Songs and complete soundtrack credits at the end.
If I were to rank my favourite musical instruments, one of the top entries would definitely be reserved for the African kora. An instrument that imparts an incredibly calming vibe, and therefore is often part of songs tend to be in that zone as well (remember this song from Raavan/Raavanan?). It is also an instrument that is unfortunately rarely employed in Indian music, so I have to rely on world music, or catching the instrument live (like this street performance I stumbled upon the other day). It was therefore that my ears perked up when I first listened to Sajni and heard strains of what sounded like kora kicking off the song. Got hold of the credits, and indeed it is Senegalese musician Vieux Cissokho at work. Cissokho and Bennett Sullivan on the mandolin (both instruments nicely complementing each other) dominate the backdrop of this wistful tune, even as Arijit Singh delivers the goods on the vocal front with practised ease. My favourite lines from the soundtrack appear in Doubtwa –Divyanidhi Sharma’s (also the movie’s additional dialogue writer) quirky mix of English and rustic phrases form the soul of this lively track where composer Ram Sampath smartly crafts an intriguing-yet-frivolous kind of a piece (love the use of horns!). And he could not have gotten a better candidate than Sukhwinder Singh (in fact the composer gets his choice of vocalists absolutely spot on for all four tracks) to sing this one – listening to the singer here made me think of songs in similar settings he has sung in the past, especially for Vishal Bhardwaj.
Nearly 11 years after he did a Beda Paar in Fukrey, Ram Sampath creates a second song under the same title – this time with lyricist Prashant Pandey – in Laapataa Ladies. And I am happy to report that this one has turned out way better than the older track, with its engaging folk melody delivered wonderfully by Sona Mohapatra and a zesty arrangement highlighted by the gabgubi, harmonium and mandolin. The album’s longest and best song goes to Shreya Ghoshal, who is unsurprisingly terrific on her part. The fact that this one is set to a seven beat cycle and is written by Swanand Kirkire brings to mind a song from the same team for Satyamev Jayate way back in 2012, O Ri Chiraiyya. While the similarity between the two songs pretty much ends with the abovementioned aspects, Dheeme Dheeme is as heart-tugging as O Ri Chiraiyya. Cracker of a tune which the composer treats gently, with very understated instrumentation – which reflects in the way Pratikhya Sharma’s backing vocals are employed as well. And the bonus – like kora in Sajni, here it is the harp, played by Lara Somogyi, accentuating the song’s soothing vibes. Love how the final minute is primarily an improv bit from Shreya to see out the song – nice touch that.
After a long break post Raees, it is good to see Ram Sampath compose for two movies in as many years. In Laapataa Ladies he also gets back with Aamir Khan Productions, a production house with which the man has had most success. And here too he comes up with a well-realised soundtrack, although I do wish it had more songs and that three of the four songs weren’t half-size. Nevertheless, hope to see the composer as active, if not more active, in the coming months!
Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5
Top Recos: It’s just 4 songs lasting under 13 minutes, go listen to the whole thing!
Soundtrack Credits
Song name : Beda Paar
Composed By : Ram Sampath
Lyricist : Prashant Pandey
Singer : Sona Mohapatra
Music Arranged & Produced by : Ram Sampath & John Paul
Music Supervisor : Vrashal Chavan
Recorded & Mixed at Omgrown Music, Mumbai by Amey Wadibhasme
Mastered by Gethin John at Hafod Mastering
Backing Vocals : Shehnaaz Khan
Additional Arrangements : Nalin Vinayak
Song name : Doubtwa
Composed By : Ram Sampath
Lyricist : Divyanidhi Sharma
Singer : Sukhwinder Singh
Music Arranged & Produced by : Ram Sampath
Music Supervisor : Vrashal Chavan
Recorded & Mixed at Omgrown Music, Mumbai by Amey Wadibhasme
Mastered by Gethin John at Hafod Mastering
Backing Vocals : Alvin Presley & Ram Sampath
Additional Arrangements : Nalin Vinayak
Song name : Sajni
Composed By : Ram Sampath
Lyricist : Prashant Pandey
Singer : Arijit Singh
Music Arranged & Produced by : Ram Sampath
Music Supervisor : Vrashal Chavan
Recorded & Mixed at Omgrown Music, Mumbai by Amey Wadibhasme
Mastered by Gethin John at Hafod Mastering
Vocal Recordist : Sukanto Singha
Vocal Editor : Prithviraj Sarkar
Kora played by Vieux Cissokho
Mandolin & Dobro played by Bennett Sullivan
Song name : Dheeme Dheeme
Composed By : Ram Sampath
Lyricist : Swanand Kirkire
Singer : Shreya Ghoshal
Music Arranged & Produced by : Ram Sampath & Arabinda Neog
Music Supervisor : Vrashal Chavan
Recorded & Mixed at Omgrown Music, Mumbai by Amey Wadibhasme
Mastered by Gethin John at Hafod Mastering
Backing Vocals : Pratikhya Sarma
Violin & Viola played by Kailash Patra
Recorded at Neo Sound By Pranjal Borah & at A-Ray Studio by Monor Kotha
Harp played by Lara Somogyi
Additional Arrangements : Nalin Vinayak
Score credits
Music Composed By : Ram Sampath
Music Arranged & Produced By : Ram Sampath
Music Supervisor : Vrashal Chavan
Additional Arrangements : Nalin Vinayak & John Paul
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered at Omgrown Music, Mumbai by Amey Wadibhasme
