Songs and musician credits at the end.
This review first appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Hindu.
Composers Rohan-Rohan make good use of the 75 piece Macedonian Symphony Orchestra producing a grand, sprawling backdrop to Manoj Yadav’s effusive paean to the movie’s protagonist titled Saheb Tu Sarkar Tu – a soundscape that sounds almost Hollywood-ish at times with the kind of influences it incorporates particularly in the interludes. Sukhwinder Singh – who seems to be getting a lot of anthemic tracks of late – does an exuberant job behind the mic. In Aaple Saheb Thackeray, the composers get to bring to the fore their Marathi musical sensibilities as well, to create an ebullient, if a tad repetitive, folksy tribute to Balasaheb Thackeray delivered neatly by Avadhoot Gupte. And as with a lot of Marathi folk songs, it is the percussion that is the highlight in the arrangement here too. Interestingly the whole song is written in Marathi (Manndar Cholkar, the writer) – can’t remember the last time I heard a Bollywood song that did not feature any Hindi lyrics (there is a possibility that this song is specifically for the Marathi version of the movie, of course). By the time we get to Nakash Aziz’s Aaya Re Thackeray, it becomes a case of one too many tributes. Also not helping is the fact that the arrangement is often reminiscent of Ajay Atul’s Chikni Chameli, with nowhere near the same impact. Finally, there is a Thackeray Theme (Club Mix) by guest composer Sandeep Shirodkar – frankly, a “club mix” is the last thing I expected in a biopic of this nature. The song turns out to be a compilation of Thackeray quotes from the movie, set to a functional music backdrop interspersed with roars, and culminating in chants of the Shiv Sena slogan. Once again, nothing much to take away as a song really.
While rousing tribute songs were always expected in Thackeray’s soundtrack, I was also hoping for more than just a tribute fest. And that is indeed the album’s main drawback. Nevertheless, good to see Rohan-Rohan get such noteworthy projects in Bollywood.
Music Aloud Rating: 2.5/5
Top Recos: Saheb Tu Sarkar Tu, Aaple Saheb Thackeray
Musician Credits
Song: Saheb Tu Sarkar Tu
Singer: Sukhwinder Singh
Music: Rohan Rohan
Lyricist: Manoj Yadav
Composed by Rohan Rohan
Symphony Orchestra Arranged and Produced by Aditya Paudwal Additional Arrangement : Rohan Rohan
75 Piece Symphony Orchestra Recorded by Macedonian Symphony Orchestra Chorus: Swapnil Godbole, Umesh Joshi, Vijay Dhuri, Kishor Mohite, Gaurav Dandekar, Janardan Dhatrak, Rishikesh Patil
Recorded by Vijay Dayal and Chimay Mestry at YRF Studios
Mixed and Mastered by Vijay Dayal @YRF Studios.
Song: Aaple Saheb Thackeray
Singer: Avadhoot Gupte
Music: Rohan Rohan
Lyricist: Manndar Cholkar
Composed and Produced by Rohan Rohan
Brass by Walter Dias, Robin Fargose, Sanjay Kalyani.
Chorus by Swapnil Godbole, Umesh Joshi, Vijay Dhuri, Gaurav Dandekar, Janardan Dhatrak, Kishor Mohite, Vikas Joshi, Rishikesh Patil, Yash Kulkarni.
Rhythm by Sachin Bhangre, Aadesh More, Manoj Tayde, Shashank Hadkar, Jayesh Pawar, Pratik Kawle, Prathamesh Dhumal, Jiten Kriplani & Vandan
Dhol Tasha Pathak
Recorded: @ Yashraj Studios
Mixed and Mastered by Vijay Dayal at Yashraj Studios
Song: Aaya Re Thackeray
Singer: Nakash Aziz
Music: Rohan Rohan
Lyricist: Dr. Sunil Jogi
Composed and Produced by Rohan Rohan
Strokes by Tapas Roy
Brass by Kishore Sodha
Rhythm Arranged and Conducted by Sachin Bhangre
Recorded by Vijay Dayal and Chimay Mestry @ Yashraj Studios. Mixed and Mastered by Vijay Dayal @ Yashraj Studios
Song: Thackeray Theme
Music: Sandeep Shirodkar
