Om Raut’s debut directorial venture ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’ had a pretty good soundtrack. Ajay-Atul, who contributed just one song to the soundtrack of the historical action film, have put together almost the entire soundtrack of ‘Adipurush’, Raut’s cinematic interpretation of Ramayana. While four original tracks have been composed by Ajay-Atul, Sachet-Parampara have presented the bhajan ‘Ram Siya Ram’ in a new avatar. All the songs have been written by Manoj Muntashir Shukla who has also penned the dialogues for the film.
The album opens with the much publicized “Jai Shri Ram”, a song that evokes Lord Ram. The idea here, perhaps, was to create a song that people would find it easy to sing/chant. ‘Jai Shri Ram’ has a fluid tune (Ajay – Atul) and simple lyrics (Manoj Muntashir Shukla). Ajay-Atul’s thumbing orchestral arrangements complement their tune well. At 3 minutes and 30 seconds, the song is not as long as one would have expected it to be when it starts playing. The choral vocalists (twenty singers have been credited) render the track with good energy.
Ramayana describes Raavan as a devotee of Lord Shiva. Keeping this in mind, one assumes “Shivoham” to be picturized on Saif Ali Khan, who plays Raavan in the film. Ajay Gogavale’s voice lends the requisite gravitas to the song. The arrangements put together by Ajay – Atul, interestingly, have a mix of Indian and western instruments. The percussive beats are extremely intense and do a good job at evoking a sense of fear and urgency in the listener. Manoj Muntashir Shukla’s lyrics stand out even during the portions when another male vocalist whispers a couple of lines.
“Tu Hai Sheetal Dhaara” is the kind of song that would make all those people happy who have been fans of some of the most popular dulcet melodies composed by Ajay – Atul in the last several years. Despite having a heard-before feel to it, the song works very well. The pleasant song, which depicts the bond shared by Lord Ram and Sita, benefits greatly from the presence of Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal’s vocals. “Jahaan tera pag phera, wahin madhuban hai tera, mujhe praanon se badhe pyaara, prem hai taara…”, Manoj Muntashir Shukla does a good job with the lyrics.
“Huppa Huiya” is a song that celebrates the might of Lord Hanuman and his vaanar sena. While the hook line is catchy, the overall tune composed by Ajay – Atul passes muster. Sukhwinder Singh’s energetic rendition plays an important role in making the song engaging to an extent. The choral vocalists do a good job and Ajay Gogavale gets the opportunity to flex his vocal muscles and make an impact towards the final moments of the song.
Sachet – Parampara’s brief by the producers, perhaps, was to present “Ram Siya Ram” in a way that appeals to the ‘youth of today’. Sachet Tandon is known for his overtly stylized renditions. This time around, thankfully, he ensures that his singing does not sound gimmicky in any way. Parampara Tandon’s voice, though used minimally, leaves an impact. The electronic beats are extremely generic, the kind you expect Tanishk Bagchi to incorporate in a hastily—created remixed/recreated number.
When you hear about Ajay – Atul scoring the music for a feature-length film based on the Ramayan, your expectations hit the roof. While the ‘Adipurush’ album doesn’t quite meet those expectations, it is far from being an underwhelming soundtrack. The album keeps you engaged throughout its duration and most of the tracks are the kind you wouldn’t mind listening to on a loop for some time. Given the subject and scale of the film, one would have expected a more elaborate soundtrack. At (almost) nineteen minutes, the album is quite short. Most of the songs, too, are just about three minutes long.