Music Review: SATYAGRAHA Offers Variety, Lacks Gusto!

Overall, the album does offer some variety but lacks the fervor generally expected from massy social dramas like this.



by Aabhar Dadhich ref BOC

SATYAGRAHA Offers Variety, Lacks Gusto!

 
Film:

Satyagraha

Producer(s):

UTV, Prakash JhaProductions

Director:

Prakash Jha

Cast:

Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Amrita Rao and Manoj Bajpayee

Music:

Salim-Sulaiman, Aadesh Srivastava,Meet Bros. Anjaan, Indian Ocean

Lyrics:

Prasoon Joshi

Rating Of Tracks:

No.	Song	Artist	Rating
1	Satyagraha	Rajiv, Shivam Pathak, Shweta Pandit	3/5
2	Aiyo Ji	Salim Merchant, Shweta Pandit	2.5/5
3	Raske Bhare Tore Naina	Shafqat Amanat Ali, Arpita	2/5
4	Janta Rocks	Papon, Meet Bros.Anjaan, Keerthi Sagathia	1.5/5
5	Hum Bhole The	Rahul Ram, Amit Kilam, Himanshu	3/5
6	Raske Bhare Tore Naina - HouseMix	Aadesh Srivastava	2/5
7	Aiyo Ji-Remix	Salim Merchant, Shweta Pandit	2/5

Album Rating:

2.5/5              

Details:

"Satyagraha" is the upcoming film ofacclaimed director Prakash Jha known for making socio-political dramas with the who’s who of Bollywood. Music has never really been the highlight of Prakash Jha’s movies and rightly so – his films are more about the story he wants to tell rather than the whole movie-watching experience. Here’s what the music of "Satyagraha" has to offer.

Satyagraha – the title track – is a modern spinoff of one of the most timeless Indian bhajans ‘Raghupati Raghav Rajaram’. Salim-Sulaiman take this original Indian melody and create a worthy reprise that is part ‘rock’ and part ‘club’. The lyrics by Prasoon Joshi are crisp and contemporary, aiming to stir the youth by cautioning against political inaction. The vocals are honest but unremarkable – as good as the song requires them to be.

Aiyo Ji is a romantic song composed by Salim-Sulaiman. The talented duo effortlessly create an atmosphere of trance but refuse to ditch it even for a split second resulting in a monotonous tune.The melody is drawn from the treasure trove of Indian classical music and is expectedly hummable. The vocals by Shweta Pandit are sweet and display appropriate vulnerability but fail to leave a lasting impact owing to the heavy modulation they are subjected to.

Raske Bhare Tore Naina is an uninspired love song by Aadesh Srivastava. The tune is an ode to one of the most famous Indian ragas and Srivastava decides to refrain from adding any original input, so much so that it strikingly resembles his earlier composition from Prakash Jha’s "Raajneeti" – "More Piya". Shafqat Amanat Ali’s seasoned vocals have a calming effect and constitute the only highlight of this lackluster composition.

Janta Rocks is a Meet Bros. Anjaan composition and serves up a jingoistic tune that is as unappealing and predictable as it’s hook line. There is a portion where the music takes an inexplicable turn for the worse and starts to sound like it belongs to an espionage thriller. Overall, this one stands out for all the wrong reasons.

Hum Bhole The is an original number by the veteran Indian rock band Indian Ocean. Electric guitars rain down like an impending monsoon on this groovy melody and Rahul Ram does the rest to ensure that Indian Ocean fans have enough substance to relish this one for. The lyrics paint the picture of an awakened Indian population, doing poetic justice with this rousing melody.

The remaining two tracks – Raske Bhare Tore Naina (House Mix) and Aiyo Ji (Remix) are regurgitated versions of their originals and hold limited value as standalone compositions.

Verdict:

Satyagraha (title track) is the stand out song of this album for its ingenuous arrangements and stimulating lyrics. The appeal of this album suffers considerably due to a couple of half - hearted efforts, especially Janta Rocks. Overall, the album does offer some variety but lacks the fervor generally expected from massy social dramas like this.