Satyagraha Music Review [Salim-Sulaiman, Aadesh, Meet-Anjjan, Indian Ocean]

Like before.

• Prakash Jha is making a multistarrer on a socio-political subject.
• Music is taken from many composers.
• Aadesh Srivastava is one of them. So are Salim Sulaiman.
• One song is taken from something everyone remembers. Vande Mataram to Raghupati Raghav.
• There is one item number kinda thing.

Now, the things that don't come under these bullets.

First of all, accolades to Prasoon Joshi for writing magic throughout.

Salim Sulaiman have made Raghupati Raghav Raja Raam really well. After being out of touch for quite some time, their music comes out as good and effective as required. Of course, the base tune comes to their advantage, but the mixing of their own tune with it is not an easy task and they have done it in a way that the overall song sounds powerful.

Shivam Pathak does sound well, but towards the end, he sounds, well, Salim-ish. His energy is good, but he comes a little too much in 'Josh' towards the end. Still, he's not bad.

The next song begins with Shraddha Pandit singing Hamri Atariya pe aiyo balam ji to a nicely self-inspired melody*. She sounds okay here, but Salim-Sulaiman's arrangements seems to have got a little too much of electronica here, and so, despite the nice, slow melody of the song, it doesn't seem to work too well. The song could have been much better if the baansuri in the background was showcased a little more, and the like, if you know what I mean. Won't call this an experiment really as it sounds more like a remix already.

* Tune inspired by: Baawli si preet mori, ab chain kaise paaye, i.e. Rasiya, from Salim-Sulaiman's own Kurbaan. Begins on that note and diverts.

The next song is Aadesh's Ras ke bhare tore nain. I don't know much raagas, but I think this is not the regular thumri that comes in this name. Correct if I'm wrong. Anyway, Shafqat sings it nice, though Arpita's tirkit-dha in the background sounds like extras behind Hrithik Roshan, which here try to come to the front too! Not required really. At a point or two, the song very clearly becomes 'mora piya mose bolat naahi'. Now may be it's due to some raaga or tech thing, but whatever it is, it does remind you of the song. No issues though, as it sounds fine.

Next, Meet Bros Anjjan make a nice song as Janta Rocks, but voila! Did the music remind you of 'Stop That' by Devang Patel? And VERY much like Meri Aan, Meri Shaan, Meri Jaan Hindustan, that theme in Border? Other than that, the song is good, especially the part in Ashok Kumar's Jhumaritalayya style is just lovely.

The next song of the album is probably the best of the lot. Indian Ocean's Hum Bhole The is a passionate composition, well performed and rockingly sung by Rahul Ram, Amit Kilam and Himanshu Joshi. The lyrics and the music just complement each other in the song. Look for the interludes of the song too; lovely music there. In short, it's a must listen.

As such I don't believe in remixes, but Aadesh makes Ras ke bhare tore nain quite interestingly. The way he begins the song gets me attracted, and he's not bad overall. Interestingly, Arpita in background sounds better than in the original version here. It's all in the arrangements.

And may I just miss the atariya remix? It's not too bad, but it's too commonplace. Hence.

Overall, with one superawesome song [Bhole the], one really good song [Raghupati Raghav], one quite good song [Ras ke bhare], and one not bad song [Janta Rocks], Satyagraha is a good album, and does get you some feel of the movie. If you'd like to be a part of Prakash Jha's revolution, you can certainly buy it.