On a regular day one wouldn't have been too sure about what to expect from the music of The Dirty Picture. After all, the film recounts the 80s era, tells the tale of Silk Smitha and has an unconventional pairing of Vidya Balan with men like Naseeruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi and Tusshar Kapoor. Moreover with Vishal-Shekhar coming on board and writer Rajat Aroraa turning lyricist for an entire album for the first time ever, there is further intrigue quotient to the entire soundtrack.
It was the era of  Disco Dancer and Ilzaam, a decade when Bappi Lahiri’s infectiously cheesy disco anthems ruled the airwaves; an era (like now) when Bollywood also often looked South for inspiration, resulting in surprisingly saucy, glitz laden epic dance numbers in films like Himmatwala.
With The Dirty Picture soundtrack Vishal-Shekhar have essentially created a time-machine to transport the listener back to the full-on filmi glory of the early Eighties.
The track that captured everyone’s attention with the trailer, Ooh La La, kickstarts the album. Combining both cheesy disco pop and vaguely Southern inflected beats, Ooh La La firmly cements a retro Eighties feel with its cute oldskool disco synth effects that kick in halfway through the song. The persistent percussion – handclaps, a variety of drums,  is infectious, and vocals from Shreya Ghoshal and Bappi Lahiri add a touch of authenticity – plus as they trade verses they sound like they are having an absolute blast singing! But if there’s one thing you’ll remember from this song, it’s Shreya’s  delivery of the lyrics – at one point gradually becoming more and more sensually breathless until she’s actually panting. Dirty Picture indeed!
An alternate mix of the song Ooh La La (Dhol Mix) is included on the album – presumably for those wanting a dancefloor friendly version. The original is pretty dancefloor ready as it is, but the Dhol Mix (as the name suggests) amps up the bhangra factor a little bit, kicking up the dhol in the mix, and modernises the synth effects to make

them a little more Noughties, a little less Eighties.
Ishq Sufiyana is exactly what the title suggests: a Sufi inflected love ballad. The  arrangement, characterised by driving percussion and luscious, soaring strings, is kept fairly simple to allow focus on the gorgeous, confident voice of vocalist Kamal Khan. The melody is absolutely lovely.  I think this one is a slow burner of a track that will get under your skin the more you hear it. An alternate version of the track, Ishq Sufiyana (female), voiced by Sunidhi Chauhan (who shows off her vocal range and flexibility!) also appears on the album.The next number 'Honeymoon Ki Raat' harks back to the nightclubs of the seventies and eighties. Keeping in view the subject of the film and the demand of the script, it's an item number, though with a difference, having more western influences and lots of disco, jazz and peppy, light musical arrangements. Sunidhi sails through the number in her characteristic lovable style. A song that would be lapped up by front benchers, aagey ke chaar row, as per Emraan Hashmi in the promos of THE DIRTY PICTURE!
Next up 'Twinkle Twinkle' may not sound exactly like the item number one was expecting from a film which is based on the life of Silk Smitha but as one hears the whole song one cannot help but salute the composers and lyricist Rajat Arora who have come up with such an 'out of the box' dance number. VS have drawn inspiration from popular dance numbers like 'De de pyaar de' and 'Pyaar do, Pyaar Lo'.
Music of The Dirty Picture takes the expected route and delivers what it promised once 'Ooo La La' came on air. While this song is a chartbuster all the way, even 'Ishq Sufiyana' has in it to find long legs for itself, courtesy Emraan Hashmi's strong fan base lapping it up. As for the added 'tadka' there is 'Twinkle Twinkle' that should keep the mood naughty-n-entertaining, as is the theme and genre of the film as well.