There's music buffs, and then there's Salman Khan buffs. The latter relish the 'masala' quotient featured in all of composer-duo Sajid-Wajid's offerings ['Sohni De Nakhre' from Partner - the song featured in so many mehndis I wanted to strangle myself with a patka; 'Karle Baby Dance' from Hello; 'Happening' - Mai aur Mrs. Khanna; practically the entire soundtrack of Wanted, to name a few]; Mozart this is not, but the music serves its purpose, especially to front-benchers. That's not to say that Sajid-Wajid aren't capable of the - err - 'cultured'; some tracks from their first 2010 release Veer were more class than mass, but whatever chance that soundtrack had was effectively ruined by laughable production/costume design [Pindari warrior channels Conan the Barbarian couture] and outrageous choreography by - aha - Lolly Pop - ahahahahaha.

No, seriously, that's the choreographer's name.
Right, where was I. Ah, of course: Dabangg Salman Khan returns to his Wanted roots; the action-hero avatar brought him box office glory galore in 2009, and he's all set to repeat that as Chulbul Pandey [or 'Bad-Ass Robin Hood', as the trailers claim. But - wait, he's a police-officer, not an outlaw, that doesn't make sen...- dang it! What part of Bollywood crime pulp fiction do I not get: everything goes, including shout-outs to Kevin Costner.] Won't post the entire plot here, but certain keywords should do: Corrupt police-officer/desi Samurai alternating between death army of one and roadside Romeo, check. Evil stepfather [Vinod Khanna], check. Mother [Dimple Kapadia] destined for the deathbed before interval, check. Sati savitri [Sonakshi Sinha, daughter of Shatrughan Sinha, in her debut], check. Her alcoholic, abusive father, played by Mahesh Manjrekar, duh. Twat of a half-brother [Arbaaz Khan] who has to ruin everything - check. Antagonist [Sonu Sood, of Jodhaa Akbar/Singh is King fame] that pits brother against brother, check. Malaika Arora in item-girl avatar as Munni, mmmm. I mean check.

Going through the soundtrack of Dabangg, one thing's pretty obvious: the composers seem 'inspired' by Vishal Bhardwaj's compositions, particularly Omkara and Kaminey. There's two sides to the Dabangg OST: one's folksy, rustic, and unabashedly commercial [vintage Sajid-Wajid], the other attempts to be sophisticated [re: earnest love-ballad and Sufi-qawwali-cash-cow] but comes off as pretentious.

The breakdown: A lot's been said about Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's 'Tere Mast Mast Do Nain'; the words 'chartbuster' and 'perennial composition' have been tossed around, and RFAK's been praised to the hilt, some even calling it one of his most accomplished renditions.

I don't see it. Have people forgotten the Rahat Fateh Ali Khan of old ['Mann Ki Lagan' - Paap, 'Jiya Dhadak Dhadak' - Kalyug, 'Naina' - Omkara, 'O Re Piya' - Aaja Nachle, and the like]? Feels to me like recently we're hearing a more 'commercial' RFAK: 'Sajda' from MNIK, 'Bahara' from I Hate Luv Storys and 'Aankhon Mai Neendein' from We Are Family were to me, painfully average and don't hold a candle to, say a 'Dil to Bachcha Hai Ji'. Sure, the song is easy on the ears [and how could it not; the dhin-chak-dhin beat is uncomplicated and unchanging], and the chorus is... rhapsodic, but the song overstays its welcome: 6 minutes of Bollywood, The Sufi Side Of, 101. I'd recommend revisiting Mann Ki Lagan for Sufi-qawalli sublimity; the simplicity of the musical arrangement worked there, not so much in this song. The verdict: it's quintessential RFAK, but two shades paler than his finest works. The duet version with saccharine Shreya Ghoshal works better; at least there's some variation. The last we see of this song is in an insipid, unnecessary remix version that's bound to Baby Doll remix obscurity. I mean, why even go there with tracks like these? Do you see yourself rocking out at a rave to 'Teri Ore'? Didn't think so.

Guest composer and lyricist Lalit Pandit gives us a poor man's 'Beedi' [Omkara] with 'Munni Badnaam'; a deliciously crass concoction that's bound to send front-benchers into rabid fits of ecstasy [re: Malaika Arora, queen of the item-song.] With lyrics like: 'Munni Badnaam Hui/Le Zandu Balm Hui/Amiya Se Aam Hui Darling Tere Liye' it's obvious this isn't a Gulzar sonnet [more out of the pages of a Naseebo Lal ditty], but for its sheer infectious mood, spirited folksy flavor and OTT lyrics, the song works. Oh, come on, it has Malaika and Salman Khan grooving it out, UP-Bihar style: it was always going to play for visual impact rather than musical content. Though Sallu calling his real-life sister-in-law 'Item-Bomb' as she prances around in practically a backless choli is just a wee bit disturbing. There's also a remix version that's set to be all the rage at mehndis, but it dilutes the charming folksy flair of the original.

Up next is 'Chori Kiya Re Jiya', a Sonu Nigam/Shreya Ghoshal duet, straight out of the pages of a KJo/Sooraj Barjatya flick. Breezy, romantic, a tad blah towards the end [what's with 4 minute-plus songs?!], it's standard Bollywood ballad, but surprisingly tender, given the violent theme of the film.

Oh hello, 'Omkara'! Sajid-Wajid directly lift the chorus from Vishal Bhardwaj's title track and conveniently add it to 'Hud Hud Dabangg', but plagiarism aside, with an intoxicating rendition by, oh hello, Sukhwinder Singh, the raucous rustic track [reminiscent in vocal energy as 'Tashan'], suffused with ethnic beats, is gritty and a surefire hit.

'Humka Peena Hai' again treads 'masala' territory with use of traditional elements, a catchy hook and an energetic rendition; couple that with Salman Khan's histrionics onscreen [a drunk Sallu makes for great crowd-pleaser], and you've got another great 'commercial' track; think crude, rural irreverent rendition of 'Chalak Chalak' from Devdas [you've got all your basics: hichkis, kaari aankhen, mehkhane, et al]

The soundtrack ends with 'The Dabangg Theme', the music of which is reminiscent of Kaminey's background score, but that's not even the half of it. It's like the makers ripped the audio off of the theatrical trailer [dialogues, gunshots, dhishum-dhishum all included], and presented it as a score. The dialoguebaazi is entertaining, granted, but why not just - watch the trailer? Can you say bizarre?

The Verdict: Sajid-Wajid deliver on what they promise: a hardcore 'dhinchak' mass entertainer that's bound to have even more impact once the film releases. The only dull moments [though RFAK fans will disagree] are 'Tere Mast Mast Do Nain' & 'Chori Kiya Re Jiya' - that being said, it's far superior than the KJo-on-a-bad-day We Are Family soundtrack.