Jubin Nautiyal’s tone, Tanishk Bagchi’s music, and Sidharth Malhotra. Rashmika Mandanna’s the fresh element, yet Rabba Janda feels like the Shershaah [2021] track.
By Mayur Lookhar
We’ve done with our ‘Best Bollywood songs of the year’ listicle. With five days to go for the year to close, we have a track that has aroused our curiosity. Thank God, Mission Majnu is slated to release in January 2023, or else we would have had to rethink on our 2022 song listicle.
Sidharth Malhotra, Rashmika Mandanna came on a scooter for the Rabba Janda song launch in Bandra Fort on Christmas Day. The frenzy didn’t really allow us to gauge the song at the location. 24 hours later, we tuned into it attentively.
Sidharth Malhotra, Tanishk Bagchi and Jubin Nautiyal. The trio had collaborated before – Manike from Thank God [2022] recently, and the more memorable Raataan Lambiyan track from Shershaah [2021]. Listening to Rabba Janda naturally triggered the Raataan Lambiyan nostalgia Though two different tracks, they come from the same body.
Please note this article is no Rabba Janda versus Raataan Lambiyan comparison. Maybe it is Sidharth Malhotra, Jubin Nautiyal and the Tanishk Bagchi common factor that evokes such a feeling. Perhaps we wouldn’t have felt so if Mission Majnu and this song came few years later.
The teaser showed Malhotra playing a R&AW agent, one who is assigned a mission to bust the larger enemy conspiracy. Probably, Malhotra’s character is only masquerading as a Muslim guy. He is smitten by the visually impaired Nasrin [Rashmika Mandanna]. Who knows maybe this affair, too, is part of the mission? Is Malhotra’s character chasing Nasrin’s uncle Moin chacha? All these answers will be revealed when the film releases on Netflix on 19 January, 2023.
For now, we simply dissect the song. The lyrics are elementary, the singing too, especially the Punjabi words don’t come naturally to the Uttarkhandi Nautiyal. Honestly, Shabbir Ahmed’s lyrics didn’t really appeal to us. Nautiyal’s singing too is a mixed bag. He does well with the early lyrics, but cracks a bit in the culminating verse. What works for the song is the fairly immersive music by Tanishk Bagchi. It is an original composition. That is a plus, but the track genuinely has a soothing score. The other thing that works in the song’s favour is the picturisation. The love blossoms slowly as the tailor [Malhotra] is smitten by Nasrin. Malhotra’s expression and Mandanna’s million-dollar smile and the still eyes work their magic. Though, too early to say, but we like Mandanna’s body language as a visually impaired girl. We are a little intrigued as to there is no face to face visual of the duo. Maybe Nasrin’s visual impairment required the duo to be captured besides each other or solo frames.
Make no mistake, Rabba Janda had potential to be the first mesmerising song of 2023, but it falls a few meters short. There is enough in it for the masses and the youth to enjoy.
Watch the Rabba Janda track below.
