The trailer of Machine gave a glimpse into 'Chatur Naar', a track inspired by Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey and Mehmood’s classic 'Ek Chatur Naar' from Padosan (1968). This one though is music director Tanishk Bagchi's own rendition with only a few lyrics taken from the original song. Is it a worthy remake?
We don't think so. Kumar, Dey, Mehmood, RD Burman (music) and Rajendran Krishnan (lyricist) are probably turning in their graves right now.
The song, like most remakes, has a touch of rap to appeal to the younger listeners. Rapper Ikka does a good job. Nakash Aziz and Shashaa Tirupati are two fine contemporary singers who have given the track their best shot. The music by Bagchi, too, is peppy and is likely to get airtime at parties. However, the track is marred by poor lyrics by Niket Pandey. Some English words thrown together don't make a good song. Songs like 'Break Up Song' from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016) and 'Nachde Ne Saare' from Baar Baar Dekho (2016) had generous use of English lyrics and social media terminologies, which worked in their favour as the visuals and music matched. That is what's missing in Machine's 'Chatur Naar'.
The saving grace for the song is the choreography. Kiara Advani appears a bit stiff, but Mustafa and the other boys around him excel in their freestyle dancing. Mustafa’s moves to the rap music part are particularly impressive.
Watch 'Chatur Naar' for it's youthful energy: