Music Review Mary Kom

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

Canada: Free $30 Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Free $30 Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…Expectations:

Huge! This is a Sanjay Leela Bhansali-produced bio-pic, after all.

Music:

A gradual build-up of the militant cadences with the right beating of drums and rousing folk choruses pave the way for Vishal Dadlani's strident tones as he steps into the rabble-rouser 'Dil Yeh Ziddi Hai', with inspiring lyrics by Prashant Ingole (till now known for some insignificant work, which he obviously cannot do in a SLB film that is also a work of passion for writer-director Omung Kumar).

The use of the flute is as evocative as the background use of rock guitar and the frontal twanging of a single guitar. Though the arrangements could have been softer, the tune gets through on its merit as well as in the emotions Vishal manages to put into his loud delivery as per the brief. In short, a popular winner, this one, whose lyrics can apply to any field, not just sports.

Let us now take note of the two scene-stealers of the soundtrack, 'Adhure' (Sunidhi Chauhan) and 'Chaoro' (Priyanka Chopra).

Power-packed is the term that best matches the former, which begins with a haunting vocal folk refrain (Why are such vocalists not credited? It's a crime to neglect these artistes who play brief roles but define the very mood of a track!). Sunidhi's finest feat here is that she is gentle, soft and soulful and yet creates a devastating emotional impact with this sad number, like in the way she briefly stretches some key syllables at different points to boost the emotional and musical voltage.

The gentle orchestration is just what the doctor (or should that be sports coach in this case?) ordered and unlike 'Dil Yeh Ziddi Hai' does not intrude upon the voice and therefore lets it achieve the fullest impact.

Priyanka Chopra gets into impressive motherly mode as she caresses the gently-worded (Sandeep Singh) 'Chaoro' with just the right inflections in every syllable. The laidback piano lends an intimately affectionate feel to this lullaby. Bhansali's films do give great opportunities for female actors on screen as well as in front of the microphone: if Madhuri Dixit delivered a challenging thumri in Devdas, we find Priyanka scoring in a folk-based lullaby here that has a strong traditional base.

Arijit Singh, whose first raag-rich song, 'Laal Ishq' was heard in the same filmmaker's Goliyon Ki Rasleela- Ram Lila last year, scores a high in the romantic 'Sukoon Mila'. He must improve his pronunciation of words beginning with the 'ta' sound, but the variations in his vocals makes the composition stand out, along with the skilled and melodious riffs of the saxophone (or is it the trumpet?). The lyrics (Sandeep Singh) are routine, yet work for the mood of the song because of their basic fit and simplicity.

Mohit Chauhan is his usual self in 'Teri Baari', which is uplifted by relentless rhythmic strums. Prashant's lyrics are also basic, heard-before but effective. In any case, the creative juices of such inspirational lyrics has been squeezed dry by all our writers from Pradeep in the '30s to Jaideep Sahni, Swanand Kirkire, Prasoon Joshi and Irshad Kamil in the millennium! The song stops short of the level of the film's other winners despite the cerebral orchestration, including trendy rock influences.

Arijit Singh's 'Saudebaazi' is an ordinary number that sounds nice while it is on, but is not the stuff of which enduring songs are mad. Fluffy and light, it is marked by routine lyrics (Prashant Ingole).

A nice flute prelude is all that is likeable about Shivamm's sole composition, 'Salaam India' (Vishal Dadlani-Salim Merchant), a contemporary patriotic number with all the 'with-it' flaws – unemotional and tepid vocals, deafening orchestral clutter, discordant alien influences (for a patriotic song!), tired lyrics posing as inspirational poetry and misplaced choruses. This is one track that this album could have done without, though it may be integrated well into the film.

Finally, where the filmmakers and Shashi Suman must be unreservedly appreciated is for giving us an acoustics-rich score in these days, especially in the music maker's debut film.

Overall:

Shashi Suman does justice to the theme, by and large, though the solo composition of Shivamm is simply not in the same league. Overall, however, four good tracks make for a worthwhile score.

Our Pick:

'Dil Yeh Ziddi Hai', 'Sukoon Mila', 'Adhure, Chaoro'

Music: Shashi Suman & Shivamm
Lyrics: Prashant Ingole & Sandeep Singh
Music Label: Zee Music Company

Article written by staff at Bollywood Hungama. Read more

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