Mirch – Music Review

You can listen to the soundtrack here.

I have been waiting to hear Kaare Kaare Badra since I caught a portion of it in the trailer of Mirch. And it does start off promisingly too, the title hook in raag Jog sounding mesmerizing in Shankar Mahadevan’s practiced vocals, and Monty Sharma’s rock orchestral arrangement, all heralding an exciting fusion track. But the song loses some of his spunk in the antara, mainly due to a dilution of the raga.  Nevertheless Shankar Mahadevan singing classical is always a delight and hence this song is too. Wonder if the initial sargam is sung by someone else though. Things take a melancholic turn with Mann Bhi Hai, a semiclassical song (set in raag Purvi I feel) soulfully delivered by Bela Shende and orchestrated fittingly by the composer. I remember seeing scenes in the trailer with the characters dressed up in period attire. From the feel of the song this could be for one of those situations. Monty Sharma evokes faint memories of his Saawariya days in Zindagi Tu Hi Bata. And being just one track of that kind this time it definitely sounds engaging, Kunal Ganjawala, Vaishali Samant and Sharmishtha doing a commendable job on the vocal front as well.

The title song doesn’t work much in either of its versions, despite some energetic singing by Akriti Kakar in the Western and Kalpana Patowary in the folk variants, folk being the better of the two. But things end on a pleasant note with the folk-classical-electronic track Mora Saiyyan, Pt. Girish Chattopadhyay leading the proceedings with some amazing ad libs while Indian Idol 3 finalist Charu Semwal and Ila Arun pitch in with their cameos at the right places. Monty could have done without the techno elements though.

Mirch’s soundtrack is of the kind that will not find a lot of audience, unfortunately, but on a positive note this is the best Monty Sharma has sounded post Saawariya. Here’s hoping he continues on an upward slope.

Music Aloud rating — 7/10

Recommended Tracks — Kaare Kaare Badra, Mann Bhi Hai, Zindagi Tu Hi Bata