The Punditz Have Arrived!
4/5
By MovieTalkies.com, 27 August 2011
(Ratings: Poor * Average ** Good *** Very Good**** Excellent *****)
Though he's just two films old in Bollywood, Rajeev Khandelwal has already gained a reputation for being the face of alternative cinema in India. That is not surprising, given that the two films he's starred in, so far, have been the superb Aamir and Shaitan. Now, Khandelwal is readying for another release, Neerav Ghosh's Soundtrack, an official remake of Canadian indie cult hit, It's All Gone Pete Tong, which will see him cast in the role of a disc jockey who may slowly be losing his hearing.
Debutant director Neerav Ghosh brings a special musical sensibility to the table with Soundtrack, having been a part of an indie act, Gravy Train, himself, years ago. Appropriately, then, for the soundtrack of Soundtrack, pardon the repetition, Ghosh brings in some of the best known names from the Indian alternative scene, like Anushka Manchanda, Suraj Jagan, Ankur Tewari and Papon to contribute musically, apart from roping in the MIDIval Punditz and Karsh Kale to make their full-fledged composing debut with the album. Though the Punditz and Kale have done the background score for Karthik Calling Karthik and Dum Maaro Dum, Soundtrack is their debut at composing an entire Bollywood album.
The Soundtrack OST opens up with a track titled symphony of the streets. An instrumental, the melody is arranged around ambient sound in Mumbai, the cacophony of trains, car horns, taxi doors, whistles and catcalls, all woven into an slow, snarling tune that is as 'MIDIval' as it gets. The core melody of the track has a dark, raging feel to it that sets the stage for the madness to come.
From the lounging melody of 'symphony', Soundtrack moves into electro-pop, even a bit of dubstep, territory with Anushka Manchanda's full-bodied vocals on what the f. The track is built around a strong bassline running through that keeps the number pumping and moving, along with a brilliant hook in the what the f is going on bit, and makes this one a perfect fit for Rajeev Khandelwal's DJ character in the film.
Kailash Kher comes in to collaborate with the MIDIval Punditz and Karsh Kale on mein chala. This is truly dark stuff, comparable to Kailasa's own past hit, bam lehri, which is similar in feel and sound. Kher and the composers both play to their strengths here, with Kailash's medieval-sounding raudra rasa (quintessential anger) singing and the Punditz' thumping electronic trance arrangement giving the track an ominous, though situational, sound.
Though Vishal Vaid's ek manzil opens up with a rather enticing cello intro, that continues to be sampled through the track, one has to say that Vaid's vocals are a bit too much in Atif Aslam territory for comfort. The track, which sees Vaid work with Kale, is still rather beautifully arranged though, with an interesting mix of synthesised electro sounds and acoustic guitar, violins and percussion, giving it a rather unique feel.
Suraj Jagan put his own spin on the classic Laxmikant Pyarelal, Kishore Kumar number, in ruk jaana nahin. The track is one of two, on the album, that are reduxes of classic Bollywood numbers, the other being Malini Awasthy's version of yeh jeevan hai, which is, again, a Kishore, LP track. While both tracks sound rather atmospheric in their new, MIDIval Punditz, Karsh Kale versions, there are differences in the two sounds. In keeping with Jagan's rockstar chops, ruk jaana nahin starts slow, with some light electronic lounge sounds, before moving in full-blown modern rock territory, complete with ultra-energetic drums and guitars, though the electro sound stays. Awasthy's yeh jeevan hai, on the other hand, is the more interesting entry of the two, with some brilliant flute work from Pt Ajay Prasanna giving the track a very soothing feel. However, where the number suffers a bit is in Awasthy's vocal performance itself, a voice that comes on a bit too strong for the otherwise soft sounding track.
Being an acoustic evangelist himself, Ankur Tewari's jannat signals a short acoustic detour for the album as well, as he is followed by two acoustic numbers from Assamese singer Papon. Tewari's jannat has been a staple of his live performances for years now, and one is glad to see this piece of hindi-indie brilliance is finally going to be introduced to a wider audience through Soundtrack. The track's light, pop-rock sound and Tewari's endearing lyrics have a way of getting hooked into the listener's mind, and is better experienced than explained.
Papon's two appearances on Soundtrack begin with quirky banao, where, if you don't get it at first listen, the talented singer is rhapsodising about rolling a joint. The track is woven around some super simple lyrics and some brilliantly beautiful guitarwork from Papon and the East India Company. Papon is perfect on vocals as well, especially when he channels his Assamese best in the ganja nahin dawa hai interlude.
Compared to his first outing, naina lagey is a world apart for Papon, as the singer doles some superbly soulful classical affectations in his vocals here. With just some quiet electronic rhythms and beats, along with a quieter piano, the track seems a bit situational in its feel, but works as a lounge number.
Vishal Vaid is back on vocals on fakira, as the Punditz and Kale return to electronic home ground here. With a thumping, booming sound, perhaps this track could best be termed electro-sufi, as Vaid and Aslam Parvez's lyrics would definitely fit into the sufi mould, though the composers go completely electronic with its arrangement. The track has a situational feel to it, and it will be rather interesting to see how a track like this is used in the film.
However, where the MIDIval Punditz and Karsh Kale truly come into their own is on the album's penultimate number, atomizer, which sees Gaurav Raina, one half of the Punditz, along with Kale, on 'vocals', their voices 'robotised' using a vocoder. The track's arrangement sees the use of electric guitars, dhols, synthesised rhythms and percussion; basically, the works. The track is packed with hooks and is a perfect taste of the real Punditz/Kale sound, if anyone's looking for it.
The final entry on the album is the soundtrack theme, which is the complete version of the brilliant cello theme sampled earlier in Vishal Vaid's ek manzil. The track's evocative core melody is sweeping in its reach and sounds almost orchestral here, arranged with a mix of acoustic and electronic sounds by the MIDIval Punditz and Karsh Kale. The track ends on a rather hopeful sounding note, and along with the instrumental symphony of the streets, makes for the perfect bookend to the Soundtrack OST.
With tracks like what the f, mein chala, atomizer and the soundtrack theme, the Punditz/Kale sound is seductively in form here. Contributions from Ankur Tewari and Papon, on jannat and banao, respectively, too, help set Soundtrack' a long way apart from the run-of-the-mill churnings of what passes for music in Hindi cinema. Though the electronic, alternative vibe of 'Soundtrack' may not be tailored to the everyday Bollywood film-goer's taste, there is no denying that the MIDIval Punditz and Karsh Kale have carved out something unique, and yes, brilliant, with this soundtrack, at least for Hindi cinema.