Raanjhanaa (soundtrack)

Raanjhanaa
Soundtrack album to Raanjhanaa by A. R. Rahman
Released 11 June 2013[1]
Recorded June 2012 – April 2013
Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios, Chennai
Panchathan Hollywood Studios, Los Angeles
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length 38:12
Language Hindi
Label Eros Music
Sony Music
Producer A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman chronology

Maryan
(2013)		 Raanjhanaa
(2013)		 Highway
(2014)
Singles from Raanjhanaa
  1. "Tum Tak"
    Released: 24 May 2013[2]
  2. "Raanjhanaa"
    Released: 27 May 2013[3]

Raanjhanaa is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman of the 2013 Hindi film Raanjhanaa, directed by Anand L. Rai and starring Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor and Abhay Deol in the lead roles. The film is produced by Krishika Lulla under the banner Eros International. The lyrics of the original version were written by Irshad Kamil whereas the Tamil lyrics were written by poet Vairamuthu. The soundtrack album features nine original tracks.[4] The music of the original version of the soundtrack was released on the co-branded record labels Sony Music and Eros Music[5] on 11 June 2013 and the Tamil version on 24 June 2013.

Development

In June 2012, A. R. Rahman was signed on to compose songs and the background score. He agreed to compose after the script was re-written entirely in English by the director and the former kept the script personally.[6][7] The composition of the song "Banarasiya" was ready by September 2012 but was not recorded with a singer as the director was felt that no vocals matched with Sonam Kapoor's voice. The director Anand L. Rai attributed the melody and beauty of the particular song to "Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai" from the 1973 film Bobby.[8] In an interview with Hindustan Times, Rahman stated that he had emphasized the folk-classical genre as the film brings out a fascination for Benaras through the music[9] and most of the songs are character-driven. The composer stated that he had used the sounds of shehnai in almost every song, thereby paying a tribute to Ustad Bismillah Khan.[10] Whilst doing reconnaissance for the film, the film director recorded the live aarti chants for the score, however, the patch recordings were fit into a complete song titled "The Land of Shiva". Six songs were recorded by 23 November 2012.[11] The soundtrack album composition was completed by early March 2013.[12] The audio rights were acquired for a sum of INR60 million (US$950,000).[13]

The song "Tum Tak" was called a blend of romantic and spiritual elements. The track details the passage of five years through five festivals.[14] "Tu Mun Shudi" is a contemporary track sung by Rabbi Shergill and the composer himself. The song was claimed rustic (Kundan, played by Dhanush) and the urbane (Jasjeet Singh Shergill/Akram, played by Abhay Deol) based on the characters.[15] Both the youth oriented songs "Humka Issaq Hua Hai" from the 1983 film Coolie and "Saamne Ye Kaun Aaya" from 1972 film Jawani Diwani were used in the background score of the film.

The track "Tum Tak" was released as a promotional single on 6 May 2013.[16] The title track sung by Jasvinder Singh and Shiraz Uppal was released as a promotional video on 16 May 2013.[17] The third promotional track "Tu Mun Shudi" sung by A. R. Rahman and Rabbi Shergill was released on 30 May 2013. The song features Sonam Kapoor, Dhanush and Abhay Deol.[18] Furthermore, the tracks "Banarasiya" and "Piya Milenge" were released in June 2013 as video promotionals.

“ "After Lagaan, this is the first time I got to work on folk-classical music. The film brings out a fascination for Benaras through the music.[9] I'd rather call it a hybrid, but I guess you could call it that as well. It's got a bit of folk and classical elements and most of it is really character driven. Raanjhana's music is rustic and urbane."[15] ”

——A.R. Rahman (on the music of Raanjhanaa).

Reception

Critical reception

The soundtrack received positive critical reception.

Bryan Durham of The Times of India gave the album 4 out of 5 and summarized, "In totality, it also needs to be said that if Rahman's music is the language of this film, it would be quite short on a vocabulary without Irshad Kamil's beautiful lyrics."[19] Jyoti Prakash of Indian Box Office Online also gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars and said, "The music of Raanjhanaa is of supreme quality. A typical AR Rahman album which is romantic and entertaining yet pure and divine." Music Aloud critic Vipin assigned the soundtrack 8 out of 10 and noted, "A mixed bag from ARR that is more urbane than folk-classical."[20] Kaushik Ramesh of Planet Bollywood gave the album 7/10. Calling it very experimental, he said, "Be it the innovative vocal shehnai of 'Ay Sakhi' or Rabbi's attitude laden 'Tu Mun Shudi', the entire album presents immense freshness."[21] Rumnique Nannar of Bollyspice gave the album 4.5/5 stars and wrote, "Raanjhanaa is a brilliant return to form and originality for A. R. Rahman, who proves his detractors wrong with an album that captures the energy of its city and its lovestruck Raanjhana. The songs may just take time to grow on the listener, but that's the joy in it, to savour all of the arrangements and voices that add up to a terrific and rustic album for the ages."[22] Sakhayan Ghosh of The Indian Express summarized, "Irshad Kamil's lyrics provide a perfect foil to the music. And this is Rahman's finest turn since Rockstar, seeing the maestro enter exciting new musical territories." He gave the album 4 out of 5.[23] Joginder Tuteja at Movie Talkies claimed, "There were good expectations from the music of Raanjhanaa and they are pretty much met (and at places even exceeded) with A. R. Rahman, Irshad Kamil and their singers coming together well to meet the shared vision that was spearheaded by the makers." He gave the album 3.5 out of 5 and added that the music "works quite well as a packaged affair".[24] IANS gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars and observed, "Like any other album, the music of Raanjhanaa has few low points, but otherwise it is thoroughly entertaining."[19][25] At Koimoi, critic Manohar Basu rated the album 3 on 5 and noted, "Very unlikely to be a Rahman composition, the music yet again lacks a soul stirring capability which made him a maverick once! Technically it is both brilliant and fine but the midas touch of the musician is strikingly missing."[26] The critics review board at Behindwoods called it a "joyous wonder from Rahman" and gave it 3.5 out of 5.[27]

Chart performance

The soundtrack peaked at number one in the "Top Albums" category after a week of its release on iTunes India.[28] It was ranked at top position on Mirchi Top 20 charts.[29]

Track listing

Original version

The track listing was unveiled on the website Amazon.com on 31 May 2013.[30] The track listing with complete album credits first appeared on A. R. Rahman's official website on 7 June 2013.[31]

All lyrics written by Irshad Kamil. 

No. TitleArtist(s) Length
1. "Raanjhanaa"  Shiraz Uppal, Jaswinder Singh 4:14
2. "Banarasiya"  Shreya Ghoshal, Anwesha Datta Gupta, Meenal Jain 4:49
3. "Piya Milenge"  Sukhwinder Singh, K.M.M.C. Sufi Ensemble 5:55
4. "Ay Sakhi"  Madhushree, Chinmayee, Vaishali, Aanchal Sethi 4:06
5. "Nazar Laaye"  Rashid Ali, Neeti Mohan, Nakash Aziz 3:56
6. "Tu Mun Shudi"  A. R. Rahman, Rabbi Shergill 4:42
7. "Aise Na Dekho"  A. R. Rahman, Karthik 4:16
8. "The Land of Shiva"  Instrumental 1:10
9. "Tum Tak"  Javed Ali, Pooja Vaidyanath, Keerthi Sagathia 5:04
Total length:
 38:12

Tamil version

Ambikapathy
Soundtrack album by A. R. Rahman
Released 24 June 2013[32]
Length 38:06
Language Tamil

The song "Unnaal Unnaal" was released as a promotional single, aired on Radio Mirchi. The track listing of Ambikapathy was revealed on Amazon.com on 17 June 2013.[33]

All lyrics written by Vairamuthu. 

No. TitleArtist(s) Length
1. "Ambikapathy"  Naresh Iyer 4:16
2. "Kalaarasiga"  Swetha Mohan, Sharanya Srinivas 4:51
3. "Oliyaaga Vandhaai"  Javed Ali, K.M.M.C. Sufi Ensemble 5:56
4. "Kanaave Kanaave"  Madhushree, Chinmayee, Vaishali, Pooja Vaidyanath, Sharanya Srinivas, Aanchal Sethi 4:06
5. "Parakka Seivaai"  Karthik, Mili Nair 3:54
6. "Solvadhai Seidhu Mudippom"  A. R. Rahman, Mohamed Rafi 4:27
7. "Paarkaadhey Oru Madhiri"  A. R. Rahman, Karthik 4:18
8. "The Land of Shiva"  Instrumental 1:10
9. "Unnaal Unnaal"  Hariharan, Pooja Vaidyanath, Haricharan 5:08
Total length:
 38:06

Accolades

Positive awards and nominations
Distributor Date announced Category Recipient Result Reference
BIG Star Entertainment Awards
31 December 2013
Most Entertaining Music
A. R. Rahman
 Nominated [34]
Screen Awards
14 January 2014
Best Music
A. R. Rahman
 [35][36]
Best Background Score
A. R. Rahman
Best Sound Design
Arun Nambiar
Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Award
16 January 2014
Best Music
A. R. Rahman
 [37]
Idea Filmfare Awards
20 January 2014
Best Music
A. R. Rahman
 [38][39]
Best Background Score
A. R. Rahman
Global Indian Music Awards (GiMA)
20 January 2014
Best Engineer (Film Album)
R. Nitish Kumar
 [40]
Best Background Score
A. R. Rahman
Best Film Album
A. R. Rahman
Best Playback Singer (Female)
Shreya Ghoshal
(for the song "Banarasiya")
Zee Cine Awards
8 February 2014
Zee Cine Award for Best Music Director
A. R. Rahman
 [41]

Album credits

Backing vocals[31]

Dr. Narayanan, Haricharan, Bakiyaraj, Anand, Santosh Hariharan, Deepak, Harish Iyer, Senbagaraj, Ranina Reddy, S. Malavika, Saundarya. N, Pooja Vaidyanath, Raagini Shri, Sucharita, Priyadarshini, Anitha Karthikeyan, Srinidhi Venkatesh.

Personnel
Production

References

  1. ↑ "Raanjhanaa (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "Tum Tak (From "Raanjhanaa") - Single". iTunes. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "Raanjhanaa (From "Raanjhanaa") - Single". iTunes. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  4. ↑ Nirmika Singh (27 May 2013). "It is good time to be part of the industry: AR Rahman". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "Sony Music, EROS Int'l come together for music of Raanjhanaa". CNBC-TV18. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Prachi Kadam (13 June 2012). "Only English for AR Rahman!". DNA India. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Rahman to make music for Dhanush". Times of India. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "Raanjhanaa director in search of voice for Sonam Kapoor". NDTV Movies. 22 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Nirmika Singh (28 September 2012). "I never miss an opportunity to make music: AR Rahman". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  10. ↑ Jigar Shah. "AR Rahman's tribute to Bismillah Khan". Mid-Day. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  11. ↑ Kavita Awaasthi (23 November 2012). "Holy inspiration for AR Rahman". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  12. ↑ "A.R.Rahman At His Best In ‘Raanjhnaa’". The Bollywood Journal. 10 March 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  13. ↑ Vickey Lalwani (28 May 2013). "Raanjhanaa's music rights sold for 6 crore". Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  14. ↑ Parag Maniar (18 June 2013). "'Raanjhanaa': A tale of undying love". Times of India. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Bryan Durham (29 May 2013). "Raanjhanaa’s music is rustic and urbane". Times of India. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  16. ↑ Joginder Tuteja (for Glamsham). "A.R Rahman composes 'Tum Tak' song for Sonam and Dhanush in RAANJHAANA". MSN India. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  17. ↑ Shiva Prasad (17 May 2013). "Raanjhanaa title track video promo!". Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  18. ↑ Glamsham. "Sonam Kapoor bonds with Abhay Deol and leaves Dhanush aside". Yahoo!. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Bryan Durham (13 June 2013). "Raanjhanaa". Times of India. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "RAANJHANAA – MUSIC REVIEW (BOLLYWOOD SOUNDTRACK)". Music Aloud. 1 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  21. ↑ "RAANJHANA REVIEW by Kaushik Ramesh". Planet Bollywood. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  22. ↑ "Review (Bolly Spice)". Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  23. ↑ "Music Review:Raanjhanaa". The Indian Express. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  24. ↑ Joginder Tuteja (3 June 2013). "Raanjhanaa Music Review". Movie Talkies. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  25. ↑ "'Raanjhanaa' Music Review: The album glorifies love in a unique way". Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  26. ↑ "Raanjhanaa Music Review". Koimoi.com. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  27. ↑ "Raanjhanaa Songs Review". Behindwoods. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  28. ↑ "Thank you for making Raanjhanaa #1". A.R. Rahman as @arrahman on Twitter. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  29. ↑ Priya Gupta (15 June 2013). "In every song, I ask help from God: AR Rahman". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  30. ↑ "Raanjhanaa (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". amazon.com. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "Raanjhanaa (June 2013)". A.R. Rahman - The Official Website. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  32. ↑ "Ambikapathy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  33. ↑ "Ambikapathy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". amazon.com. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  34. ↑ "Big Star Entertainment Award 2013". The Filmy Guide. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  35. ↑ "20th Annual Screen Awards 2014: The complete list of nominees". IBN Live. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  36. ↑ "Screen Awards 2014 Winners – Full List". Indicine. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  37. ↑ "Nominations for Renault Star Guild Awards 2014". 16 January 2014.
  38. ↑ "59th Idea Filmfare Awards Nominations". 14 January 2014.
  39. ↑ "Filmfare Awards 2014: List of winners". NDTV. 25 January 2014.
  40. ↑ "FILM MUSIC NOMINEES". 18 January 2014.
  41. ↑ "ZEE CINE AWARDS NOMINEES".

External links