumar's background score. Goes with the wackiness of the series. Riz-pect!





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