Chennai Express
Soundtrack Album Cover
Soundtrack album by
Vishal–Shekhar, Yo Yo Honey Singh
Released1 July 2013 (2013-07-01)
Recorded2012–2013
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length39:34
LanguageHindi
LabelT-Series
Vishal–Shekhar, Yo Yo Honey Singh chronology
Gippi
(2013) 		Chennai Express
(2013) 		Gori Tere Pyaar Mein
(2013)
Singles from Chennai Express
  1. "Lungi Dance"
    Released: 13 July 2013

Chennai Express (/tʃɪˈnaɪ/ ⓘ) is the soundtrack album composed by the duo Vishal–Shekhar for the 2013 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film of the same name, directed by Rohit Shetty and written by Sajid-Farhad and Yunus Sajawal, starring Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone. The background score for the film is composed by Amar Mohile. The soundtrack album features nine songs, written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, and the song ''Lungi Dance" which was written and performed by Yo Yo Honey Singh. The album was released by T-Series on 1 July 2013.

Marketing

The score of Chennai Express was composed by Amar Mohile; the songs were composed by the duo Vishal–Shekhar,[1] and the lyrics were written by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Yo Yo Honey Singh.[2] Recording of the songs began in late October 2012. The track "Ready Steady Po" was recorded in November 2012 by the music's composers and Smokey the Ghost/Smokey, along with Enkore, Brodha V and others. Several sources said that the director and actor were unsatisfied with the score. The director was reportedly asked to plan for a different musical composition.[3] However, the composers denied these rumours.[4] In mid-April 2013, singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam recorded the title track for the film, marking his return to Bollywood for playback after an absence of fifteen years. He said the song celebrated the spirit of togetherness. Initially, Balasubrahmanyam was apprehensive, but chose to sing due to the content and leads of the film.[5] The song "1 2 3 4 get on the dance floor" was released as a promotional single on World Music Day. On 27 June 2013, the video promo of the song "Titli" was released,[6] and on 11 July 2013, the promo video of "Kashmir Main Tu Kanyakumari" was released.[7] On 19 July 2013, T-Series uploaded a song to its official channel on YouTube; sung by Honey Singh. The song was titled "Lungi Dance – The 'Thalaivar(r)' Tribute" in honour of the film actor Rajinikanth.[8] On 25 July 2013, a promotional video of the song "Tera Rasta Main Chhodoon Na" was released.[9] The music album was launched on 1 July 2013.[10]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya

No.TitleMusicSinger(s)Length
1."1 2 3 4 Get on the Dance Floor"Vishal–ShekharVishal Dadlani, Hamsika Iyer, Sricharan3:48
2."Titli"Vishal–ShekharGopi Sunder, Chinmayi, Charulatha Mani, Srimathumitha5:50
3."Tera Rastaa Chhodoon Na"Vishal–ShekharAnusha Mani, Amitabh Bhattacharya4:13
4."Kashmir Main Tu Kanyakumari"Vishal–ShekharSunidhi Chauhan, Arijit Singh, Neeti Mohan5:07
5."Ready Steady Po"Vishal–ShekharVishal Dadlani, Brodha V, Smokey the Ghost, Enkore, Natalie Di Luccio3:28
6."Chennai Express" (Title Track)Vishal–ShekharS. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Jonita Gandhi4:47
7."Titli" (Dubstep Version)Vishal–ShekharZoheb Khan, Phoenyx3:40
8."Chennai Express" (Mashup)Vishal–ShekharDJ Kiran Kamath3:37
9."Lungi Dance"Yo Yo Honey SinghYo Yo Honey Singh4:36
Total length:39:34

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Devesh Sharma (Filmfare)[11]
IBN Live[12]
Yashika Mathur (Daily News and Analysis)[13]
Joginder Tuteja (Rediff)[14]

The soundtrack album of Chennai Express received positive reviews. Devesh Sharma of Filmfare gave the album 4/5, saying that it is "a robust offering, which is full of new sounds and zany surprises", and that Vishal–Shekhar put in a lot of effort to bring out their best for the film.[11] IBN Live gave the album 3.5/5 and stated that the album was another "winner" from Vishal–Shekhar. The composers were critically praised for blending different forms of music which "pepped" the otherwise usual Bollywood music.[12]

Yashika Mathur of DNA gave the album 3.5/5 and said that Chennai Express is "another winner from Vishal-Shekhar" that "boasts of a soothing bouquet of typical Bollywood numbers and some peppy tracks with exceptional mixing." She wrote that it "is likely to appeal to music lovers of all age-groups and sentiments" and called it "[a]n entertaining all-rounder, the composers must be applauded for fusing different music and beats to pep up the otherwise usual Bollywood music."[13]

Joginder Tuteja of Rediff.com gave the album 3/5 and wrote that the title song, "Chennai Express", is "just about average". He expressed his displeasure over Balasubramaniam's ill-suiting of voice for Shah Rukh Khan, and said that in all the song was not remarkable. He, however, complimented that the overall outcome was "satisfactory" with a few of the songs even standing out.[14] Anand Holla of Mumbai Mirror said, "It's easy to imagine director Rohit Shetty's crystal clear brief to Vishal-Shekhar, involving words such as catchy, peppy, fun, and of course 'hit songs'. Given how happily formulaic the soundtrack has turned out, V–S have given us a fair idea of what awaits us this Eid."[15]

References

  1. ^ Apoorva Dutt (7 August 2013). "Chennai Express: Why Vishal Dadlani is wrong about Yo Yo Honey Singh". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  2. ^ Udita Jhunjhunwala (29 June 2013). "Amit Trivedi & Amitabh Bhattacharya". Livemint. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  3. ^ Dibyojyoti Baksi (22 April 2013). "Shah Rukh Khan not happy with music of Chennai Express". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  4. ^ Akshata Shetty (27 April 2013). "Not asked to re-work 'Chennai Express' music: Vishal-Shekhar". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  5. ^ Mehul S Thakkar (24 May 2013). "Salman's voice now belongs to Shah Rukh". Mumbai Mirror. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Titli Chennai Express Official Video". T-Series. 27 June 2013. Archived from the original on 14 May 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Kashmir Main Tu Kanyakumari: Chennai Express song". T-Series. 11 July 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  8. ^ "The Thalaivar Tribute (Lungi Dance) Feat. Yo Yo Honey Singh". T-Series. 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  9. ^ "Tera Rastaa Chhodoon Na Song Chennai Express". T-Series. 25 July 2013. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Chennai Express Music Album". Taran Adarsh. 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  11. ^ a b Devesh Sharma (3 July 2013). "Music Review: Chennai Express". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  12. ^ a b "'Chennai Express' Music Review: It's an entertaining all-rounder". CNN-IBN. IANS. 4 July 2013. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  13. ^ a b Yashika Mathur (4 July 2013). "Music review: Chennai Express chugs on experimentation". IANS. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  14. ^ a b Joginder Tuteja (4 July 2013). "Music review: Chennai Express has some aces up its sleeve". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  15. ^ Anand Holla (10 July 2013). "Music review: Chennai Express". Mumbai Mirror. Archived from the original on 15 July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
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