Department: Music Review

Music Director: Dharam-Sandeep, Bappa Lahiri, Vikram Nagi
Lyricist:Shabbir Ahmed, Vayu, Sandip Singh
Singers:Mika Singh, Paroma P.Dasgupta, Sandeep Patil, Ravi, Ritu Pathak and Sudesh Bhonsle.
Rating: **1/2
Ram Gopal Varma’s upcoming film Department is a take on the corruption prevalent within the police system. The film has been shot in a realistic way so it’s no surprise that the song sequences in the film fit the script to the tee.The music has been composed by Bappa Lahiri, Dharam-Sandeep and Vikram Nagi and joining them are lyricists Sandip Singh, Shabbir Ahmed and Vayu.
The opening album track 'Dan Dan Cheeni Shoot Mix' is a re-mixed Hindi version of the Tamil song 'Aasai Nooru' and is the highlight of the album. Despite the mixed reviews on the video and Nathalia’s vulgar moves, 'Dan Dan Cheeni Shoot Mix' is the one reason why this album will sell. Composed by Dharam-Sandeep and written by Vayu, the song is groovy and has the right beats. It sets the rythm for the other songs to follow and surprisingly, a few listens later, one quite naturally starts humming the tune. Paroma P.Dasgupta on the vocals has done a good job with a strong voice, adding life to the raunchy number. Ravi and Sandeep Patil lend their voices too making it an overall peppy track sure to be an instant hit in nightclubs.
‘Kammo’ is unusual to the film’s soundtrack because it’s a bhangra number that generally does not feature in a Ramu film. But the song does decently well with the King of Punjabi pop Mika Singh leading the vocals with fellow singer Sudesh Bhonsle. Written by Shabbir Ahmed, this song is not a hit like other Mika numbers but manages to survive. Bappa Lahiri could have done a better job but maybe like his father, pop and retro is his thing.
Next up is 'Theme of Department - Ek Do Teen Chaar' which is powerful and does justice to this gritty, hard hitting film with a western feel to it. Composed by Dharam-Sandeep and written by Vayu, the theme song is a fine balance between strong sounds and Sandeep Patil's slightly subtle voice.
'Bad Boys' has a techno feel to it and that may be a reason for the dong to be dished out in nightclubs but one can forget it altogether. With an average treatment to the sound (Vikram Nagi) Sandip Singh’s lyrics aren’t great either and singer Ritu Pathak has so much potential but her talent is wasted in the song.
The album winds up with ‘Mumbai Police' which is more like a rap number where Sanjay Dutt mouths dialogues in between. Police Composed by Bappa Lahiri and written by Shabbir Ahmed, the song is true to Sanju’s style and Farhad Bhiwandiwala’s voice takes it a notch higher.
All in all, the soundtrack of Department is average except for the chart buster 'Dan Dan Cheeni Shoot Mix' followed closely by ‘Kammo’. Next time, Ramu should stick to one music director to maintain the consistency in sound.