After Hemant Brijwasi last year in Arjun the Warrior Prince, another SRGMP Li’l Champs product to make a super debut with Sapna Re Sapna is Padmanabh Gaikwad. Gulzar’s thoroughly endearing lines rendered with equally endearing sincerity, and a simple tune to go with. Kaali Kaali has Clinton Cerejo (who also produced the soundtrack along with another VB regular, Simaab Sen. This song was done by Clinton alone, Simaab tells me.) on vocals and he does a commendable job as usual, even as piano and strings come together in a rich haunting fashion in the background (did I hear a mridangam in places?). Despite mild evocation of past VB tunes, Totey Ud Gaye passes muster thanks to an imaginative mix of guitars and dhols, and the ever-reliable Suresh Wadkar, Rekha Bhardwaj and Sukhwinder Singh. I particularly like how VB employs Suresh Wadkar mild voice for contrastingly high energy songs.
Yaaram, the song whose video is already a hit on the net and telly, seems to once again travel along familiar VB territory until that point where the composer ups the gear taking it to a frenzied pace culminating in the Dil hook. Sunidhi Chauhan and Clinton Cerejo are impeccable on their part, and once again there is some neat guitaring. If I were to choose one song that aptly represents the theme of the movie to me though, that would be the last song – Lautungi Main. Right from the cricket chirps that kick off the song, to the eerie layering of violins, to the chorus, to the overall dark tone of the song (mostly shivranjani raga). Even Rekha Bhardwaj, in her pitch-perfect rendition, brings on a creepy edge to her voice. Scary, but brilliant song. And this one was produced by Simaab alone.
Ek Thi Daayan. 5 songs are all it takes for Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar to achieve a better result than their previous 11-song soundtrack. Hat tip to Clinton and Simaab for an awesome production work.
Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10
Top Recos: Lautungi Main, Kaali Kaali, Sapna Re Sapna
