Bhaag Milkha Bhaag – Music Review (Bollywood Soundtrack)

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You can listen to the soundtrack here.

The prayer song Gurbani is kept simple as it ought to be, a strings-led template to back Daler Mehndi’s booming vocals. The rock-flavored anthem that is Zinda passes through familiar tropes, but where it makes up for that is in the energy – the orchestration around the Koyla Kaala Hai phrase is particularly rousing. And a fabulous job by Siddharth Mahadevan behind the mic; his Bollywood debut if one were to discount that cameo in Bunty Aur Babli. Maston Ka Jhund again is replete with elements of the past but the quirky elements in the arrangement and the exuberant job from Divya Kumar make it worth listening despite the datedness. I expected the title song to be another heavily orchestrated anthemic piece, but interestingly SEL give the song an unplugged treatment, just a rabab (I guess) comprising most of the arrangement. Not that the song is any less effective this way; for one there is the inimitable Arif Lohar singing Prasoon Joshi’s motivational lyrics. Good to be hearing more of the Pakistani powerhouse in Bollywood. The difference the man can make comes out starkly when you compare it with the Rock Version which features a more thematic arrangement, but still rates below the original. And Siddharth Mahadevan may not be as effective as Lohar, but he does a commendable singing here too.

The awesomest section of the soundtrack is formed by the remaining three songs. Lovely bluegrass-y arrangement is the highlight of the happy, sing along-ish Slow Motion Angreza. Love the way Sukhwinder Singh’s folksy singing is incorporated into the western arrangement, after Loy Mendonsa’s neat rendition of the English prelude. Javed Bashir’s spotless Punjabi delivery and those guitars form quite a heady fusion in Mera Yaar. The composers also throw in some country-style violin phrases for good measure (is that a kanjira in the latter half?). Delivering the knockout punch O Rangrez, a soothing classical-based piece (Khamaj raag-based, @meemeera and Shreya herself confirmed) that makes beautiful use of Shreya Ghoshal and Javed Bashir’s prowess. Complementing their awesomeness is some fabulous interplay between sarangi (esraj, insists @kaurvaki) and tabla. That last one minute is bliss!

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. After that blip called Teen They Bhai, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (ok, @milliblog points out that ROM was only involved in the production of TTB) is back to his awesome music days. And with Chittagong and Vishwaroopam, it is three in a row for Shankar Ehsaan Loy.

Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10

Top Recos: O Rangrez, Mera Yaar, Slow Motion Angreza

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